How do I know that leaders who coach, win? Well, my leadership and coaching training started in 1963, at 9 years old, on a Friday night entering a locker room with my father
before a football game. You see, he was a football coach, and because of that I'd already spent time in locker rooms, on sidelines, at practices, in coach's meetings listening to pre-game, halftime and post-game speeches, but this was different, it was the beginning of my father's conscious effort to start teaching me about leadership, coaching, building teams and winning. How did he start teaching me? He asked me what I heard and felt? Did I think the players sounded and felt like they were ready to perform to their peak? I have to say that after that night I never looked at any of my experiences the same. Spending time with my Dad and other coaches was no longer just a perk for being a coach's son, they all became classrooms to learn the science, psychology and subtleties of coaching and leadership. From that night until he passed away in 1992 we talked coaching and I've spent my life studying other great coaches and how they go about building teams and winning. Then, in 1996 I was fortunate enough to spend one-on-one time with one of the greatest coaches in history, John Wooden, talking coaching and leadership. I've been applying the lessons I learned from many great coaches to business and life ever since, along with teaching them to my employees and clients. That's were my knowledge comes from, and where my desire to keep learning started, so let's get down to talking about why leaders who coach, win and how you can too!
Excellence & The Pursuit Of Peak Performance
You'll have to have a plan to help people improve...Because companies and organizations don’t change and improve, people do!
Recent studies on workplace productivity revealed that companies whose leaders and managers engaged employees by coaching them regularly were 20% more productive and produce 20% higher customer satisfaction. In addition, workplace satisfaction improved and happiness at work become a reality...When all these line up revenue and profits improve dramatically!
A Wake-Up Call...Leadership & Coaching Are More Important Than Ever
Today, we’re in the midst off a more significant economic change than we experienced when we moved from the agricultural to industrial economies.
Globalization, demographics, cultural and technological changes are creating shifts in people’s attitudes, mindsets, lifestyles and how they view success.
This is an enormous leadership challenge because it’s affecting everyone, from leaders themselves, to employees and customers.
Leaders often suffer from economic 'Normalcy Bias’ (It hasn’t happened before so it’s not happening now!) during economic transitions.
Remember all solutions, just like all problems, are temporary. So, don’t be defensive or defend the status quo. Be prepared to keep changing to improve.
People's definition of success and motives for working are shifting and changing. Disengagement is one of the most serious shifts and is a challenge for leaders never before faced to this extreme.
Opening The Door To Success In The ’New Economy’
It won't be enough to just stay ahead of your competition, you’ll need to keep up with your employees and customers. The best way to do this is to stay connected, engaged and coach people to instill an ‘employee first leadership’ culture that will produce a 'customer first company’!
Don’t get caught waiting for a recovery...Instead, engage and coach people to create your new standard of success.
Good News
Even though things are changing rapidly people's human nature hasn't changed. So, what makes people happy and fulfilled really isn't different and leaders who coach can produce extraordinary results in this ’new economy'!
Engaging, Coaching & Leadership...The Keys To Improvement
The key to improving your business, and in some cases the key to your survival, will be more leadership and management engagement than at any time in the past.
Remember, the latest studies show companies who's leaders and managers increase employee engagement by doing regular coaching are 20% more productive and have 20% higher customer satisfaction.
Both these results create significant increases to revenue and profit!
Remember, human nature doesn't change just the conditions we face keep changing.
Leaders who coach are change agents who stay ahead of the changing conditions.
People still want to belong to something bigger than themselves and be a part of something extraordinary. It's a leaders job to give them that opportunity...It's your job to make it a reality!
Leaders Who Coach Always Have A Higher Purpose
Leaders who coach always have a higher purpose that brings people together and keeps people energized and focused!
People don’t want to just work for economic reasons! In fact, people are never be their best just working for money, perks or promotions.
So, Let's Talk About Coaching
Sports teaches us many lessons that can be applied to life and business…The first and most important is that it's not about really about the score, it's about learning to compete with ourselves to become our best! The second is that although we keep score and the prizes go to the winners, the winners are the ones who focus on the game not the score!
So, just like athletes, actors and musicians your employees need to perform to their peak for your business to improve…Because remember, companies don’t really improve, people do!
Since we know that even the best athletes need coaching to be their best, how much more do your employees need coaching to be their best?
Leaders Don’t Make Rules & Policies, They Set Standards
As a leader you are the lowest form of behavior you accept or tolerate!
Hold everyone accountable to meet the standards.
The best standard is to keep learning, growing and improving!
People don’t come together by chance, teams don’t win without coaches!
Leadership requires toughness and a hard edge at times if you’re going to do what’s best for people.
Always Be Coaching...The ABC’s Of Leadership
Engage, Connect, Communicate… Attitude is everything!
People won’t work like teammates unless a leader acts like a coach and holds them accountable to act like teammates.
People don't become teammates until they hold each other accountable to be their best.
Leaders who build teams are the leaders who set standards,coach attitudes, teach skills and manage actions.
Coaching is the key to individual peak performance, creating winning teams, teamwork, productivity and customer satisfaction.
Leaders and managers who coach also attract and retaining top talent by helping that talent perform to their peak.
Great Business Leaders, Like Coaches, Manage The Air
That’s right they create an atmosphere that produces good team chemistry, teamwork and superior individual effort!
Coaching is all about instilling and managing people’s attitudes, because attitudes, produce the actions, that generate the results.
Coaching is about instilling a performance culture by making learning, growing and improving, your attitudes, skills and actions, to become a likable, trustworthy expert, who's helpful, caring and courageous, everyone’s mission. In fact this is the standard great coaches set!
Happiness and workplace satisfaction grow when people are challenged to be their best while working in pursuit of worthwhile goals.
Make sure the objectives and goals are clearly communicated so they can be pursued effectively.
Leaders Who Coach Pay Attention To What Matters Most
You cannot lead from 30,000 feet…You must be connected!
People are our greatest asset…Then lead like you mean it! People before profits, isn’t just a cliche’, it’s the best way to improve profits!
Leaders who coach know people are spirit, mind and body, so they serve them in that order!
Leaders who coach must be change advocates, fully engaged, self-aware, empathetic, not perfectionists, whole life focused, curious, grateful...Coaching is an act of love!
Attitude matters because when frustration is allowed to linger, it leads to indifference which causes disengagement. Coaching attitudes produces exceptional actions and extraordinary results.
Don’t Get Caught Up Watching The Scoreboard (Reacting To Results)
When you manage results you're too late to lead, you’ll only be able to manage the chaos and confusion to a mediocre end!
The score will make you relax when you're ahead and panic when your behind.
Keep the focus on learning, growing and improving everyone's peak performance!
Excellence only happens for those who are obsessed with improvement.
A leader who coaches must be a compass always pointing towards improvement.
Watch the players, set the standards and coach the things you control and the score will take care of itself!
Nothing Improves Until People Improve...Don’t Wait, Get Started
You can get results or make excuses but you cannot have both!
Stop watching the scoreboard and start coaching.
Connect, communicate and engage by coaching attitudes, teaching skills and managing actions daily!
Find your higher purpose that'll keep you and your employees fully engaged, energized and focused!
If you believe people are your greatest asset...Then act like it, live by it, lead like they are!
Never miss a chance to build trust and the relationships that follow will make you rich!
Become a servant on a mission to get everyone learning, growing and improving, their attitudes, skills and actions, to become likable, trustworthy experts, who are helpful, caring and courageous and watch your revenue and profits improve!
My Hope For You, My Challenge To You
I hope you've had and have the mentors, coaches and leaders in your life that I’ve been blessed to have in mine. I would also challenge each owner, executive and manager to not just go to work but go to work to be a leader who coaches and mentors those they work with each day.
In The End, Leave A Legacy
Will you say I wish I had, or I'm glad I did? If you’re a leader who coaches and mentors, you'll be a leader who makes a positive difference, helps people breakthrough to become their best and you'll leave a legacy or excellence!
By Mike Moore
Rise Up…Start and end each day with grit,
determination, gratitude and a smile! Put a bounce in your step and energy in
your voice!
