7 Benefits of Coaching

T‘A stitch in time, saves nine’ – this sewing analogy, for me, sums up the importance of coaching in all organisations, of any size.

Below there are 7 reasons, outlining what I think, are some of important benefits of coaching.

This article is designed to give you a pat on the back if you already coach, or to urge you into action if you don’t.

But first, I may as well define what I see as ‘coaching’ in the world of business:Spending regular time with the people you manage/employ/lead, to focus on their growth & development.It requires true listening from the coach, and a willingness to participate from the coachee. The session may focus on a particular subject or be open to simply talk about the coachee’s development.

It may be a meeting to review the month just passed, or to plan for the month ahead.Taking your lead from the world of sport, it may also be an opportunity for the coachee to practice a part of their role in order to perfect it.

Coaching means many different things, in different scenarios, but I hope this explains how it would look in your organisation.So why is it so important, to take time, regularly, to coach your staff? And what are gains to be made if you do?

1. It will make your people feel valued.

This on its own, should be enough for some, as if you make the link from people feeling valued, to them working harder and churn being reduced, it makes coaching a no brainer.Only you know much time (and money) you have spent in the past year, recruiting, interviewing, inducting new staff, and covering empty desks in your organisation, to know the impact that a lower level of churn would have.When people are coached, they feel valued, when people feel valued, by their manager, by their organisation, they stay longer. There are many studies and reports that demonstrate this effect. I once tried a coaching model I’d learnt that day on my husband over dinner, his response was ‘hmmm, you’ve never been this interested in my work before, it feels pretty nice’. Ignore what that says about our relationship, and focus on the impact it could have on some of the people in your life.

2. Through positive feedback, productivity will improve.

In sporting terms, it has been proven that focusing on people’s strengths, increases people’s productivity. If you spend the time to coach people around their strengths, and give them the positive feedback they deserve, their productivity will improve. They will know how to push themselves, they will be motivated by the positive reinforcement, and they will aim to keep growing.

3. Through providing critique, productivity will improve.

There is no sugar coating this point, none of us are perfect, we all have areas in which we can improve, but some of these are blind spots we need some help seeing. If you take the time to coach your people around the areas they could improve in, guess what? They may just stop doing the things that drive you nuts, or start doing the things they’re not doing, which also drive you nuts. But they’re much more likely to start working on these points if they think it’s their idea… that’s the beauty of coaching after all.

4. You’ll know the arena you work in better.

If you spend time coaching people, you will have to listen to them, and if you listen to people, whether you want to or not, you’ll learn a thing or two. Listening to your people will give you a better insight into the job they do, and this will make you better at your job too. Knowledge is power. It is the key to strategizing, growing & developing your organisation.

5. If you need to performance manage someone, coaching is key.

If someone is underperforming, to a fairly drastic degree, any HR professional will tell you that your first step as their manager is to ensure you are offering them the level of support they need. Coaching in this instance, can either be the key to helping things turn around, or, the evidence you need to show that you have supported the employee to the best of your ability, before you have to look at parting company. Through coaching I have seen both of these scenarios pan out well for both the coach and the coachee. When the coaching is missing, this process is long, painful, and very damaging for the coach and coachee. Again, only you know, how many hours you have spent in difficult situations, and only you know if some of this could have been alleviated or even completely avoided, by regular coaching sessions.

6. You’ll be a better manager.

Following on from point 4, not only will you know your arena better, but with practice, coaching will make you an incredible manager.

It will give you the skills, knowledge and reputation that will get you where you want to go!

7. You’ll have a happier team.

The ones who are working hard will get the recognition they deserve. Your organisation will also be more productive, which in some cases will mean big bonuses, in others will mean shorter working weeks, in others will mean a real human impact. Only you know what better productivity will mean to your people, but I bet it means something big.So why, in many organisations doesn’t coaching happen enough?Sometime it’s a lack of skill, knowledge & confidence around ‘how to coach’. Next week, there will be another article around tips and tricks on how to get coaching into your working week.But, often it’s time. A lack of time to spare. But with all the above laying out the return on this time investment, isn’t it time we made more time to coach our people?