What does it take to create an environment of constant employee development? A culture focused on coaching.

1. Creating A Coaching Culture Presented by: Sales Progress

2. Managing IS NOT Coaching A true coach drives performance for individual employees as well as employee teams, while a manager is often content with sustaining the status quo. Coaching can be described as the ability of the leader to inspire and motivate employees to improve knowledge, increase skill levels, and alter behavior to be more positive

3. There is Some Gray Area

4. Example If an employee is continuously late for work… reprimanding them is probably a management issue. There is not really a performance issue to be addressed per se. An employee who constantly misses deadlines may be lacking time management skills. This is a performance-based issue in need of coaching.

5. Management Often Struggle to Coach Two main issues: It’s easier and quicker to just dictate to employees and not engage. Managers have a fear of coaching. Both are poor excuses

6. Why Coach? Increases employee retention. Allows a manager to get a close up look at employee’s work and solve real world challenges. Builds coaches within all leadership circles. The more coaches an organization has the more “performance improving” employees they will have. A successful business requires employees to constantly be getting better. Organizations who are not coaching do not have this competitive edge. Employees will naturally become more open to change and challenges.

7. Research Supporting the Need For Coaching When managers are used to reinforce training using tactics such as coaching, retention increases by up to 63%. (Ventana Research) CSO Insights shows that almost 50% of all sales people do not hit their sales quotas.

8. The keys to successful coaching Create an understanding of the desired performance improvements. For the entire team, just the individual, or both. Structure a program that is consistently scheduled, and acted upon. Planning with out action is useless Coaching must inherently promote the simulation or practice of the desired performance. Skills will not magically improve by talking about them. The coach asks questions versus telling employees what they need to do. The coach MUST recognize and reward effort.

9. 4 Areas Where People Need Coaching Knowledge: To know or understand. Examples could be internal processes, product knowledge, technical attributes, etc. Skills: To be able to perform a desired expertise. A skill could be active listening, closing for sales people, negotiating, etc. Behavioral: To execute a task consistently without fear or anxiety. Examples of behavioral could be fear of making cold calls, anxiety associated with asking for the order, knowing you struggle with active listening, etc. Creative: To solve or address situations in non-traditional ways.

10. Key Attributes to A Successful Coaching Culture The management team must cooperatively and consistently drive performance using the same methods and techniques through out the organization. Employees feel challenged and inspired for personal development, career growth, and continuous pursuit of helping the organization’s bottom line. Coaching is not viewed as a task to be completed but rather as a unique opportunity. All coaching and training leverages “real world” issues and solutions.

11. Tim Hagen, President of Sales Progress, has been teaching his progress coaching program for over 10 years. His adult education background has allowed him to speak to the needs of adult learners. For more information on Tim Hagen or his Progress Coaching System please visit: http:www.salesprogress.com