1. we develop the capability in you™
6
Effective leaders
engage with their
employees. Leadership
is a high contact sport.
Coaching for Excellence
BY RICK CONLOW AND DOUG WATSABAUGH
Pete was a successful manager for 20 years and had won numerous awards for sales excellence.
His department always led the company and competitors alike. His staff admired and liked him
and they knew he had high expectations. He had a waiting list of people who wanted to work for
him. He called us (Rick and Doug) one day and said, “Business is down, my people are
unmotivated, and I have all these reports to do and meetings to attend. I don’t have time to
spend with my people.” I responded by saying, “Then you don’t have time to be a manager
anymore, do you?” When he met with us, we discussed his challenges and created a plan of
action.
He conducted a sales meeting soon thereafter, and we were invited as guest speakers. Before the
meeting began, he rearranged the meeting room into a new configuration. At the start of the
meeting he explained the situation to his sales team, and identified specifics that demonstrated
his belief that everyone was “down in the dumps.” He proceeded to take ownership for his own
actions and attitudes that may have contributed to the situation. He reminded his team of their
achievements, and said, “Today is a new day.”
Pete then divided the group into teams to brainstorm ideas to keep the team and company
moving forward. They shared their ideas and made a plan that reflected their priorities – a plan
that was agreed upon by all. We gave a motivational talk and Pete closed the meeting with a
promise to meet with each person individually in the next several days. The group left the
meeting upbeat, positive, and full of energy. Pete followed through on his commitments and
business improved immediately.
Effective leaders engage with their employees. Leadership is a high contact sport. Many CEOs today
don’t talk to their customers or employees. The late Sam Walton of Walmart was asked why he spent
one day a week in his office and the rest of the time in his stores with employees. Mr. Walton replied
that he knew that was too much time in the office, but he wasn’t too old to learn to be a better
manager. If you aren’t meeting with employees regularly, in groups or one on one, you are missing a
key opportunity to influence them to be more successful.
As we begin this discussion about formal coaching, consider the biggest obstacle managers face:
time! It’s legitimate. Everyone is busy and has many things to do. A business has three key resources
with which to service its customers.
Capital resources – the financial/money end of the business.
Material resources – the products and services a business offers.
Human resources – the people and the potential intellectual and personal power
they represent.
The human resources – people – are the most important element of any business. People put the
capital and material part of the business to work and make the creative decisions on how to do so