COVID-19 has forced many professionals into situations and roles that require a major adjustment from what was expected pre-pandemic. Today, the role of managers as coaches in their employee development has increased in significance dramatically. Managing a team with one or two members working remotely is one thing, but being tasked with the same managerial and coaching responsibilities and more with a fully remote setup is challenging.
Coaching virtually is a necessity that should meet the employees’ current and anticipated needs. As businesses start to resume operations and organizations review their new work from home arrangements, understanding how to coach virtually will be advantageous to any leader managing remote careers, even long after the pandemic is over.
The Makings of a Good Coach
Coaching is a sort of buzzword that has been thrown around every now and then, but what does being a good coach really entail apart from teaching your employees? It’s much more than telling team members what to do next or what direction to take. Coaching means empowering an employee to maximize their professional and personal potential. Not only do coaches help people reach their potential, but they must also encourage people to achieve this by helping people become their best selves.
Being a Good Listener
Essentially working online jobs requires employees and managers, especially, to become better listeners. Coaches should listen more than they prescribe, which will enable them to pick up on what employees say and don’t say. Tone, implications and word choice will allow managers to understand their employees, even without body language indicators in virtual settings.
Being an Effective Communicator
As a coach, it is your task to ask smart questions that are properly framed to elicit a particular kind of response. Knowing how to ease that information out of your team members can start difficult but necessary conversations important in problem-solving.
Use the Right Communication Channels
Using effective communication channels is especially important when coaching through virtual means, whether through video chat, phone call, or email. Video meetings help get as close to one-on-one physical interaction as possible, which can make the coaching sessions more meaningful and productive. These platforms also have tools that allow you to present material while speaking.
Phone calls are a bit limited since there is no visual element, but employees can focus on what you’re saying more easily. It’s also the quickest way to connect. Email is still useful for coaching since it allows your coach to ask questions based on their answers, but it isn’t ideal for immediate feedback.
Coaches should know how to be flexible with communication platforms if employees aren’t too familiar with them or experience poor internet connection.
Establish Trust
Even teams working the most seamless and best remote jobs require a good level of trust to keep performing, and this depends on the coaching style of the manager. Build your credibility and reliability to show employees that they can depend on you.
Practice Emotional Intelligence
Guiding and developing every team member requires good social and relationship management skills, both of which use emotional intelligence. Understanding social cues to read different people will allow coaches to respond to various situations that may arise.
Conclusion
Employing different tactics and methods to reach out to your employees in a remote setup is essential if you wish to effectively reach out to them. Practicing effective coaching techniques that are adaptable and appropriate for the current situation will benefit you and your team in the long run. Whether you need to allot more time for their questions during meetings or have more structured conversations over video calls, being a good manager and coach will guide everybody through to the new normal as offices start to open up again. With the future of remote work turning into a norm, adapting to these needs is a must for success.
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