Ideal relationships are the key to keeping us happy in the workplace. Recently, I have been immersing myself in the idea of a coaching culture. Doing this, I have realized how neoteric of a concept it has been in so many workplaces despite the simplicity of its meaning and value to a project team.
Essentially, coaching culture is enacting a system of support for both team members and team leaders in the workplace so that both parties are continuously learning, developing, and becoming greater assets to the company. This system is inclusive of feedback and constructive criticism along with regular training and opportunities so all team members can improve their skills collaboratively with their coworkers. Working proactively to make sure coaching culture is put into play in the workplace is typically conducive with better employee engagement, conversations, creativity, and productivity. Thus, we can see how it is a vital skill to have when forming ideal relationships at work.
Projects are Easy, People Dynamics are Hard
Have you ever had a boss, team leader, or coworker that you dreaded being around? Conversely, have you ever been the dreaded boss, team leader or coworker? Admittedly, everyone has their bad days, but being surrounded by someone in the workplace or in any professional setting that you are constantly butting heads with is never easy or enjoyable to work with.
Keeping in mind the fact that integration of coaching culture cannot magically change people’s personalities, it can very much ease tension and frustration in the workplace caused by occupational hardships. A major concern in many workplaces are hierarchies and inefficient power structures. Being yelled at or patronized by a higher power, doesn’t do any good and is exactly where coaching culture comes into play. Know how to coach your team, don’t spend precious time marginalizing positions to the point of failure.
Projects are easy, people dynamics are hard–Thus, coaching culture makes sure all dynamics are appreciated, represented, and heard. We have to know nobody is an expert in everything, so taking our best and most discerning qualities and skills and teaching them to the people we work with is so effective. Precisely, it is how you make the most productive teams and highest level producing projects.
Moving forward
Since I have given the initial introduction to coaching culture, in my next post I will move forward and explain how to integrate coaching culture into projects, and create an environment where it can be sustainable. Until then, checking out past posts such as New Delivery Practices that are Impacting Projects , and How to Manage Different Communication Styles are great resources to use when starting to think about coaching culture for a team and getting everyone involved on board.
