I recently went to a jazz concert, something that I have not done in a long time. At 9 o’clock in the evening, after a day full of meetings and office issues, I drove directly to the concert. Tired and worn out, my mind was slipping towards the thought of being home. However, the concert had a powerful effect on me in such a way that for two hours I forgot everything that had happened that day. Having experienced this, I remembered the purifying and transformative role of art.
I believe that a manager could play a similar role for the people in their team – keeping the proportions, of course. Creating such an environment will enable people to enjoy working, with the added benefits of striving for satisfactory results, personal development and giving their best.
To succeed, a manager is bound to certain conditions such as the right environment and tools, and the full cooperation of the people involved, assuming they give 100% of their attention and interaction without any afterthoughts.
In their role as team coach, the manager can use their talent to respectfully listen, reconstruct, reformulate – and, as jazz players do – improvise on discussions brought by team members, by putting through different perspectives their reasons, statements and situations in order to bring to their attention new and interesting possibilities. As a result, the team member can see things from a different point of view, while also regaining control over a situation or even reinventing themselves along the way.
Such a situation would be special, happy and even ideal. It is a way of encouraging team members to engage in different activities and to grow professionally as well as individually. The manager does not need a great structure for the process of coaching, as a professional coach might need. They could coach for 5, 10 minutes or half an hour every day with pre-established meeting points such as: the office, on the hallway or even at a coffee shop whenever a team member needs help.
It is essential for a manager to understand the benefits of having a meeting with each team member. This part of a manager’s job is similar to that of a football coach. The only way for the players to perform better is for the coach to actively encourage, advise, and to put himself in their shoes, with the added capacity of seeing things “from the stalls”.
I often hear that managers do not coach their team members. Regarding this complaint I have a few observations to make:
“Are the managers prepared to coach?”
“Do the managers have the appropriate qualifications to coach?”
“Do they have the necessary tools and in what way are they encouraged to perform in their new role?”
“Were they at any point coached or mentored, so they know how to behave? And if the answer is yes, did the coach have the appropriate qualifications to do so or did s/he complete a few weeks’ course and then became a coach?”
The word “coaching” tends to be overused these days; recently someone told me that our country has the highest number of coaches in Europe. I have no idea if that is true; however, the fact is that many managers feel a certain repulsion at the idea of coaching. I wonder why? I have a few hypotheses, but this is not the right place to discuss them.
Responsibility is not only the manager’s burden to bear, it is something that team members need to have, too. Each one of them is responsible for their own development and performance. If you want to get something, put some effort into it; go to the manager and ask them and do not wait to be asked.
There have been a lot of comparisons between managers and leaders. The common presumption regarding managers is that they are these nasty tools, without any vision, and without the capacity to inspire others. And so, the thought of being a manager nowadays is dreaded. When it comes to leaders everything is perceived as fabulous and with every moment of our lives we feel inspired and feel the need to inspire other people. Maybe we could all use a bit more realism on this matter.