“Coaching your team to victory!”

Seminars and workshops are one-time events that usually provide a lot of good information by very knowledgeable and professional presenters. Consultants tell people what to do with that information and managers try to get people to work together based on that information.

However, great leaders coach their team to victory based on strong relationships that use the best information coupled with significant learning opportunities and positive followup.

Coaching is a journey, not an event. The coaching journey consists of five phases. Coaching leaders move through these five phases accomplishing the critical outcomes in each phase:

1. RELATE: You must establish a strong relationship and agree on the mission. Coaching at its core is about trust, connection, support and understanding, none of which is required by consultants or seminar presenters. Don’t be tempted to skip the relationship building and move too soon to the core of the task, it seldom works well.

2. REFLECT: Identify and explore key issues. When you get lost in a mall, you go to the Directory sign and look for the “You are here” red dot. You can’t make significant progress until there is agreement on current reality. Every journey must have a beginning and ending point of reference, if not don’t start the journey. It’s called going from one unknown to another unknown, never a happy ending.

3. REFOCUS: Determine priorities and make a plan of action. The focus now shifts to vision, values and goals. Identify actions that make the greatest immediate impact and create the best ROI, “return on investment.” Address the questions of who, what, when, why and how. Until they are recorded, they do not exist.

4. RESOURCE: Provide support, encouragement and inspiration as foundational resources. Great leaders always look for ways to better leverage existing resources before asking for more of anything. Poor leaders think the answer to everything is more money and warm bodies.

Many times more is not better, only a cover for poor performance. On the other hand don’t ask your team to do more with less until you both agree moving forward without it spells trouble.

5. REVIEW: Evaluate, celebrate and revise should not be options, but a regular occurrence. Never underestimate the power of looking back over accomplishments and celebrating, just don’t camp there.

This phase maximizes learning and provides opportunities to make mid-course corrections. It also provides both satisfaction for a job well done and much-needed encouragement for the road ahead.

As a coaching leader you facilitate accountability, create a steeper learning curve, provide greater challenges and plan celebrations for small and big wins with a sense of fulfillment. Great leaders do it all in a healthy relationship using these five phases that leaves your team clamoring for more.

“The apostles gathered together with Jesus (coach) and they reported to him all they had done and taught.” Mark 6:30

Are you a boss telling people what to do, or are a coaching leader providing opportunities for people to grow and be their personal best?