Which do you reckon will be more impressive: you gloating about your wins and toys, or you letting other person have their 15 minutes of fame?

Good manners, as well as psychological research, dictate that to impress your guest you should always keep at forefront of your mind question, "How am I making other person feel?"

Actively encourage others to talk about themselves, and respond genuinely --- without bringing it back to yourself.

6. Focus on their achievements Use flattery sparingly but powerfully by focusing on other person's achievements, not their personal attributes. Even if they suspect you might be brown-nosing, they will still get a warm glow from a well-directed compliment. "You have a great eye for colour; I really like how you have put office decor together" is more flattering than, "Nice office".

"I like your new BMW - you must be a real asset to company for them to give it to you" is more flattering than, "So who did you suck up to?"

Similarly, "You have a great eye for colour; I really like how you've put your wardrobe together" works better than, "You look totally shaggable in that dress".

7. It's never too late Remember, there's very little that is unfixable in our interpersonal business relationships. There is usually always another chance to fix false first impressions.

Let's say you arrive at a meeting late, having just copped a parking ticket from previous appointment. Your mood is not, as they might say, triumphant and glowing. Instead of responding appropriately to a new acquaintance's polite greeting, you mumble a grumpy 'yeah' and drop your laptop bag unceremonially into a nearby chair.

Okay, not a good start. But step outside room for a moment, take a deep breath, count to seven (ten is too long a pause) re-enter room and look your acquaintance in eye. Apologise and explain why you are out of sorts. You might even want to turn it into a joke by saying something like, "I see you just met my evil twin."

And remember to cut others some slack if they make a bad first impression on you, too! What comes around, goes around...

3.Focus on developing strengths of each employee rather than managing merely for results. Identify each person’s development needs and commit to following through on them. When people are growing and improving, their enthusiasm and effectiveness is greater. And they feel more connected and loyal to company for supporting them.

4.Endorse effort and growth instead of pointing out failures or errors. As individuals, we all know how seldom we are given positive feedback, but how often we are reminded of our “mistakes”. Instead of pointing out errors, coach-manager accepts them as learning opportunities and uses them to develop their employees. The focus is on making sure same mistake doesn’t happen again by fixing source of problem.

5.Stop providing solutions. Managers often achieve their positions after being technical specialists, and so will have an opinion or view on how to "fix" situations or problems. The mindset is that it's usually faster to tell someone what to do, or do it yourself, than give your employees an opportunity to figure it out. By always providing answers, managers take away learning opportunity for their employees to come up with alternative (and potentially better) ways of doing things. If you catch yourself about to provide answer, take a deep breath and ask a question like: “What would you do in this situation?”

6.As a manager, stop making all decisions. You don't have all answers all of time. Engage those around you - your team and peers - when it comes to finding a way forwards. Involvement breeds ownership and engagement. The more you can find opportunities for people to contribute to decision-making process and encourage people to have their say, more your employees will feel connected and satisfied with company.

7.Be unconditionally constructive - no exceptions. Don't patronise or be critical of others - take complete responsibility for how you are heard. If you catch yourself about to make negative remarks, take a breath and rephrase your words to get your message across without emotional attachment. It is possible to phrase everything in constructive terms – even a negative sentiment. Practice makes perfect!

8.Create an environment where people want to work with you, and feel valued and respected. Make it clear to your employees what they are responsible for, but give them latitude to go about it in their own way. In short, treat them way you would want to be treated.

The Wrap-Up The true success of a leader can be measured by success of people that work for them. When managers and leaders adopt a coaching style, productivity, motivation and satisfaction of employees increases, which filters through to bottom –line results. All this makes for an engaged workforce who are committed to giving business as much as it is giving them. And as an extra incentive, adopting a coaching style of management results in a much more enjoyable workplace for everybody!