Well what a difference one week can make! Everyone’s world and approach to work is literally changing hour by hour. I thought I’d pass on a few tips from my book that can help you navigate these uncertain times.

Last July my Dad, his partner and two other family members were seriously injured in a dramatic accident. Being the only Auckland-based son meant my role was going to involve lots of driving to and from the hospital, being on call for visitors and making time to be at Dad’s bedside. It meant I very quickly had to sort out what my key priorities were in the short-term. What did I absolutely need to do, what could I delegate and what could I ignore or deflect for now? When the accident occurred it suddenly brought into focus a very famous matrix when Urgency and Importance get sorted out quite easily.

I really admire the coaching leadership approach shown recently by Greg Foran, the new CEO of Air New Zealand, when he asked his customers three questions. Not only is it very smart and simple to ask your most regular customers what could be improved, but it gives me a clue to his style of leadership. It is tempting for new leaders to pretend they will bring the answers, but a great leader knows that all the insights already lie with the people who care the most, the staff and the customers.

“To get the best out of people, we have to believe the best is in there – but how do we know it is, how much is there, and how do we get it out?” ― Sir John Whitmore

It can sometimes be a struggle working out what a coaching conversation actually is and what sort of topics you can use in these conversations. My answer is that anytime there is an opportunity to tell an employee how to do something, you could turn that into a coaching conversation. If you can listen well and ask questions, you can help uncover what it is a person needs to help improve their performance or change an expected outcome.

"Coaching focuses on future possibilities, not past mistakes” - Sir John Whitmore

If that isn’t a strong enough reason to coach your people, I don’t know what is. People leaders learn from other leaders and managers around them. It’s that simple. Focusing on the day-to- day experiences that get you interacting and engaging with your people is a must for all leaders. It’s not enough to just employ people based on their previous job experience and trust that they will know what to do in an organisation. Managers need to show how they would like their direct reports to manage their people by demonstrating the skills and tools themselves.

If you still are trying to work out what coaching is and how it can assist you in leading people, then take a few minutes to read this. Coaching is a just another way of having a conversation. It is aimed at developing the thinking, competence, and autonomy of the person being coached. The concept of coaching as a technique has been around for almost 50 years, but I am constantly surprised that many managers with direct reports aren’t using this important tool to their advantage.

What are some styles of giving feedback, and how effective are they? Managers wanting to give their staff feedback commonly employ the sandwich technique, also known as the ‘commend, recommend, commend’ technique but I think it misses the mark.  By following the SBI/AA paradigm, you can communicate clearly to your direct report.

Generally speaking, New Zealanders are not great at giving feedback in business. I have heard countless stories of either poorly given feedback or no feedback at all. Many people who have attended my workshops over the years have mentioned they don’t often get feedback, so they don’t really know how they are doing. This is a huge disservice to employees, who give their time and expertise to work in the organisation.  

Active listeners are deliberate. They remind themselves frequently that their goal is to truly hear what the other person is saying. They set aside all other thoughts and behaviours, and concentrate on the message. Developing active listening skills requires you to analyse your position within the conversation. It is essential that you understand how you ‘come across’ as you listen.

Managers need to become better listeners. In fact, not only is it a good managerial skill, it’s also a key leadership skill. I firmly believe that the higher up you are in an organisation, the more listening you should do. But listening can be really hard! All the distractions of the day clog our minds. Read my tips on how to stay focused on the 1-on-1 interactions that count.

When a 1 on 1 with a direct report comes around, remember: the most important task in your calendar is to be present, right now! You have both put aside the time to be here and meet. It isn’t urgent, but it is critically important. Use the time you have put aside for the intended purpose. Shut the laptop, turn your phone off, and move these devices aside.

As managers, you are responsible and accountable for the performance, growth, and on-the-job wellbeing of your direct reports. The 1-on-1 meeting is the simplest and most effective way to invest time in your direct reports. This investment will pay dividends in almost every area of your business.

Being able to prioritise is an effective skill of anyone with direct reports to manage. As they say in airplane safety videos, attach your own mask before you attach masks to your children. Managers need a way to prioritise what they do each day for themselves, before they can support the team around them.

Managers are busy. They juggle client calls, interviews for promotions or new staff, people interruptions, multiple daily meetings on everything from strategic planning to product and service development... and then emails. Emails, emails, and more emails.

Fourteen years ago, I decided to leave the world of primary teaching and accept a role in a global recruitment firm. Six months later, after a series of 1-on-1 conversations with my manager, an opportunity opened up. I took a promotion and found myself managing the local branch. What a learning experience!

I often find people are promoted due to their technical abilities. This seems to make sense – the person who performs best in their role is rewarded with more responsibility. The problem is, their expertise is in the discipline they just left – not in leading people. Most new managers simply lack the necessary skills and tools to successfully manage and lead the people they have been promoted to oversee.

The qualities of a leader have been long vaunted as crucial and important in our businesses. Management is seen as a little old fashioned but it appears that we have forgotten about the basic fundamentals of management skills which help our people succeed. Managerial expertise is a necessary complement to the leadership skills we’re so hung up on. Without the former, the latter won’t succeed.

I have definitely benefited from being coached by colleagues, as well as from coaching others in training workshops. In many ways, I get to practise being coached by participants every time I deliver workshops on coaching as a tool for managers. But the benefits of coaching can only be realised when the coachee owns the goal.

This is a question I often ask the managers and supervisors I work alongside.  I’m really trying to discover whether they use a coaching style when managing their direct reports. 

The concept of coaching as a technique has been around for almost 50 years, but I am constantly surprised that many managers with direct reports aren’t using this important tool to their advantage.  

We all feel outside our comfort zone and ability level at times.  Particularly when we are attempting to push the boundaries of what we know and how we’ve operated in the past. Read my tips on kicking the imposter out the door.