Coach your boss for better results!
Saba Imru-Mathieu
Coaching is not about hierarchies, anyone can coach anyone, it's a way of communicating for best results
Most people who attend my workshops know that I believe coaching is not only reserved for managers who coach their direct reports. Coaching shouldn’t be a hierarchical privilege; not at all. Coaching is a communication style that everyone can adopt, it’s an attitude, it’s a way of conversing with others so that they can develop or clarify their ideas, motivations and actions.
So, given this premise, you can absolutely coach your boss in a variety of situations.
In this post I'll show you how to coach your boss to get clarity on a project they've assigned to you.
1. Coach with open-ended questions
A foundation coaching skill is the ability to ask open-ended questions. These can help you have a very fruitful conversations with your boss. They enable you to gain clarity, get additional information and in general dispel any hidden and maybe contradictory assumptions that you or your boss may have about how a job should be done.
For example, imagine you have been given an assignment and it’s not very clear. Often, we receive rush assignments in the workplace like… get this done, do this, solve that, and we don’t get enough details around the issue. We might make assumptions and refrain from asking clarifying questions. We may end up wasting a lot of time going in the wrong direction. So, you’re better off having a short conversation with your boss, coaching them to understand what they want, what is really at stake, and how it may affect other projects you have going.
2. Clarify the outcomes
You can start by asking your boss a very simple but powerful question: “I have this project now, but what is the outcome that you really want?” You might be surprised to receive many more details then you were previously given. This simple question will give your boss the opportunity to be much more specific about the ideal outcome for themselves and for the organization.
3. Key players and context
The next question you might ask is, “Who else is involved?” You want to get an idea of what other departments, clients, and stakeholders may be affected by this project. You also need to understand the wider context, for example who the external stakeholders are, or the strategic importance of the project. Sometimes you’re cooped up in your corner doing the task but you don’t have the complete picture, so, don’t forget to ask “What is the larger context of this task?”
4. Resources
Then you might ask for support. For instance, “What help can you get me from other departments?” Or, “How will we find the funding I need for this?” Make sure that you involve your boss in providing you the resources you need to complete the project successfully. They are likely to have access to key people in their network to your support project or solve specific problems that are beyond your direct influence. It's the role of your boss to find solutions to organizational or funding hurdles, so don't deprive them of the opportunity to support you, just ask!
5. Deadline
You will also need to clarify the deadlines. If the timeline is very short and you have many other projects lined up, it may not be possible for you to take on a new task without putting something else on hold. This is an area where bosses are often reluctant to engage in. They would just like you to deliver everything on time, however many new projects get piled up because they might be under pressure from clients or their board.
Don’t be shy to ask questions to make sure the priorities are clear and be ready to negotiate deadlines. You can start with a simple query such as “When is this project due?” and follow-up with “How flexible are you in this deadline?” or “How shall we prioritize with the other ‘urgent’ projects?” Since you are on the implementing side, you probably have a better idea than your boss on what is actually feasible, so make their life easy by proposing shifts in deadlines, or ideas on sharing of resources.
6. Ask questions, engage in dialogue, repeat!
These are valid and legitimate questions whatever your role is, whether you are a project manager, an IT developer, an executive assistant, or a sales-person. Don’t assume that things are clear. The only way to avoid misunderstandings is to have a clear and open dialogue. So make sure to you ask open-ended questions to clarify everything that your boss wants in terms of output and execution on any project.
Open-ended questions are non-threatening and they help create an atmosphere of curious inquiry. They are ideal for brain-storming, inviting people to express their views and engaging in dialogue, rather than arguing or convincing at all costs.
So go ahead and coach your boss for better results for everyone!
© Leaders Today
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A coaching conversation unfolds as a form of gentle inquiry aimed at helping a person to think through a problem, clarify an objective or find new perspectives. The "coach" uses open-ended questions that invite novel thinking, and largely refrains from giving their own tips.
Pourquoi acquérir des compétences en coaching ? Le coaching était en grande partie réservé aux cadres exécutifs et supérieurs pour lesquels un coach professionnel externe était embauché pour les aider à progresser dans divers aspects de leur fonction de leadership. Le coaching est une expérience d'apprentissage et de développement exclusive et hautement personnalisée, conduite par les objectifs du client, ce qui explique pourquoi les entreprises étaient disposées à faire l'investissement uniquement pour un nombre choisi d'employés. Plusieurs recherches sectorielles, y compris ceux publiés par la Fédération Internationale de Coaching ont mesuré les avantages de recevoir un coaching et le retour sur investissement s’avère être excellent, parfois exceptionnel selon la façon dont il est calculé. Les résultats montrent que les employés, à divers niveaux organisationnels, qui se font coacher améliorent les performances et la gestion des affaires, augmentent leur productivité et leur motivation, aiguisent leurs qualifications en résolution de problème, deviennent plus autonomes et proactifs, et développent une attitude globale plus positive qui à son tour influe positivement sur le climat organisationnel. Compte tenu de tous ces avantages remarquables, les entreprises augmentent la disponibilité du coaching pour un segment plus large de leurs employés en créant des rôles de coachs internes, généralement les professionnels RH qui fournissent des services complets de coaching. Ils forment également les gestionnaires à intégrer les compétences de coaching dans leur style de leadership.
Si vous êtes nouveau dans la direction d'une équipe virtuelle, avec une équipe dispersée également novice dans le télétravail, vous aurez besoin d'autant de ressources que possible pour vous aider à réussir dans ce nouveau mode d'être avec vos collègues et de coordonner le travail en ligne. Le leadership en temps de crise requiert des compétences techniques qui doivent nécessairement reposer sur une forte capacité à créer et entretenir des relations positives par téléphone ou ordinateur. Les astuces dans cet article sont également utiles si vous retournez progressivement au bureau, moment qui est également semé d'incertitudes. Vous savez déjà comment organiser le travail, créer des processus efficaces, attribuer des rôles et des tâches. Je me concentrerai donc sur les "soft skills", et en particulier les compétences de coaching qui sont essentielles pour motiver et responsabiliser les collègues à travers le changement, encore plus lorsque l'on travaille sous stress et à distance. En période de stress, en tant que chef d’équipe, vous pouvez être l’une des rares sources d’encouragement pour vos collègues, alors n’hésitez pas à être positif et solidaire. Parfois, vous devrez également être décisif et fournir une direction dans une grande incertitude. Pour naviguer dans ces différents styles de leadership, vous trouverez utile de vous renforcer avec ces compétences de coaching faciles et pratiques en six étapes.
When someone comes to you with an idea of something they want to do, but they’re still wondering about it, instead of jumping in to give them all sorts of advice, try adopting a coaching posture by asking these 4 questions.
Coaching is about having the right supportive mindsets, as well as displaying excellent communication and coaching skills. Adopting a positive, humane, winning, mindset will help you be a better leader coach.