You’d be surprised how high your team can fly with effective mentoring and motivation. But how good a coach are you?
Answer Yes or No to each of the following questions:
Do you…
1. Help employees create personal action plans and review performance at least quarterly?
2. Ask your employees what you could do better to help them do their jobs?
3. Use a formal system to collect feedback or complaints about you from your staff?
4. Adjust your coaching to match the learning style of individual employees?
5. Receive satisfactory responses to your queries (which suggests you are asking the right questions)?
6. Consider any personal challenges an employee is facing outside the office and adjust your approach accordingly?
7. Align rewards with people’s motivations?
8. Receive regular requests for guidance, which indicates your staff trusts you?
9. Ask employees how they feel they can best contribute to the company?
10. Jointly explore and evaluate possible solutions with your employees rather than solve problems for them?
Scorecard
Score one point for each positive response.
0 to 3: You’re no Scotty Bowman. It’s time to study coaching books or take a coaching course — if not hire a coach for yourself.
4 to 7: Not bad, but not great, either. Over the next month, think about how you might improve.
8 to 10: It sounds like you are communicating effectively with your employees — keep listening to their feedback to stay sharp.
