* How to determnine if your management style is that of a referee or of a coach
The business world is rife with sports analogies, and this is especially true of discussions about leadership. The problem is, many bosses act as referees rather than coaches, according to HR consulting firm Development Dimensions International.
A coach proactively helps employees be successful, while a referee waits for the mistake to call a foul and tell an employee what he should have done instead. “While it is a lot easier to see a mistake and correct it, people learn more through success than through failure, so bosses should ensure that employees are experiencing as many successes as possible,” says Jim Concelman, manager of leadership development for DDI.
Are you a coach or a referee? Answer true or false to the following statements:
* My employees learn more from navigating a task by themselves, so I stay out of the way.
* There is no time to meet with people before every task, so I wait for them to come to me for help.
* I always assign people tasks that I know they can handle without my assistance.
* I meet with people once, tell them how they should handle the task and then let them handle it. They’ll come see me if they need more information.
* It’s better to let people make a mistake – they’ll never make the same one twice.
If you answered true to any of these questions, you may be a referee boss or at risk becoming one. According to DDI, you can adapt more of a coaching role by observing staffers’ strengths and weaknesses, identifying challenging new tasks, checking in regularly and apprising workers of their successes.
