Why You Shouldn’t Always Coach Your Employees

Coaching has become a buzzword in the past few years, especially when it comes to employee development. However, it’s not always a good idea to “coach” your employees.

Sometimes, you will better serve your team if you teach or explain concepts rather than coaching. The same goes for delegation. For example, managing a high-performing salesperson who is more skilled at sales than you were and trying to coach them may cause frustration and resentment.

So how do you know when to coach, teach, or delegate? I like the combination of two frameworks: The Four Stages of Competence and Situational Leadership.

What is Situational Leadership? 

According to BetterUp, situational leadership is adapting your leadership style based on the employee’s needs. 

Layering this concept with the Four Stages of Competence will help you determine the management style you should have for each employee.  

 

Here is a simple framework I like to use for reference. If you’re a leader, do the following:

  1. Chart your team using the four levels. Then ask yourself:

  2. How have I been managing my employees?

  3. Have I taken a one size fits all approach?

  4. Where can I flex my leadership style?

 

A Further Look into the Four Levels:

Level 1: Unconsciously Unskilled

Traits: often new employees. They can have high enthusiasm and are unaware that they don’t know many of the skills they need to perform the job

Leadership style: Teaching & Directive

 

Level 2: Consciously Unskilled

Traits: they could also be a new employee or anyone trying to learn a new product or skill. In this square can be high levels of frustration. The manager needs to lean in and get them out of this square as quickly as possible. The employee may take a big ego hit and will be at risk for low self-compassion, comparison, and feelings of inadequacy. Here, you should not coach. You should teach your team the fundamentals and hard skills needed to do the job.

Leadership Style: Teaching & Directive. This is also a good time to bring in a mentor.

 

Level 3: Consciously Skilled

Traits: The employee is performing and understands how to do the job. They have the hard skills down and want to work on a higher level of performance. Other members of the team have started to come to them for advice. This is when you should begin your coaching journey, asking the right questions to this team member so they can unlock the answer for themselves.

Leadership Style: Coaching & Challenging

 

Level 4: Unconsciously Skilled

Traits: High skill level. If in sales, this would be your Enterprise Sales Team. These are senior members of the team who may be better at their job than the people manager was. If this is the case, this is not the time to coach. This is the time to delegate projects to the employee to keep them challenged and motivated. It is also the time to introduce them to more senior connections within the organization or industry.

Leadership Style: Delegate & Introduce  

 

When I learned about this framework and was a new leader, in my next 1:1, I said to my boss, “I’m consciously unskilled. Here is what I don’t understand and what’s frustrating me, and what I need you to teach me.” I came prepared with a list of items I wasn’t sure about forecasting accuracy, performance management, and territory planning. This was not the time to be coached. I needed to decrease my ramp time to manage a team effectively. I needed to be taught.

 

If you’ve charted your team and want to take it further, explain this framework to your team. Ask them to put themselves in one of these categories. I utilize this tactic if there is an employee who is in the Consciously Unskilled category and they are feeling frustrated. Going through this method can help normalize their experience. Once they understand that they need to be taught certain skills to gain mastery, the learning journey is easier for all involved.

 

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