COACHING TECHNIQUES
" THE HIGHEST PERFORMING TEAMS DON ’ T JUST SHARE IDEAS AMONG THEMSELVES , THEY ALSO SPEND TIME EXPLORING AND AND BRINGING IN IDEAS FROM OUTSIDE THE ORGANIZATION ."
characteristics of communication that affect team performance the most are :
Energy
They measure this by the quantity and type of messages sent between people . Face-to-face is the most valuable form of communication because it allows for nonverbal interactions . It ’ s followed by telephone , video conferencing and written forms .
Note : Phone and video meetings become less effective the more people that are in the meeting , because it increases the risk that individuals who are not directly participating will disengage from the conversation . In coaching sessions , encourage your team to avoid long phone and video meetings .
High energy teams communicate with one another throughout the day through a series of interactions ranging from momentary updates to in-depth conversations . Energy levels also shift based on your team ’ s current priorities . It is okay to have low energy days if your technical team members need some solitary time to focus on independent projects or you must lead meetings that share important information that your team needs to know but doesn ’ t necessarily have much to say about it . Following these periods of low energy , facilitate open-ended conversations to raise their energy levels .
Action step : Encourage the people on your team to get to know one another and emphasize the importance of collaborating with one another . This will keep your team ’ s energy level high .
Engagement
This is the amount of energy that every individual on the team has . On highly engaged teams , everyone has high energy levels while less engaged teams may have one or two energetic people with several low-energy ones . Highly engaged teams almost always perform better than their less engaged counterparts .
Action step :
• Estimate your team ’ s engagement level and identify which team members have lower energy than the rest . Dedicate a large portion of your coaching sessions with those individuals teaching them the importance of interacting with the team and teaching how to do it if they have weak social skills .
Exploration
The highest performing teams don ’ t just share ideas among themselves , they also spend time exploring and and bringing in ideas from outside the organization . Individuals on highly explorative teams spend lots of time reading , attending events , seeing new places , etc . and share the knowledge and skills learned with the rest of the team .
Exploration is especially important for creativity and innovation driven teams . If people rarely leave your team ’ s bubble , it can become nearly impossible for them to think of new approaches to solve problems and create things .
The article warns that exploration can lower engagement because it forces people to split their energy between being focused on the team and the outside world . As a coach , it is your job to help them strike the balance and keep their energy levels high .
Action step :
• In your coaching sessions , encourage your team members to explore and bring back their insights .
UNDERSTAND THE SCIENCE OF GIVING VALUABLE FEEDBACK
As a coach or leader , your primary responsibility is giving feedback . This can be a delicate process as you balance maintaining strong relationships with your team while also needing to demand results . Here are three research-baked strategies to deliver performance-boosting feedback :
Recognize effort not ability
Too often , people are judged solely on their outputs with no consideration for the effort they invest in projects . Obviously , outcomes are important , but in the long-run , they are not what makes a great team member . You can train someone with a strong work ethic to become more skilled and efficient . However , people who have a weak work ethic will rarely independently feel compelled to work harder than minimally necessary .
According to Stanford researcher , D . Carol Dweck , praising people for their effort encourages them to develop a growth mindset . A growth mindset is the belief that , no matter how challenging a situation is , you have the ability acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed . People with a growth mindset tend to be more resilient and higher performers because they are willing to invest the effort it takes to level up and meet expectations . By praising people primarily for their effort , not their accomplishment when they succeed , you reinforce their motivation to work hard .
Likewise , if you want your team to feel safe taking creative risks , you must accept that failures are inevitable . When giving post-failure feedback , focus on the amazing effort they put into the project and help them trace their actions to identify what mistakes were made . This creates a learning opportunity and should prevent them from fearing creative pursuits in the future .
Action step :
• During coaching sessions , praise and criticize people based on the amount of effort they invested in their work . Effort includes time , energy , creativity , etc . and use their level of effort in those areas to explain their outcomes .
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