Seven Coaching Mistakes to Avoid…Always!

As leaders, a large part of our responsibility and actualization is to grow our respective teams and contribute to their success. We are their coaches. However, as I’ve worked with leaders, developing them into strong coaches, I’ve observed several mistakes that leaders make while developing their teams. Here they are, and my advice on what to do about them:

“Give it to me straight Doc…” was a famous phrase old gunslingers used in “B” Westerns once they got shot. They wanted the truth about their condition. Start behaving like the doctor. Don’t go easy on a direct report when their behavior doesn’t merit it. You serve your direct better by being honest with them so they know where they stand.

It’s important to lay out what a direct’s expectations are. You’ll both feel better about it. They’ll have a road map to follow and you’ll have a scorecard to follow.

Stop giving “hall passes.” Don’t enable behavior that is sabotaging a direct’s development. Let them know right away when something they did does not support the company’s goals or their own growth.

Every time you allow inappropriate behavior to continue you set a precedent for the agreement of the behavior and send the wrong message to the rest of your team. There needs to be consequences to these actions or, they will just continue.

Hold your direct’s accountable for their behavior. They’ll respect you for it and you will have made a positive difference in their development. Let them know that you expect everyone not only to “own” their mistakes but, develop a plan for compensating for them so that no long-term damage is done to the client relationship. They have to “own” the outcome too!

When you are developing a “B” Player, don’t mislead them to thinking they are an “A” Player as a way of giving them support. It’s not respectful and it sends the wrong message to your star players, who really are at the top of their game.