What to Ask in Your Coaching Conversations With Employees

Managing people is an evolving job. And learning how to coach employees is becoming increasingly essential. Why?

Because our organizations now pivot on a dime as we reinvent our products and rethink our services to meet fluctuating customer demands and a changing world. And our employees must adapt quickly — developing new skills, staying motivated and always innovativing.

As managers, this rapid evolution means we can’t always simply teach someone how to do something and then step back and watch. We also don’t necessarily need to be monitoring and controlling an employee's every move. Because many of the tasks they’re performing are evolving as they go.

That’s why today’s managers need to regularly deliver 360-degree feedback and coaching. Coaching empowers frontline employees enabling them to learn, make decisions and keep developing and innovating. Organizations need this.

You can spot empowered frontline workers. They’re problem solvers. They consider customers’ special requests and unique needs and make decisions using their best judgement. We spot these standouts and notice their skills, but forget that a manager somewhere trusted them and made it “ok” for them to make these decisions on their own.

 

Asking vs. telling is coaching

A coaching style of management can be challenging because most managers are comfortable telling people what to do, suggest Hermina Ibarra and Anne Scoular for hbr.org.

Asking people what they think they should do is not as easy, especially if we already think we know.

We are used to giving answers, advice and solutions, especially if we’ve got the technical experience. And, of course, sometimes that is the right course.

But, this style of directive management can result in “solving the wrong problems (because we didn’t let the employee finish explaining), not understanding the details, or in the employee not having ownership of the solution,” according to research by University of Wollongong. “Moreover, an existing solution may not be as strong as one that emerges through collaboration.”

Coaching is non-directive. It involves asking questions and listening to the answers. And all managers need to learn how to coach, a management style that is needed more and more in our evolving business world. It is not a fad. By coaching our employees, we empower them by learning that mistakes will happen occasionally in the course of learning to make good decisions on their own.

Raise your coaching game by signing up for a live, virtual 3-hour management seminar.

 

What do meaningful coaching conversations really look like?

There are a variety of reasons to have coaching conversations with employees. You may be providing constructive criticism, helping get a new team on track, helping an employee chart a development course or perhaps it’s just general coaching on a project. According to Harvard.edu, it’s important to make ongoing coaching conversations the new normal. Here are a few ways to get general conversations started.

• What are we trying to do?
• What’s working?
• What’s not working?
• What do you need to do next?
• How can I help?
• What would you do differently if you faced the same project again?
• I’m going to describe a problem I see. I may be wrong, and if so, I hope you’ll tell me. And if I’m not, let’s discuss ways to address it.

As organizations navigate disruption and change, they need managers who are skilled at coaching employees. When you know how to ask the right questions in a compassionate way, you help employees grow and empower them to solve challenges as they arise.