Manager Coach: the art of management by constructive influence

Posted on August 2, 2013

Manager is managing resources to accomplish projects and optimize results.

Coaching is about influencing a willing person to promote development and optimize individual and collective performance.

The Manager-Coach thus practices a management mode favoring influence on others in order to encourage the development of skills and optimize the performance of resources.

A manager coach is a manager who is interested in both the tasks to be accomplished, the results, but also the men and women who accomplish them. The exercise of this art of management by influence is not always easy because, unlike the practice of management (management), it appeals to an uncommon ability: the gymnastics of polarities dilemmas and other paradoxes . Let us see this through 3 common cases.

Case

Situation

Example of a typical manager’s attitude

Attitude of manager coach

dilemmas

Resistance

Your employee indirectly opposes a new project.

“Any decision shall be applied”.

Strong action, threats, a call to order, attempts at seduction, …

“A motivated employee is an effective collaborator”

Enter the resistance, consider the consequences, rephrase, readjust the project to make it even more effective and more motivating.

“Security or freedom? ”

Should discipline, regulation, or constructive reconsideration be encouraged?

Failure

Your co-worker is not fulfilling her commitments.

“Punishment / reward”.

Recriminations, reproaches, complaints … Focuses on errors to correct them.

“Pedagogy”

Explore the benefits of breaking commitments and help her interlocutor restore a fair balance between freedom and responsibility.

“Freedom or Responsibility?”

Intransigence

Your collaborator, through his intransigence, generates frequent conflicts.

“Zorro is here! ”

Cropping or passive attitude according to personal interest.

“Any conflict offers interesting opportunities”

Teaches the practice of constructive conflict.

“Individual interests or collective interest? “

The Manager Coach is constantly being tested. His insight and ability to master his own stress are conducive to the development of relationships of trust and contribute to the constant elevation of knowledge.

Skills required to be a good manager coach

· Self-knowledge
· Awareness (ability to identify – in real time – the current process and impacted systems).
· Patience (ability to resist stress)
· Presence (ability to give body to values)
· Flexibility
· Skill
· Integrity
· Pedagogy

A few tips

· Train first to develop your awareness (By making you Coacher).
· Use the information provided by your emotions.
· Make sure that the decisions and actions that you are going to make are based on a specific goal of achieving and developing people.
· Learn to give constructive feedback.
· Teach others to formulate constructive feedback (including yourself).

Results

· Develop your leadership.
· Development of well-being at work.
· Development of autonomy, responsibility and team spirit.
· Development of motivation, innovation and collective performance.