From Angry Mob to Partners. Hire a Coach.

There are two areas of job performance we need to master: the work itself and our interpersonal skills. Most performance reviews account for both areas, but they only happen once a year.  Most managers have little to no time to do the daily interpersonal training.  Often they’d benefit from the trainings themselves.  So what to do? Well, you can send your team for a 2-day training workshop at the Something Management Training Association of Your City.  I’ve done these courses and, how can I put this nicely?  I can’t.  It was a total waste of my time and in fact, quite misleading. I walked out thinking cookie-cutter responses were the way to go. (That didn’t last long.)

These courses are exasperating. You’re handed a notebook with pages to fill out. No one is going to learn how to deal with a strong personality by filling out a form. Nor are they going to figure out how to manage a diva most

effectively by using canned language.  And what about the boss who is mean, angry and shuts people down? I’ve never seen a script in the notebook for that scenario. There’s no way a prefab course will address these issues with any lasting impact. Yet this mastery is incredibly important to the success of you! and your team.

Here’s my call to action: set up your team for success!  You’ll be the #1 beneficiary.

Bring in a management expert who can work with your team on a real-time basis, meet with them personally, and specifically help them find their own individual language for managing up, down and across. Without this training, people often let their emotions lead their actions; a disaster in the workplace for sure.

There are absolutely ways to manage a strong personality, a diva and a mean boss and still do great work. The same goes for the mousy coworker, the unreliable colleague and the curmudgeon in the corner. The right management expert, or Business Coach, can guide each person to find his or her most diplomatic, politically appropriate, mutually beneficial approach to succeeding at work.

The model I like best is to host 6-8 sessions, one day a week, open to anyone who wants to meet regardless of level, role, or tenure.  These sessions are first come, first served. The continuity of the same day a week, and the vying for limited allotment of sessions, creates a wonderful camaraderie among those who are interested in improving their performance, and their personal experience at work. Here are just a few of the benefits to introducing an outside management coach:

  1. The team feels valued. They recognize you’re willing to invest in them and they step up their game. They want to impress the Coach, you and themselves by how much they’re evolving.
  2. The Coach acts as a subtle accountability partner.
  3. The Coach gains insight into how the department is working based on multiple conversations with associates at different levels and roles. She shares that with you to help guide departmental evolution as is needed.
  4. It’s bonding. I’ve seen team members offer their session time to colleagues who are going through a rough patch.

It’s inspiring to work with a team and witness how they shift from angry mob to partners; from terrified mice to quietly confident collaborators; from nasty pants divas and divos to considerate divas and divos. (Let’s be real.)

Truly effective management can only be learned as we do it. An outside Coach will expedite this learning curve. She’ll help course correct real-time, define management tools the associates can use ongoing, and bring lasting camaraderie to your department.

Another call to action: call me and we’ll get this party started.  I offer 12 week cycles and it’s been incredibly effective. (917) 362-0061 or [email protected]