EXPAND PEOPLE’S CAPABILITIES
THROUGH COACHING

As a leader, you’ve acquired a lot of knowledge and experience—
even wisdom—along the way. One of the most important parts of your job is passing it on to the next generation of leaders. This is how you expand the capabilities of everyone else in your organization, individually and collectively. It’s how you will get results today and leave a legacy that you can take pride in when you move on.

Coaching is the single most important part of expanding others’ capabilities. You’ve surely heard the saying, “Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day; teach a man how to fish, and you’ll feed him for a lifetime.” That’s coaching. It’s the difference between giving orders and teaching people how to get things done. Good leaders regard every encounter as an opportunity to coach.

RAM: The most effective way to coach is to observe a person in action and then provide specific useful feedback. The feedback should point out examples of behavior and performance that are good or that need to be changed.

When the leader discusses business and organizational issues in a group setting, everybody learns. Wrestling with challenging issues collectively, exploring pros and cons and alternatives, and deciding which ones make sense increases people’s capabilities both individually and collectively— if it’s done with honesty and trust.

Taken from: Execution The discipline of Getting things Done