Resources

When I first started to write this article I had planned to call it just "Calling all Coaches," but then I quickly realized that this title would potentially scare away a large part of my intended audience. The reason for the title addendum is the varying use and definition of the term "coach." Outside of the business world the definition is pretty clear; a coach is typically the leader of a sports team who guides his or her players in all activities ranging from teaching basic skills, to giving instruction during practice

These days, in the world of HR and Talent Management, "employee engagement" is a hot topic. Although the idea of engagement certainly isn’t new, the term is definitely being used and sometimes misused a lot! With growing trends around new approaches to performance management, the concept of keeping employees engaged is a big focus for many organizations. So what exactly is engagement, and why does it matter? If people are getting their work done each day, isn’t that enough? The short answer to that question is, nope! Simply put, employees who are not actively engaged impact the bottom line.

Training and development efforts are a critical component to a successful performance management strategy and ongoing learning opportunities to motivate employees. Ask just about anyone if they want to learn and you will likely get a resounding, "Yes!" Why then, does completing a training activity often become a thorn in the side of managers and employees alike? There are many factors that can impact the value of training within your organization and unfortunately turn learning opportunities into tedious "to do's".

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” There’s a reason why this adage has stood the test of time. By only meeting someone’s immediate need – food – you are disregarding the fact that they will need to continue to eat every single day. If they aren’t given the tools, training and support they need to catch their own fish when they get hungry, then they might as well be, well, a fish out of water.

Everyone knows the problems with the current state of performance management. Performance reviews are dreaded by employee and manager alike, they happen far too infrequently and any feedback is soon forgotten, until the annual performance review cycle starts up again the next year. But rather than continuing the vicious cycle, companies can disrupt performance management by adopting the solutions that enable managers to deliver useful, targeted feedback year round.

I’ve worked for all kinds of managers in my career, from nurturers to narcissists and everything in between. And I’ve taken the lessons I’ve learned about being managed to heart, using those lessons as a guide to try to understand what works – what makes a difference and has impact – when leading teams today.