A Coach Approach

Tips to Integrate Coaching Skills Into Your Everyday Conversations

We all know how important listening is-well we say we do! Our ability to truly listen matters to what we hear, how we hear, and how the person we are listening to feels. Adam Grant in “Think Again” states, “among managers rated as the worst listeners by their employees, 94 percent of them evaluated themselves as good or very good listeners” (p.158).

Listening is a muscle we can all strengthen, and like any muscle, when worked it develops and when ignored it shrinks. Learning how to listen is imperative in our work and personal lives, and being mindful of our listening improves trust, relationships, and outcomes.

How well do you listen?
What part of your listening could use strengthening?
How would your team rate your listening skills?
When do you find yourself leaning in to listen?
When do you tune out?

Why Listening Matters

People appreciate providing input, their opinions, and ideas
Enhanced team culture and buy-in
Builds trust and collaboration
Improved team member engagement and relationships

Tips for Integrating the Coach Approach

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” Theodore Roosevelt

Ask powerful open-ended questions
Listen first and speak last
Keep it conversational
Meet people where they are
Know what motivates them – know their why

Integrating a “coach approach” within your leadership style elevates your presence, communication and listening skills. Your team will feel, notice, and appreciate the way you engage, converse and ask questions to open new possibilities for the team to run with and deliver outcomes for the organization.