Managers who think they are good at coaching their team, usually turn out to be ineffective coaches
HBR recently reported the results of a study by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman. The study included 3761 leaders who were asked to rate themselves on their coaching skills; Subsequently, their team members were asked to rate them. The study threw up some interesting results:
– Leaders who had rated their coaching skills high were seen as ineffective coaches (in the bottom third) by their team members
– Leaders who had underrated their coaching skills were, typically seen as good coaches by those they coached
This is a common phenomenon. The article cites Cornell psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger who observed that
for any given skill, incompetent people tend to not recognise their own lack of ability and also don’t recognise the skill in others. The lower their skill, the more out of touch they tend to be.
The article goes on to describe the 7 characteristics of ineffective coaches.
Ineffective Coaches are:
– Poor listeners
– Not good role-models
– Less collaborative
– Not good at developing others
– Fail to provide effective feedback
– Lack integrity and
– Don’t encourage diversity.
Coaching is an essential skill for any leader, especially for leaders at more senior levels.
Attending training on how to coach effectively is a good place to start – but don’t stop there. Get feedback on your coaching abilities from those you coach. And if the feedback tells you that you need to work on your coaching skills, do it; working with a peer who is a good coach, or engaging a professional coach will make it easier.
For more information on improving your coaching and other essential leadership skills, please visit this web-page
[ctt template=”3″ link=”D0c3h” via=”no” ]Managers who think they are good at coaching their team, usually turn out to be ineffective coaches[/ctt]
Reference: Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, People Who Think They’re Great Coaches Often Aren’t, www.hbr.org (accessed 24 June 2016)
