As we begin the year, it’s normal to look ahead, plan and explore new ways to increase your impact and improve delivery. So it’s a good time to think about how we can get our teams off to a flying start.
When I started as Finance Director of Amnesty International, I had a great finance team. But there were two things I found challenging:
1. Some colleagues caused me stress!
Two examples were:
a. One person sent me drafts of their work, which required hours of my time to rewrite.
b. Another person kept talking to me about their day-to-day difficulties, after which I seemed to end up with a list of actions while they walked away having dumped their problems on me.
2. Board and SMT meetings
I hated having to prepare for detailed operational queries when I wanted to be having strategic discussions.
How did I use coaching and mentoring skills to address each of the above challenges?
1. Stop solving colleagues’ problems. Your primary role as a leader is to build your colleagues’ capabilities, and you can do that with a coaching/mentoring approach:
a. If someone is creating work for you, put a time in the diary to talk to them, and make it a coaching/mentoring conversation. Be curious, listen, and give them space to think. Use ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions. (Avoid the word ‘why’ which can put your co-workers on the defensive.) Allocate this time to really listening to your colleague.
I was curious about what was prompting them to send me drafts to review, and asking open questions helped them delve into what was behind this habit, and what they were most worried about. After thinking about it, the person realised that it went back to childhood when they had always felt anxious about getting their schoolwork ‘wrong’.
When they thought about what would be the worst that could happen, they realised it wasn’t that bad, and from then on, they sent their communications out directly and grew in confidence, developing their own individual writing style.
b. When colleagues raise an issue with you, start by asking them what they want to get out of the conversation. At my next meeting, to my complete surprise, they said, 'I want you to listen'. This was easy; they got what they wanted, and I didn't get saddled with their problem!
2 In all meetings, set yourself reminders to listen more than you talk, and to use your airtime to be curious. At board meetings when someone asked me an operational question I switched on my curiosity and asked questions back like, 'Where is this coming from? What is the real issue for you?'
Sometimes my questions resulted in the trustee withdrawing their original enquiry as they realised it was outside their role, and sometimes the discussion uncovered a deeper issue that was critical to explore. If they were interested in finding out about an operational detail, they recognised that this was not my primary priority to answer, so I would agree to follow up after the meeting. This was a relief as I could stop preparing for these types of queries.
After doing the above, my team started solving their problems in ways I admitted were better than I would have suggested; my meetings improved, and I had time for the more valuable aspects of my work. Using the coaching and mentoring approach transformed my personal leadership and benefited my organisation.
Time to talk! How might these tips work for you? Message me on LinkedIn and let me know!
More coaching resources
Are you or is someone in your team an ACA?
If so, then caba (Chartered Accountants’ Benevolent Association) are there to support you by providing:
- Personal and professional coaching to be effective and motivated throughout your working life. Click here to see the list of coaches
- Career coaching to help you perform your best in applications and get your next job
- Counselling to help you deal with your experiences
- Relationship counselling to find your way through difficult issues
- Webinars and courses to help you fulfil your potential.
caba supports ACA students, existing or former ICAEW members and their close family dependents.
Go to caba.org.uk and press the Contact Us button at the top right of your screen to liaise with the friendly team and access the support you need. Take a step forward today