Supervisors' influence on coaching and employee management practices

¶ … supervisors which impact the way I deal with people who I in turn supervise. Specifically, I will write about the importance of clarification in communication, the benefits of being approachable, and the value in utilizing the positive principle of appreciative coaching.

Major Coaching Role Models

The most eminent coaching role model that I have had was a lady named Vivian, who was my manager at a relatively early stage in my career. She had been with the company that had hired me for over 20 years, and was well acclimated with all of its business and professional processes. As such, she exemplified a number of relationship behaviors that were instrumental to coaching junior associates such as myself. Vivian always stressed clarification in her communication and interactions with those she supervised, which is important because "people sometimes confuse signals from management, colleagues or employees" (Skiffingtion & Zeus, 2010). Whether that communication took the form of an email or an in-person conversation, she would never assume that I or anyone else she was interacting with understood her. She would always have that person restate not only her instructions or feedback, but also disclose the objectives related to the company as a whole that could be achieved by her directives. Not only did this behavior allow for a fairly transparent understanding of whatever issues she was communicating, but it also helped for individuals (such as myself) to understand the overall company process and to feel a part of that process. This latter fact was instrumental in heightening the sense of responsibility and contribution that is essential for maximizing employee output.

Attributes of Role Model

Vivian actually exhibited a number of attributes that were desirable and which enabled me to have a swift transition process from a new employee to one of the more knowledgeable workers at this particular company. In addition to her propensity for having employees restate the goals and objectives of her directives, she was also extremely approachable. It was this aspect of her character that contributed the most to the relationship we were able to form with one another. She was extremely approachable in the sense that there was very little taking place in our building, whether directly related to my line of work or to others, that she had not experienced before. If I had a question about something work related, I could choose to spend a significant amount of time figuring it out myself -- decreasing my productivity in the process -- or simply ask Vivian via a quick email, obtain the answer immediately, and increase my productivity. She never viewed such inquiries as a lack of resourcefulness but as a means of improving efficiency, and I believe that she liked helping others do their jobs better.

Conclusion

There are several relationship behaviors and attributes that I learned from Vivian that have influenced my own coaching. I strive for clarity in my communication with others, and attempt to remain as positive as possible in my interactions with them.