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Top 10 Reasons to Coach

By Barry Schapiro on November 15, 2010

Coaching — sometimes we think we don’t have time or don’t know how to access this powerful performance tool. Or we may think, “Why do we need to coach people? They should know what they are supposed to do. Nobody coaches me.” You may change your mind after reviewing this Top Ten List which gives you just ten of the reasons why you should coach:

10) It will help improve performance. Employees need to hear what they’re doing right in order to reinforce performance, just like they need to hear if they are doing something that needs to be improved.

9) It makes performance reviews less painful. There is nothing worse than surprises at a performance review. If a direct report is surprised by our evaluation, perhaps we haven’t coached them throughout the year.

8) It’s fast. Sometimes we think we need to schedule 30 minutes to an hour with someone to provide performance feedback. Coaching can be as fast and simple as, “Here’s the situation, here is how you handled it, and here is what the impact/benefit was. Thanks!”

7) It can make your training dollars go farther. Training Budgets are precious. Reinforcing what your employees learned and acknowledging their improved performance will encourage continued performance improvement on the job.

6) It’s free. Every manager loves those words. Coaching is a motivational tool that is free to you and your organization. Give a generous supply.

5) It makes you feel good. Coaching not only motivates your employees it helps you feel good as well. Try it and it will “make your day”.

4) We can all use the practice. We have learned coaching skills, but without practice those skills get rusty. Keep your own skills sharp and people will notice.

3) You can set the example for your manager and peers. A lot of times we don’t coach because we don’t see those around us coach or we don’t always receive the coaching ourselves. Stop the cycle…be an example, be a coach.

2) It strengthens relationships with your team. You will be amazed how coaching can build relationships with your direct reports and your manager.

And the #1 reason to coach? It is the right thing to do!

Corporate Services of the Workforce Solutions Group offers programs like “Coaching for Success” and “Coaching for Improvement” to organizations throughout the St. Louis Metro area.

Contact Kathie Chambers at 314-539-5309 or Barry Schapiro at 314-539-5329 or learn more at http://www.stlcc.edu/Workforce-Solutions/Training-Consulting/Leadership-Professional-Development.html.

About Barry Schapiro

Barry is the Workforce Solutions Group Practice Leader for Leadership and Professional Development. His experience includes delivery and management of business training in a variety of industries, with specialties in leadership, team development, generational diversity, and customer service. Twitter