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Coach Smarter
The Characteristics of a Good Coach
There’s no formula for perfect coaching. It calls as much for intuition as for technique. What works
with one employee won’t necessarily work with another. And what works in one situation may not
work in the next. But there are several characteristics that successful coaches have in common.
These coaches:
Establish goals.
Monitor their progress.
Identify problems.
Find solutions.
Enhance their knowledge of the industry and customer base.
Understand and appreciate their strengths and weaknesses.
Realize their full potential.
Although you may naturally be stronger in some of the areas listed above than in others, if you
dedicate yourself to becoming a better coach, you can master each and every one of these
attributes.
Take a sheet of paper and divide it into three columns. Label the left column “Back to School,” the
middle column “Ups and Downs,” and the right column “Super Star.” Read through the above lists
again and put each characteristic into the appropriate column as follows:
Up and Downs – If you have average proficiency in the skill, or if you know what to do but
don’t always do it
Once you’ve completed this step, go on to create an Action Plan for turning these opportunities for
improvement into assets. Here’s an example:
Action Plan: I plan to establish an hour long drop-by session every Friday. The purpose of this
informal session is to encourage employees to drop by for a few minutes so I can
briefly give feedback on how they’re doing. I will implement this session within
the next two weeks, and review its effectiveness on the last Friday of every
month. The drop-by session will not replace our more formal quarterly
performance reviews, but rather it will be in addition to the review.