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I was thinking about how different a manager or team leader role is today compared to when I started my career.
My first manager was a 50-year banker who, while being very good at lending money (and getting it back), would have had difficulty with the demands of the role today. Managers and team leaders are no longer expected to only complete more advanced technical or administrative tasks; there are a range of people management issues to be dealt with also.
It’s the ‘softer people skills’ that most managers and team leaders struggle with in the places I work now. Coaching, communication, listening skills and the ability to generate enthusiasm, energy and commitment in others are not abilities that everyone has – yet these are the things we ask our managers and team leaders to do.
Take coaching for example. There can’t be too many things with the potential to demotivate employees more than a botched discussion about performance. Yet the assumption is that managers and team leader have the attributes to be effective coaches.
Thinking back, I can only remember one training session that I attended on coaching. The advice was that it is best to listen twice as much as one spoke. The coaches I see presenting at managerial conferences suggest there is more to it than that.
Organisations recognise the problem and some bring in coaches from other departments or external companies. I’m not sure about this approach as I prefer to see one leader responsible for all aspects of their team’s performance. Surely the better way is to equip managers and team leaders with the skills they need.
Organisations could do a lot worse than have ‘softer human type skills’ at the top of the list.
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discussions on leadership & management 
Hi Geoff! I posted on Twitter a comment about one supervisor who thought coaching was printing out feedback and stuffing it into reps’ mail boxes. “Here you go…you’re on your own” technique. Amazing what some people think coaching is, isn’t it?
Melissa – as we know this is scary – but probably a bit more commonplace than people realise
Geoff, soft skills are very important and becoming increasingly so. I agree that leaders and managers should be equipped with the skills to be able to conduct much of the engagement of their teams. The organisation I work in has introduced a line manager ‘coaching’ training programme to do just that. However, sometimes personality issues, lack of trust etc get in the way and that is when it may be more productive to bring in an external (other department or truly external) coach to assist in performance and development conversations.
Thanks for the comment Rob. Interesting comments about the issues faced with in-house coaching programmes. Regards Geoff
I agree with Rob on this one.
As well as having my coaching business, I work full time within the public sector. My role involves line managing a team of 18 people.
Three years ago we were given the opportunity to learn how to coach as a line manager. The course was a day in January where we learned the basics of coaching, we then went away and had to practise our coaching with a team member and return for a further days training in February. Coaching made so much sense to me as a manager and I definitely think of myself as a coaching manager.
After that I decided I wanted to do more with coaching so attended Aberdeen Uni and completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Business Coaching which took six months. I obviously learned much more about the theory around coaching and my skills are much improved since the first course.
I think there is a difference between the coaching I do with my own team compared to the clients I have. The coaching I do with my team is good and I see how productive it is however I’m very lucky and have a fantastic relationship with my team. If I didn’t have such a good relationship with them, the coaching probably would not be as effective. As Rob said, that is when an external coach would be more appropriate.
The coaching I do with external clients allows me to be totally objective and probably challenge more as I have no real background knowledge of them. When you are coaching your own team you always have knowledge of them which as much as you try not to let it affect your view of the situation, it always will to an extent.
Fiona – many thanks for the great and most helpful comments. Geoff