5 Steps to Better Your Coaching Skills, and Better Your Team

Whether you’re running a business, leading a small team, or even managing a household – this post is for you. We’re confident that at some point, you’ve come across behavior that didn’t positively align with your expectations. You may have either brushed it off or reacted in the moment, contributing to growing tension between you and your team. Coaching in the moment is all about preventing that tension, and “course-correcting” when behavior is off track.

Coaching in the Moment – What to Do:

  1. Take a breathcoaching in the moment

You’ve probably heard this one a million times, and for good reason. Taking 10 seconds to simply breathe dramatically decreases stress levels, and allows your brain to fully process information, giving you the ability to analyze the situation at hand.

  1. Seek first to understand, not be understood

coaching in the momentStop, look, and listen. A simple principle from childhood is now a way to remind yourself of how to coach effectively. Give your employee, coworker, or even your spouse the chance to share their intentions that led to their unfavorable actions. Ask meaningful questions, and let them give you answers. Though their delivery might not be perfect, read between the lines and choose to hear the message. When you first seek to understand intentions instead of arguing your side, you are opening yourself up to solutions, rather than contributing to the problem.

  1. Respondcoaching in the moment

Make sure the delivery of your message matches your intentions. Use phrases that build trust, rather than break confidence like, “Let’s develop a strategy for next time a situation like this comes up.” Show ownership in parts that you may have played, and emphasize your willingness to improve together.

  1. Don’t Wait!

coaching in the momentEver just let things “slide,” only for them to pile up and erupt in frustration later? Yeah, not helpful to anyone. If you’re going to course correct, you must act promptly to influence its effectiveness. When you’re driving a car, and you make a wrong turn, you don’t continue to drive in the wrong direction until you hit a dead end. You turn around as soon as you can, and you continue on the correct path. Coaching in the moment, rather than waiting until the annual performance review, keeps the lesson relevant, and will create a mutual trust between you and your team.

  1. Positive Reinforcementcoaching in the moment

Recognize, and if appropriate, reward behavior that aligns or exceeds your expectations. Even if results aren’t quite up-to-par, be grateful for effort, and use that positive energy to guide your team to the next move towards the goal.

 

 

Coaching in the momentNow that you know how to troubleshoot when things don’t go as planned, it’s time to put each of these principles into practice. Coaching in the moment will save you time, energy, and stress in the long run, and will create a culture of accountability, trust, and learning. Ready, break!