If you’ve had an executive coach, you know about the benefits of coaching. Having a coach helps you make the adjustments to your leadership skills that elevate you to the next level. Our clients recognize how lucky they are to be at a company that is investing in their leadership development. But let’s be honest—most companies don’t have the budget to provide a coach for every single employee at their company.
This is where a manager can make a real difference. As a manager, you’re responsible for the career development of the team. Research has shown that employees value professional development so it’s worth investing some time and energy, even if you don’t have budget.
In my experience as a manager in previous careers, giving advice to help people grow skills came naturally. When a direct report would ask me for support, I was quick to help. This form of development is instructional.
What came less naturally was coaching. Coaching your direct reports requires you to not give direct advice. Instead, you must move to asking questions to help them solve the problem themselves. It takes practice but is worth it because coaching supports the development of their growth mindset and strategic thinking.
Giving advice is instructional while coaching is about supporting someone while they figure it out. It goes beyond teaching someone how to do something—it’s about helping them think it through. By being less directive, you create space for thought and creativity.
Asking Questions: Moving From Advice to Coaching
With intention, a manager can work with their directs like a coach. This can be accomplished through thoughtful questions when a team member comes to you with a problem. I love seeing this echoed in a new article from Harvard Business Review, called “How to Be a Great Coach—Even When You’re Busy”.
If you don’t know where to start, this article gives some effective questions to try with your directs:
- What’s your initial thinking on this?
- What options are you considering?
- What patterns are you noticing in this situation?
- What’s getting in the way of success for you?
- What would success look like in this scenario?
- What assumptions are we making that we should test?
- If you were advising someone else facing this challenge, what would you suggest?
- What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
- When someone brings you a decision for approval, respond with “Walk me through your reasoning” before giving your input.
- When they share a success, ask “What made the difference?”
- When they encounter a setback, try “What would you do differently next time?”
- Instead of “Here’s what you need to do,” try “What’s your thinking on next steps?”
- If you disagree about their approach, don’t just say “This won’t work”; ask “What concerns might others have about this approach?”
What I love about these questions is that you can use them easily in a 1:1 meeting, and you can strategically use them in team meetings. The answers to these questions will give you a lot of insight into how your directs think. You’ll better understand how they make decisions, where their skills are, and where they are looking around corners. Equally important, these questions apply to team members at all levels. An entry level employee should be considering next steps and options as much as a senior leader.
Improving Relationships Through Coaching
A secondary benefit of coaching is the trust it builds between you and your team members. When you ask questions about others and how they think, they naturally like the question-asker more. It also shows your direct report that you respect their experience and expertise because you’re asking them how they will solve the problem. If you are only giving them advice, it can be perceived as you assuming they don’t know how to do their job.
Also, asking questions allows people to show off their skills to you. When it comes time for performance reviews, you’ll be able to speak more confidently as their manager to their strategic skills, rather than their ability to follow directions.
Keep in mind, there is a time and place for coaching. I’m not recommending to never give advice or direction and to only speak in questions. But adding this skill to your toolbox is essential to addressing the complex needs of each person on your team.
