Coaching employees addresses performance objectives and helps unleash the potential within each person. In fact, research suggests that coaching not only helps individuals perform better, but it also drives overall motivation and commitment to their work. A meta-analysis of multiple studies on organizational coaching found that coaching at work positively impacts employee performance. It also encourages a more positive attitude about one’s work and the company as a whole.

This raises the question, are your leaders effectively coaching their employees to improve their performance? Do they have the skills they need to do so? Whatever your answer may be, the following tips may help them begin or motivate them to continue coaching employees to improve their performance.

1. Connect and Communicate

Relationships are key to the success of coaching provided at work. Connecting with your employees in an authentic and genuine manner can drastically improve the chances of the employee being receptive to training and feedback, not to mention acting on it. Before you coach an employee, make sure you are building relationships with your staff that are based on trust, so that down the road you can provide coaching with candor and empathy.

2. Observe

Good coaching requires a leader that pays attention to their staff and observes their behaviors and actions regularly. It is very difficult to provide accurate and relevant coaching when leaders are unaware of the day-to-day actions the staff they are coaching. Watch and pay attention to your employees’ behaviors so you can identify what aspects of their performance need to be coached to improve upon their performance.

3. Assess

Prior to coaching employees formally, it is imperative that you take the time to fully understand the actual performance of the individual versus the expectation you, or the organization, has of them. Once it has been determined that they are not meeting expectations, or that they could improve in a certain area in order to perform better, then is the time to coach. At this stage it may be helpful to use tools such as 360-degree or 180-degree feedback tools, multi-rater behavior assessments, or questionnaires and surveys, to get a better understanding.

4. Clarify

Coaching at work requires leaders to provide clarity by discussing and reviewing the gap between performance expectations and actual performance with employees. This requires providing detailed examples of alternative behaviors that employees can try in different situations. When coaching employees to improve performance, it isn’t about telling employees what to do in every possible scenario, but giving clear feedback that helps them identify an ideal solution.

5. Explain

Leaders who provide effective coaching give individuals a road map for how to apply what has been discussed in the workplace. You should be prepared to explain why specific behaviors, results, or actions need to change, how they should change, and where you would like to see the person as a result of changing their behaviors or actions. This will make it much easier for your recipient to understand that you are trying to help improve their performance on the job, and how these changes will accomplish that.

6. Ask Questions

Ideally, when coaching, there is some form of two-way communication happening. While it is important that you as the coach speak, you will also want to encourage the recipient of the coaching to ask questions, seek clarity, and provide insight. Having a conversation about what is being coached makes it far more likely that the recipient will take what you are saying and apply it in order to improve their performance.

Coaching to Improve Performance: Next Steps

Coaching must always be delivered in the right context and at the right time. If it’s not, your coaching efforts will likely fall flat. Many of today’s employees crave in-the-moment feedback and words of affirmation that will help them improve their performance. By applying these tips on the job, you can play an important role in the success of your employees.

Everyone experiences some kind of conflict in the workplace at some point. Something which Covid has added a realm of complexity to, to not only detect, but also resolve. Conflict can arise in many situations, but disagreements with coworkers commonly cause interpersonal strife. In fact, in an 18-month research study, nearly 100 percent of respondents cited interactions with coworkers as the primary cause of conflict at work. Conflict in the workplace also impacts employee productivity. According to one study, a single employee spends nearly three hours every workweek trying to resolve some kind of conflict. Even worse, unresolved conflicts can impact employee engagement and have negative implications for company culture.

Training employees to become better managers or executives is an important part of maintaining a strong leadership pipeline. Without this type of development, an organization can be left with leadership gaps that result in decreased productivity, unintentional shifts in the company culture, and potentially lost profits. That is why it is crucial to address certain leadership topics throughout an employee’s development, in order to improve communication skills and team dynamics.

The types of leadership topics that are most relevant will depend on factors like where an individual is on their development path and the foundation of skills that has already been created. Consider including these ideas as you develop your leadership development program.

1. Communication

For those individuals who are early in their journey to becoming a leader, learning how to effectively communicate is critical. Learning and implementing techniques for active listening is the first step in avoiding misunderstandings and overcoming roadblocks. As they continue to grow into leadership positions that require managing people, they can achieve greater impact by learning how to solicit and provide feedback to improve performance. Senior leaders benefit from learning how to create and deliver the consistent messages that will promote a unified culture.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? Everybody faces challenges that can be resolved using strong communication skills. Leaders in training want to know how they can be better at communicating effectively so that they can generate the results they expect from their teams.

2. Execution

One of the many strengths that makes an individual a great leader is the talent for developing brilliant strategies. However, in order to be effective, this skill must be paired with the ability to execute. Learning how to implement smart strategies through creating plans, tracking milestones, and leveraging innovation enables leaders to demonstrate that their strategies are valid by delivering results.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? Teaching leaders how to put their strategies into action empowers them to develop new initiatives and gives them confidence in their ability to bring them to reality.

3. Change Management

One of the most challenging times for any organization is a period of transition. Whether it is a change in leadership, a merger, or opening a new branch office, employees crave structure, knowledge, and security in their roles. With the right approach and change management best practices in place, leaders can drive productivity during transitional times, provide stability and vision, and adapt as roadblocks or challenges arise.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? This type of training is always relevant but is particularly powerful before a planned transition. Having a clear approach allows executives to respond to change with confidence and poise.

4. Empowerment

All leaders must delegate tasks, both large and small. In addition to knowing which tasks are appropriate for the right people, a good leader also has the skills to engage individuals in the decision-making process so that they feel empowered to do whatever is required to produce the best results. Leaders who know how to empower others unleash the full potential of their teams.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? Leaders who focus on optimizing results want to learn how to get the most from their teams. Although they might know how to maximize their own productivity, they might not yet know how to encourage the same in others.

5. Team Performance

By its very nature, a leadership role requires an individual to guide other people. Different personalities, work ethics, skill sets, and other factors contribute to the many challenges a leader might face when trying to improve team performance. Having the practical skills to overcome these various hurdles enables a leader to both help individuals grow and foster higher levels of collaboration.

Why do leaders find this topic engaging? Effectively leading teams is an ongoing process that requires a broad but refined skill set in order to handle the wide range of situations that will arise.

Development programs for emerging leaders, managers, and executives can include many types of leadership topics. Select the ones that make the most sense for everyone depending on their career level, the challenges they currently face, and the journey you expect them to take as they continue to grow as leaders.