Developing and running a successful in-office team is just like putting together an all-star sports team; a big part of it comes down to the coach.

Backed by Gallup research, if you want to create a high-performing and high-development culture for your team, you need to look at your management skills. Knowing how to use each person’s strengths and weaknesses, building great relationships and ensuring everyone feels valued is key. However, doing all this isn’t just about managing, it’s about coaching! 

Being able to have transformative and productive coaching conversations with members of your team is vital to developing connections, tackling challenges and improving transparency. Every interaction can be turned into an opportunity to further build and improve your team. But how? Let’s dive into how you can turn your everyday discussions into career-supporting, trust-building and culture-changing conversations. 

It all starts with empathy 

The first big part of building connection through your coaching conversations is empathy. Not to be confused with sympathy, empathy is about being able to understand someone’s thoughts and perspectives without holding judgment. By having empathy, you create safe and supportive environments where people feel comfortable to explore their goals, challenges and emotions. It can also help you better understand the values, needs and motivations of your people, which enables you to adjust your approach in a way that suits their style. It’s about understanding the thoughts and feelings of others by saying things like: 

• “I understand this could sound confusing.” 
• “I’m sorry you had to experience that.” 
• “It must have been tough to deal with that.” 

Tailoring your conversations 

By adjusting how you have conversations with individuals, you help create a space where people feel understood and therefore more motivated and engaged with their work. This starts by uncovering what the different strengths, goals and priorities are of each person. This can be done by simply asking them a few questions like: 

• “Tell me about some of your favourite career moments.” 
• “What about those moments made them so special?” 
• “What are your future goals?” 

This then allows you to tailor how you support that person’s growth and development, ensuring you address any specific challenges or opportunities relevant to them. This more targeted approach allows the individual to maximise their potential which leads to higher performances and achievements within your team. If you’re just beginning your journey to being a better coach and looking for some sort of structured model to follow, we personally love the GROW model: 

• Goal - What do you want to achieve? 
• Reality - Where are you now? 
• Options - What options do you have? 
• Will - What choice will you make? 

Make feedback fun 

When we say feedback, we don’t just mean telling people one-on-one about their performance. We’re talking about a more holistic team-based approach. Instead of sitting in a room with one person and telling them what they did wrong, bring your whole team together and facilitate a two-way conversation where you all talk about how things went and what you can do moving forward to better achieve your goal. This more open and collaborative approach helps people grow, learn more effectively and feel more comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions on issues. If you’re looking for the best way to approach this type of conversation, there are a few variations to choose from: 

• 360-degree feedback - this involves gathering all the information from your team, peers and any external sources to create a comprehensive overview of the overall team performance during a certain task. This helps give you a well-rounded perspective on how things can be improved. 
• Constructive criticism - this approach is about highlighting areas where things need improving, but in a way that won’t leave someone walking away from the conversation feeling completely disillusioned and unmotivated to keep trying. As you provide feedback, give suggestions and practical advice on how improvements can be made. Giving people actionable items helps them better understand why they didn’t get things quite right but also exactly how to fix it for next time. 
• Coaching - when trying to help your people improve, it’s not about holding their hand every step of the way. By giving feedback that provides words of encouragement and support but also guidance on how to further develop skills, overcome obstacles and reach goals, you enable them to take these steps themselves, with the confidence you’ll be there for support if they need it. By asking thought-provoking questions, offering insights and giving actionable steps, you can encourage and motivate your team to take charge of their own development, while also building trust. 
• Evaluations - this tends to come up when conducting performance reviews or assessments, but they don’t have to be scary for everyone involved. This tends to be a more one-on-one approach where you asses someone’s performance against predetermined criteria or standards. As well as giving them notes for improvement, this is also where you can highlight their achievements, areas where they’ve excelled and recommendations for future skill development. 

Understanding the different options for giving feedback allows you to tailor your approach to suit your people, whether you choose one or combine a couple for a highly unique and personalised style. 

Open up your book 

One of the best ways to build better connections within your team is transparent communication. We have a few tips on how to effectively be an open book with your team. 

• Openly share information - by committing to being open and honest with your team about what’s going on, and giving relevant data, updates or information on challenges that pop up, as they pop up, you create a feeling of inclusivity. As an added bonus, when everyone has a better grip on the bigger picture, you can share the wins and get over the hurdles more effectively together. 
• Keep updates clear and timely - whether it’s in meetings, issuing reports or through the use of digital management tools, make sure everyone knows what’s happening and when at all times. Sharing relevant updates is also helpful for sticking to schedule, avoiding confusion and making sure any opportunities aren’t missed. 
• Encourage two-way communication - not only do you want to facilitate conversation between you and your team members, but you also want to facilitate it amongst themselves. By helping everyone feel comfortable with giving feedback and speaking up, you’ll be surprised how much earlier you catch onto any issues. 
• Explain why - why have you made that decision? Why are you changing this? When you do things without explanation, people begin to feel excluded and cautious around you, which breaks down feelings of trust or wanting to collaborate. Keeping everyone across what’s happening and why helps build a strong team environment and ensure everyone stays on track. 
• Lead by example - if you want people to communicate with you or others more openly and effectively, it starts with you. Show them you truly value openness and honesty by being open and honest yourself. 
• Tackle challenges head-on - don’t sweep issues under the rug where they’ll fester and turn into bigger problems later on. Address them directly and as quickly as possible. Work with your team to find solutions and ways to ensure none of you have to deal with that problem again. 
• Celebrate together - you’ve all put in the work together, so make sure the success is shared with everyone too. Recognise people’s achievements and hard work and show them just how much you value their contributions. 

You can do a lot with a simple conversation 

When you shift your focus and mindset to a more coaching-centric approach, you’ll be surprised at the transformative effects it can have on your team and your leadership skills. Taking time to improve this skill set can help you and your team evolve and find some serious success. 

Want even more tips and tricks for improving your leadership? Check out the full webinar here.