Engage a Coach: You and your team are worth it!

Have you noticed that if children need support – to close an identified learning gap, accelerate their growth, or fuel their passion – we don’t question the need, we do what we can to be responsive and invest in it. Often it involves collaborating with a team of people – OT, psychologist, speech therapist, physiotherapist, nutritionist, sports coaches, music or art educators in addition to their school education teams.

Professional athletes – whether it be Olympic, tennis, golf, or team based (basketball, football, netball, or cricket) – have a team dedicated to setting them up for success – nutritionist, physiotherapist, coaches, psychologists, and others.

Yet, when it comes to a corporate or not for profit context, we expect people’s direct managers to be their technical/ functional and psychological coaches, career advocate, accountability partner, amongst other things. I fully support the integration of more humanity at work to better equip individuals, teams, and organisations to thrive. This does not mean they need to do all of it on their own.

People managers need support

People already in, or promoted into, roles involving management of individuals, teams, or leaders need support to:

• Understand what it really means to:

  • create a respectful and inclusive environment where people feel valued and a sense of belonging

  • coach and advocate for different people

  • hold people accountable - balance pressure to perform with safety to learn, contribute, fail and challenging of the status quo

• Build the knowledge, skills, and tools to be inclusive in different contexts.

• Be willing and able to create and work with a support network to enable themselves, their people and teams to thrive.

Teams have a mix of unique individuals

Let’s remember that teams consist of a mix of different human beings with diverse backgrounds, expertise and lived experiences.

This is an invitation to managers to consider the mix of people in their support team. Being a high performing corporate athlete – like professional athletes - requires a diverse network of knowledge, perspectives, and tools to set you and your people, team, or leaders up for success.

It is common and even expected to experience hurdles as a people manager. How you think about and deal with these hurdles is key to enabling your own growth and the growth of your people and teams.

Engage an external and independent coach

Consider that engaging an external and independent coach with expertise in psychology, human behaviour, team dynamics and organisational systems will better equip you to:

• understand and navigate the complexity and uncertainty in which we live and operate

• value and engage with differences in their team, organisation, and external networks

• more effectively balance connection to purpose, people, and performance

• demonstrate humility, vulnerability, and empathy

• be open and willing to learn from others – no matter their role, level, tenure, or background

• engage in active and empathic listening

• take time to reflect and consider different perspectives and experiences

Engaging a coach is not a sign of weakness, failure, or inadequacy. It is a sign of humility and courage.

"Coaching is a collaborative solution-focused, results-oriented, systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of performance, self-directed learning and personal growth of other individuals" – Institute of Coaching and Consulting Psychology

You and your team are worth it!

It is time to rethink how you view and use coaches. You and your people are worth it!