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Opportunities & Insights from Across Our Community
Hi everyone, here’s what we have for you this week:
Does your role give you opportunities to uncover new skills? In this week’s episode of The Everyday Leader, we hear from James Osho at IDP Education, who shares about his experience setting up a new country office in Nigeria. Listen here.
5 questions to use to empower your team to solve challenges. Asking the right questions at the right time can unlock forward progress. Read more here.
What should you keep in mind when introducing external coaching to your team? Make sure to identify the specific needs, select the right coaches, position the resource correctly and evaluate its effectiveness. Read more here.
Read on for more details…
Here are a few highlights from the conversation with James:
Moving across different sectors early in your career provides helpful exposure: James reflected on his earlier years as a manager and how it taught them to lead and manage in different industries. He discussed his first managerial role in Union Bank of Nigeria, where he was charged with leading a team of about 30 people, many of whom had more experience in the industry. This experience laid the foundation for his future career as a manager and helped him to expand into different industries. James’ experience highlights the importance of adaptability, resilience, and continuous learning in building a successful career.
Find roles that will help you uncover new skills: James emphasized how many of his roles made him realize his untapped skills and potential in areas he wasn’t previously aware of. For example, in helping set up a new country office, James described some of the challenges he and the team faced and overcame, such as setting up the office, hiring staff, negotiating lease agreements, and aligning Nigerian policies with global policies.
Take an active role in translating a global company’s culture into your local team: IDP Education is a global firm with a number of offices worldwide. James has been intentional to make sure the Nigeria team understands the company values and best practices, since they want to replicate the successes of the firm. Meanwhile, he has also learned the importance of appreciating what makes the Nigeria market unique and catering IDP Education’s local strategies accordingly.
5 Powerful Coaching-Style Questions for Managers
Coaching is an essential skill for managers to possess. It enables them to empower their teams to solve problems, enhance their performance, and achieve their goals. Asking the right questions is a critical component of effective coaching. In this article, we'll discuss five powerful coaching-style questions that managers can use to empower their team to solve challenges.
1. What is the real challenge here?
Asking this question encourages team members to identify the root cause of the problem. Often, people focus on the symptoms rather than the underlying issue, which can make problem-solving ineffective. By asking this question, managers help their team members to focus on the actual problem that needs solving.
2. What have you tried so far?
This question encourages team members to reflect on their previous attempts to solve the problem. It helps to identify what has worked and what hasn't. Additionally, it can help team members to feel heard and valued, as they can share their experiences and insights.
3. What are your options?
This question encourages team members to think creatively and come up with potential solutions to the problem. It empowers them to take ownership of the situation and identify opportunities for improvement.
4. What are the pros and cons of each option?
Once team members have generated potential solutions, this question helps them to evaluate them critically. It encourages them to consider the benefits and drawbacks of each option, which can help them to make more informed decisions.
5. What action will you take?
This final question encourages team members to take responsibility for implementing the solution. It empowers them to make a plan and take action, which can be highly motivating. Additionally, it helps to ensure that the solution is implemented effectively.
Effective coaching requires asking the right questions. By using the above questions, managers can empower their team members to solve challenges and achieve their goals. These questions encourage team members to focus on the actual problem, reflect on previous attempts, generate potential solutions, evaluate them critically, and take action. By coaching their teams effectively, managers can create a culture of continuous improvement and high performance.
Join our Peer Coaching Network for an opportunity to practice these skills with other managers.
As organizations focus on employee development and growth, many are turning to coaching to help employees achieve their goals. While internal coaching by managers can be effective, some organizations are recognizing the benefits of using external professional coaches. In this article, we'll discuss the benefits of using external coaches, how HR teams can introduce the concept to their organizations, and how CoffeeChat can help streamline the process.
Benefits of External Coaching
External coaches bring a unique perspective and expertise to the coaching process. They are not tied to the organization and can offer unbiased advice and guidance. Additionally, they have experience working with individuals and teams across different industries and can bring best practices from other organizations to the coaching process.
Identify Coaching Needs
Before introducing external coaching to the organization, it's important to identify the coaching needs. HR teams can do this by conducting surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with employees to identify areas where coaching could be beneficial. Additionally, HR teams can work with managers to identify employees who could benefit from external coaching.
Selecting the Right Coaches
When selecting external coaches, it's important to consider their qualifications and experience. HR teams should look for coaches who have experience working with individuals and teams in similar roles and industries. Additionally, they should consider the coach's coaching style, values, and approach to ensure that it aligns with the organization's culture and values.
Introducing External Coaching
Introducing external coaching to employees requires effective communication and transparency. HR teams should explain the benefits of external coaching, how the coaching process works, and how coaches will be selected. Additionally, HR teams should work with managers to identify the coaching goals and ensure that the coaching process aligns with the organization's strategic objectives.
Evaluating Coaching Effectiveness
To ensure that external coaching is effective, HR teams should establish evaluation criteria and regularly assess the coaching program's impact. This can include collecting feedback from employees and managers, tracking coaching outcomes, and measuring the return on investment of the coaching program.
CoffeeChat is a service that makes it easy for HR teams to offer a pool of external coaches for their managers to select from. By partnering with CoffeeChat, HR teams can streamline the coach selection process and ensure that employees have access to high-quality coaches who align with the organization's culture and values.
External coaching can be a valuable addition to an organization's employee development and growth strategy. By introducing external coaching, organizations can provide employees with a unique perspective, unbiased guidance, and expertise to achieve their goals. To introduce external coaching effectively, HR teams should identify coaching needs, select the right coach, communicate effectively, evaluate coaching effectiveness, and consider partnering with a service like CoffeeChat to streamline the process.