Can bosses coach their own staff and retain a level of impartiality?
I believe wholeheartedly in coaching’s ability to help people maximise performance by getting out of their own way, but I did wonder whether it was possible, desirable or even appropriate for a manager to coach their own staff. Managers who coach their subordinates also evaluate them, holding power over pay and career progression. Would this hierarchical relationship hinder the establishment of the trust, openness and honesty that are the basis of coaching? As the manager of a team of 13 health and safety specialists, could I create a supportive, yet challenging “safe space” for my people?
One complicating factor was that their problems were often my problems too. I was not an impartial observer or neutral consultant. We shared common goals and I had a vested interest in the result. The scope for interference in the coaching process was high. In contrast, when I coach external clients, their problems do not affect me; neither do their solutions.
When a member of my staff was approached about another position in the company, my position was far from neutral. I didn’t want to lose her but I could see that it was a good career opportunity. Instead of discussing resources, timing and handover, I explored her “inner game”: uncertainty about the move, enthusiasm for the new work and reluctance to let me down by moving. I shared my inner game with her too: delight to see her progress and move on, sadness to lose her from my team. We became a unit bonded in action. Our relationship, which could have been jeopardised, remained intact and we found a way forward that met my needs as well as hers.
While always wanting to support employees, in the past I have often judged myself unable to help because I perceived managers as problem solvers. Relinquishing this role was liberating and coaching provided the techniques to put my intentions into practice. In performance reviews, the dimension of the inner game helped staff members to understand reasons behind missed targets. It
was a revelation both to them and to me. One person found the root cause of his many uncompleted tasks was not lack of time, as he thought, but about not wanting to make decisions. This helped him to take control but also meant I could monitor whether it continued to cause problems.
Rather than having set “coaching sessions”, managers can respond quickly to situations arising in the normal course of work. And while ownership of the problem always rests with the client, there have been times when I could authorise and facilitate emerging actions, make others available for linking roles or obtain senior management agreement. Of course, not everything is possible: managers still retain the right to manage. Exercising this right, when another person’s desired course of action conflicted with his role, I challenged him and made clear the work I needed him to do. I would not challenge the conclusions or proposed solutions of an external client in this way.
To me, the fundamental purpose of a manager is to nurture others so they grow and realise their potential. Coaching skills have increased my effectiveness and confidence in doing this. Either I have an amazing knack of recruiting and inheriting outstanding people, or coaching works. In any case, it is a management style that has worked for me.
- See also “Guiding lights”, page 42
- The Manager as Coach is a participative twoday course that aims to give managers the confidence to adopt a coaching management style and maximise the potential of individuals in the workplace. For more details visit www.cipd.co.uk/training/mgt/mac or call 020 8612 6202
Jackie Wilkinson is one of two qualified executive coaches at the UK Atomic Energy Authority. She has an advanced diploma in executive coaching and a postgraduate diploma in coaching psychology with Peter Bluckert and Leeds Metropolitan University. She is five times British field archery champion and her book, Succeed in Sport: Train-Learn-Adapt-Improve, has just been published by MX Publishing.