I love the Boston Celtics (apologies to all you Lakers fans out there). Inarguably, they’ve had some of the greatest teams in the history of the NBA: the 1965 lineup with the legendary Bill Russell, the 1986 roster with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Bill Walton and the 2008 squad led by Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. That’s a lot of elite talent over the years.
But really, how far would these teams have gotten if not for the coaching leadership of Red Auerbach, K.C. Jones and Doc Rivers, respectively? Conversely, it’s worth considering the ramifications if any of these athletes had left the franchise. Would these teams have won as many trophies?
As in professional basketball, you and your team are in a mutually dependent relationship. One can’t succeed without the other. Now, if you’re fortunate, your organization is stacked with top-notch professionals at every level, and you may believe they’re so efficient that they don’t need an assist, but you’d be wrong.
Do you think Auerbach met with Russell a handful times and thought, “Yeah, he’s got this. He doesn’t need too much of my guidance and encouragement?” Coaching is an ongoing process, one that isn’t about telling people what to do but, rather, helping them figure out how to do it — and how to grow into a leadership role on the team, just as Russell did when he took the reins from Auerbach and led the Celts to two championships as a player-coach.
As a leader, you should employ the same approach as Auerbach and others did with their players. Sure, you may have to set 30-60-90 day and annual goals with each employee during the onboarding process, but coaching cannot — and should not — end there. Like sports teams, you may be focused on your season, or year, in the short-term, but to build a winning team that endures, you need to keep your roster of stars as intact and motivated as possible.
According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, 70% of employed adults are currently engaged in a job search in some form and nearly a quarter are actively looking. If that figure alarms you, it should. Regardless of what is happening with the economy, bust or boom, employee retention always counts. If you’re losing talent, it can cost your organization time, money and institutional knowledge, not to mention morale. I’m pretty sure attrition is what keeps a lot of coaches up at night (none perhaps more so than Darvin Hams, who coaches the Lakers and LeBron James).
And while coaching your employees is vital to your company’s success, it doesn’t have to involve rigid programs or processes. After all, every employee is different. Effective coaching is all about meeting a team player where they are and not just the day-to-day responsibilities of their position or an important project. It also involves holistic, big-picture thinking. Do they feel like they have room to grow in their position? Are they getting the ball enough? Do they need to work on their passing? Can you coach them to become captain? Do they feel seen and valued?
Everyone has team meetings, but are your one-on-ones morphing into a series of “touch bases” involving laundry lists of what is on an individual’s plate or are you looking at the big picture, identifying areas of growth and exploring new opportunities? If that sounds like what’s happening with your organization, it’s time to take a new approach.
Turn those lists into email updates and make your meetings meaningful. Solicit honest feedback on your team’s (and the company’s) direction, always tying back an employee’s contributions to the company’s brand statement and how they help the company live that every day. Unpack what tools and resources an individual needs to succeed, thrive and move up, be it another pair of hands, continued education or even more flexibility in their schedules. Regularly discuss what you see as their potential within the organization so that their professional goals within it become personal as well.
Another key element here is empowering employees to seek out coaching, not just from managers but also from colleagues and leadership. And don’t forget, you can make additional resources available to them. That same CareerBuilder survey also revealed that 66% of job seekers wish they had access to a career advisor for professional guidance. This is something that we are offering to CareerBuilder users in partnership with Black Information Network and our “100,000 Careers” initiative and to working parents as we celebrate the back-to-school season.
Whatever approach you take, ongoing employee coaching can increase engagement and have a positive effect on retention in what remains a job seekers’ market. And if you can effectively integrate coaching into your company’s DNA, you can, like many of the great coaches I’ve mentioned, win the race for talent and build a dynasty that will have a lasting legacy.
