As I’m sure you may have picked up from previous posts, we as a family are very fond of spending time on the beach. The cold water of the West Coast is no deterrent to any of us, even when the temperature drops to below 11 degrees; the kids will vehemently deny that they’re cold despite the blue lips and vigorous shivering. And they are both adrenaline junkies – the rougher the waves the bigger the smiles. When schools started, Stella, in grade 2, used the longest word in Afrikaans to describe what she wanted to be one day: “
Not being allowed to go onto the beach during the last hard lockdown was difficult for all of us, it being the school holidays, seemingly perfect weather and us practically living right on the beach. Stella had just progressed to one of Seth’s old boards, a Spider 6’4”, and was making great progress when the level 3 announcement was made.
How great it was when some normalcy returned and the beaches were opened again. Stella bounced right back; I think it took one session on the soft top before she was back on the SH4. I now spend most of my surfing sessions with a floppy hat on, coaching her, and her sister, as best I can. It means that I suffer the cold more and get to do a lot less of what I love to do, but the sacrifices are worth it seeing her progress and growth.
Every entrepreneur and manager must invest in coaching their teams to develop them to their full potential. And this is the thing about coaching – you have to make some sacrifices to reap the benefits. As the boss, you dictate the culture in your business. You cannot outsource or delegate all of the coaching in your business. You must lead by example and give up some of your own time to personally coach your people – time that you may have wanted to spend differently, assigning tasks that you may have wanted to do yourself – perhaps for personal satisfaction – but that presents a growth opportunity for your team.
Here are some tips on coaching to bear in mind:
- Know that coaching does not deliver results overnight. It takes time to effect change. (See A culture of productivity #1). Be patient when coaching your team.
- Success breeds success. You must recognise progress made and reward positive behaviour exhibited. Look for those small victories and celebrate that.
- Learn to listen to understand, not reply. Show the team that you value them, that the intention is to develop and grow them to their benefit as well as that of the business. The better your relationship with the team the greater the chances of success.
- The intention is never to criticise or judge the individual. Describe behaviour observed, explain the consequences and collectively find better alternatives.
- The best results are achieved when you as the coach facilitate rather than dictate the process.
- Focus on only one issue at a time. Focus, as you’ve heard before, is the hidden driver of excellence.
So say the Bosses
“Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out. Sometimes they just need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching, and the greatest things can happen” – Pete Carroll
“The more positive you can be with your players, the better they’re going to play” – Doc Rivers
“Behind every fearless player is a fearless coach who refuses to let them be anything but the best they can be.”
Marnus Broodryk emphatically states that your people must replace you in your business. To achieve this you must develop and implement systems to follow and coach your people to perform as well, if not better, than you do.
The Sologix solution
The three ways to take your business to the next level, to stand out from the competition, is through your people, your processes and utilising technology.
We follow a two-pronged approach to develop your people to their full potential.
- The first revolves around the Culture of Productivity tools developed by GrowthWheel and elaborated on in our posts A culture of productivity #1, #2 and #3. This involves continuous improvement, dealing with facts and errors, focus on sharing information, knowledge and skills and rewarding the right behaviour.
- The second is a series of courses to improve leadership skills for the entrepreneur and their management teams. This includes:
- Situational leadership
- Frontline leadership and management
- Better delegation
- How to prioritise
- Master meetings
- Problem-solving
Join a Leadership development workgroup or email us for personal leadership coaching here.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm regards,
P.S. So my boss gave me a couple of hours off and I managed to get a surf in with my mate Seth. How great it is, as a coach, to have a coach spot opportunities for improvement. After messing around in the white water, I was back gliding on the green face after a few words of encouragement.
