One of three basic roles of leadership is coach or mentor. The best boss is often best coach. (See: http://tlc-leadership.com/the_three_faces_of_leadership) In sports coach is very conscious of his role but in business world most coaching is unconscious or even accidental.

Just as many a dad learned to coach by jumping in with his son's baseball or hockey team or his daughter's basketball team most manager / coaches learned art through a baptism of fire. In recent years most sports organizations have begun to require some form of certification for coaches but even though there are several national and international organizations of business coaches, there is still no universal standard, even for professionals. The amateurs, encompassing almost every executive in world, for most part don't even realize what they are doing.

I have known executives who were great coaches who looked at me a little oddly when I told them so, but with a little introspection most come to realize that coaching is really what they do. Coaching is simply process of helping someone to become more of best he or she can be.

Most executives can improve their coaching skills with just a little effort and guidance from a professional. I'm often amazed at performance increase that happens through focus alone, and focus with analysis, and constructive feedback from someone who knows what to look for -- well, have you ever gone to a golf pro, with a wicked slice that turned out to be simple to cure? I did, after years of playing out of adjacent fairway most of time!

Like many things in business coaching is often learned on job. I have learned a great deal about coaching from reading dozens of books on subject but I also learned a lot from working for someone who was a great coach and mentor and I still learn every day from experience of coaching. You will find that, if you jump in with both feet, you will discover coach within -- and enjoy it!

So simply recognizing that you are a coach and applying a little of what you know from sports will make a big difference in your performance -- and in performance of your people -- but a little "one on one" with your own coach might be a huge help. Until you get that opportunity, I sincerely hope that some of tips in this articles will get you started in right direction.

Coaching A Team

Just as in sports there is a huge difference in approach to coaching an individual, such as a golfer or tennis player and coaching a group or team as in baseball or hockey, so too is there a difference in business world. Coaching a true team in business can be a rather complex business, often its even difficult to determine when a group really is a team and when it is not. For purpose of this discussion I am going to assume we are talking about a true team and trust pieces to fall into place automatically. (Or perhaps with a little coaching?) (See www.tlc-leadership.com/teams_magic_and_mystery )

For a team to be effective, it should be aware that it is a team (most of time) and all members should be committed to team objectives. Just as a ball player can receive major attention as a base stealer, an individual may stand out on a manufacturing team, but efforts must be seen to contribute to team goals and every one should recognize that every team member is necessary. (Whenever we can get along without someone, we should!)

At risk of pointing out obvious (experience suggests that obvious often isn't) every team member should be aware of team's goals, objectives, and deadlines as well as of his or her role and what team expects from him or her, and what support resources are available. I am surprised at how often I find that shop floor people and even supervisors have no idea of goals of their team, department or branch and no idea of how performance is being measured.

The coach must always recognize contribution of superstar but smaller contributions should also receive recognition and praise and coach should encourage superstar to acknowledge efforts of those who support him as well. It isn't necessary to rave about great performance, it can be quiet and subtle but in many cases it should be public while keeping in mind need to avoid embarrassing anyone. A good standard is to always criticize in private and often praise in public.

Leadership From The Top Floor To The Shop Floor

Another thing I often find is that managers are totally unaware of extent to which they are emulated by their subordinates. I heard a story about a clerk in a retail store who was called up in front of store manager after being rude to a customer. When asked for an explanation he shrugged and said, "Well ... that's how my bosses speak to me..." When people are treated with dignity and respect, they tend to treat others same way, and when they are treated as though they are too stupid to understand basic concepts they do same with others -- and often take attitude home.

I have seen concrete examples of companies where I could spend an hour on shop floor and form a very good idea of what CEO was like and how he dealt with his senior people.

COACHING A TASK FORCE

A Task Force is a Team That Recommends Things. It differs from other teams in several ways. First, and perhaps most importantly, a Task Force usually does not have power or final say so in implementing action. Rather team examines all possibilities, evaluates pro's and cons from an unbiased perspective, and presents a report to a decision maker or decision making group with recommendations for action or no action.

A Task Force can be set up to look at one issue only or as an ongoing project to focus on specific objectives. For example a Task Force could be set up to determine future of a specific branch operation in which it might recommend, closure of branch, sale of branch, re-equiping branch, changing focus of branch or even of maintaining status quo. Once it's recommendations have been made -- perhaps to board of directors -- Task Force is disbanded.

Since beginning of industrial era our world has been facing what some historians call an ongoing "crisis of modernity". As fast as we adjust to new circumstances, circumstances change again, and, rate of change seems to be multiplying exponentially. Of all demands imposed by twenty first century leadership, perhaps toughest is ability to not only manage change but to instigate it, control it and to be it's master. Dealing with ever increasing rate of change may be leader's most potentially overwhelming task. Today's Change Agent is an agressive forward thinker.

The Industrial Age was supplanted by Information Age and Electronic Information Age has made even that seem like kindergarten stuff. The instant availability of information on virtually any subject has eroded our ability to pause, analyze and reason alternatives. In manufacturing world where only a few years ago, "better late than never" was watchword, today word is "better never than late." If your new product isn't first to market - forget it - chances of recouping R&D costs are just about nil.

We demand instant everything

Even beyond new product development, our customers expect instant response to every request. They demand that we be on our toes, ready and able to provide order status information NOW! They also expect us to deal with changes in specifications, quantity and scheduling without a hitch - and with no surcharge.

Is it any wonder that more and more people are suffering effects of stress -- an epidemic second only to virus of offshore competition -- and of stress induced illness? How can any person be expected to cope with a world where change takes place at supersonic speed, where nothing stays same long enough to become familiar, where understanding happens only in retrospect?

To stay ahead of change, get behind it!

A fundamental aspect of Leadership Development is learning to not only cope with this epidemic but to turn it into a dynamic force for personal and corporate growth.There is only one way to cope with change. The only way to stay ahead of change is to get behind it! Those who promote change are in charge of it, those who oppose it are overwhelmed by it! Those who must be dragged kicking and screaming into next set of changed circumstances will be crushed by those who push change ahead of them. To quote author H. Jackson Brown, "In confrontation between stream and rock, stream always wins - not through strength but by perseverance."

When we determine to become advocates for change we suddenly find ourselves in position of pusher rather than pushee, we are more relaxed, more self confident, more self assured and we find that others are more willing to follow our lead. The great writer, teacher and consultant Peter F. Drucker summed it up this way, "The best way to predict future is to create it." It's also easier way! If you believe you can hold back snowball of progress, you are doomed to be swallowed up in something over which you can never hope to have any control.

All change is not good - all change is not inevitable

Please don't take these remarks to indicate that all change is good, or even that all change is inevitable. The prayer of St. Francis (long watchword of AA) asks for; courage to change things I can, serenity to accept those things I can not change and (most difficult of all) wisdom to know difference. The sky will remain blue, water will remain wet and sun will rise in east. The air we breathe however, will not remain clean, with a sufficiency of oxygen, our water will not continue to give life unless we change way we treat our environment but most of us will never have opportunity to make a major impact. We must change what we can and encourage others to do same.

Of all traits of leadership ability to produce lasting and meaningful change is so far out in first place that what ever is second doesn't really matter!

Make change your slave, not your master

How do we take control of this "crisis of modernity" and make change our slave rather than our master?

Leo Tolstoy said, "Everyone wants to change world but no one wants to change themselves." The truth is that all change must begin with me. If I can not, will not, do not change - and demonstrate that change to all world, I can not reasonably expect others to follow my advice to change. If two are at odds people will follow my example while ignoring my words, no mater how eloquently they be phrased.. Only when thought, word and deed are closely aligned can I truly hope to be followed. Only then can I hope to be a leader.

It starts and ends with "ME"

To begin process of personal change I must examine my self. I must understand what I believe and why, what I want to accomplish and why "The soul is dyed color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny - it is light that guides your way." Heraclitus 535-475BC, Greek Philosopher

Introspection