Here at the-Coaching Blog-run by Gerard O’Donovan, our aim is to constantly bring value to those seeking to improve their lives. Therefore we have a policy of publishing articles and materials by guest authors whom we value and appreciate. Today’s guest author is Maria Harley
There is a famous saying by a famous Chinese philosopher, San Tzu: ‘Every battle is won before it is fought’
This is equally true for every matter, especially ones involving business and commerce. A company can be competent and well-established, on the path to success and scoring the highest profit margins—but could be lacking one of the main ingredients of success. This ingredient is ‘teamwork’.
Teamwork involves collaborative and participative behaviour that uplifts employees and management alike. Business leaders and CEOs are the ones who take out time to ‘invest’ in their employees, coaching them to become better people. However, most of the times these leaders can become so distracted with the success that they forget to push employees to explore their potential fully, resulting in employee dissatisfaction which is the main cause of turnover.
So how can these leaders take the initiative of coaching their employees to reduce this turnover? Read on to find out.
This is an extremely important step that should form the core of every collaborative project that a CEO undertakes. Just like a good mechanic who knows all the ‘nuts and bolts’ of his engines, a leader should know his employees and take active measures to explore their strengths and weaknesses. Understanding that every person in the team brings his own set of potential talents to the table is the first step to recognising and accepting them as a team. A good manager will direct his focus on the person he’s interacting with. Make a genuine effort to understand each individual that makes up your team and analyse what they need to work towards achieving high returns for your business. The best way to do this is by organising team meetings and activities and ensure participation of each employee so that their preferences and attitudes can be explored in a better way. Along with a formal personality testing, evaluate each member of the team through self-evaluations and use the results to make sure you are utilising each employee to the best of their abilities.
The importance of communication and collaboration cannot be undermined, especially when it comes to setting targets for your teams and achieving business excellence. Many CEOs and managers skip this step, relying on a ‘coercive’ or commanding style of leadership. They fail to realise that communication is the key to establishing relations between employees and their bosses.
Companies such as translation agencies, where cross-border communications are the main drivers of business growth, have grasped the vitality of communicating with customers from different countries. We humans are generally competitive in nature. We compete in sports, career choices and in offices too. This competitive nature often manifest itself in situations where we are required to work in a team setting. Recognising and encouraging collaboration between employees will not only push them to put their best foot forward, but will also allow for ‘disentangling’ of any disputes and arguments. Managers should focus on recognising and appreciating individual accomplishments, striving to foster a culture of collaboration and participation between employees and their team heads, in order to create an environment of collaborative behaviour and open communication.
The collaboration point brings us to the fundamental aspect of the dispute that so often arises between employees or employees and subordinates. Disputes are a result of the disagreements that take place when employees don’t see eye-to-eye on certain matters. In a business setting where the communication is low and employees are not used to sharing and receiving feedback from their managers, disputes can be the ultimate lever to unpleasant situations and complications. Managers have to understand that these disputes are part of the functioning of an organisation, and should be dealt with accordingly. To avoid or ‘water down’ these disputes and disagreements, focus on team-building by assigning tasks that would require communication and teaming up. The better the communication is between your employees, the less chances will be there of disputes arising and disrupting the work environment.
This is perhaps one of the most undervalued advice given by business gurus and leaders. Leaders are the people who ‘get down with you’ when it comes to achieving targets and milestones. A good coach is a leader who ensures equal and fair participation of all his employees, unifying and treating them as a single unit. Managers should make sure that they are coaching their teams and not merely handing down orders for them to achieve. For this, it is vital to have a bond of communication and collaboration with every employee of your firm, as this will ensure that all employee issues are dealt with in the best possible way.
The Last Word
Employees of a firm are not only the human resource capital, but the building blocks on which the foundations of a business stand. Directing and giving orders may be an easy thing to do, but collaborating and coaching these employees is a tough step not many managers take, thus missing out on achieving a profitable and open culture of growth and prosperity. Remember, it takes only a little effort to make sure your employees are giving their best performance, and coaching them in a proper way is the first step to ensure it.
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