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Hey, Boss! Are You a Referee or a Coach?"
PITTSBURGH -- More than half of U.S. employees said their boss is a referee instead of a coach, according to a recent survey by Development Dimensions International. While coaches proactively help employees before they are in a position to make a mistake, a referee boss waits for the mistake to call a penalty and tell the employee what he or she should have done instead. The coach helps the employee achieve a success while the referee is waiting to call the foul."Of course, a boss has to coach an employee if a mistake has been made, but the boss shouldn't be waiting for the error," says Jim Concelman, manager, leadership development, DDI. "While it is a lot easier to see a mistake and correct it, people learn more through success than through failure, so bosses should ensure that employees are experiencing as many successes as possible. Successful employees lead to a more successful organization."The average NFL coach works 80 hours a week combining on-the-field skill practice, drills and one-on-one sessions, and begins preparing for the season months in advance. Winning coaches don't wait to see what happens on the field on game day -- they begin preparing players for passing scenarios and defense strategies that could present themselves during a game, so they are armed with a strategy to succeed in the situation.Bosses need to approach coaching opportunities like they are preparing for a game everyday, coaching on client interactions, presentation content or negotiation skills on an ongoing basis. While this may require more time and attention on the front end, the boss will spend less time solving problems and reacting after a task is complete.So how do bosses become proactive coaches? First of all, they have to know employees enough to understand their strengths and weaknesses and how to challenge them with new assignments. "Bosses need to be good at observing and tracking performance to identify the areas where the employee may need assistance," Concelman says. They should also be looking out for new and challenging situations and responsibilities that employees are about to tackle.Open the dialogue by inquiring how they intend to handle the task, and then discuss the plan together. It's critical to be sure that while they are receiving your input, they also feel like they own the task, and are responsible for the outcome and the resulting success.Once the project is off the ground, check in regularly to be sure they have the resources they need and are making progress against the goal. "Then catch them doing something right, instead of doing something wrong, and tell them about their success," Concelman adds.Here's a quick quiz to determine if you're a coach or a referee (answer "true" or "false" to each question):My employees learn more from navigating a task by themselves, so I stay out of their way.There is no time to meet with people before every task, so I wait for them to come to me for help.I always assign people tasks that I know they can handle without my assistance.I meet with people once, tell them how they should handle the task and then let them handle it. They'll come see me if they need more information.It's better to let people make a mistake -- they'll never make the same one twice.If you answered "true" to any of these, you are at risk of becoming -- or may already be -- a referee boss. You can become a coach by proactively working with members of your team to identify challenging new tasks and helping them create a plan that will lead to a successful end result. Development Dimensions International is a human resource consulting firm specializing in leadership and selection.Visit Development Dimensions International: www.ddiworld.comThis article is new this week in The Business Journal's small business how-to section. To see what else is new, click here or click on the "how-to" tab at the top of The Daily Business Journal Online home page."