MANAGERIAL SKILLS     COACHING

Singapore - Managers should refrain from swooping in and helping employees complete their work, no matter how frustrating it is, even though you think you could accomplish better results in a shorter timeframe.

Roy Magee, regional vice president for AchieveGlobal Greater China & Singapore, says many managers have a tendency to become "unconsciously competent". What the term means is managers are so well-versed in their job that they would work on autopilot. While this is great because being good at work becomes second nature for employees, however, Magee says it is a bad trait for a manager to have. "The reason is if your manager is unconsciously competent, they know what to do but they are unable to explain to people in a way that helps them see and adapt to that [successful] behaviour."

The challenge for HR, says Magee, is taking an "unconsciously competent" manager and making them consciously competent so they can be an effective role model and coach to their teams. For example, it is very frustrating for a salesperson to learn the art of closing a deal if their manager could only say "When you get to this point, you close" or "Just do it". Or if the sales manager goes to a client meeting with a salesperson for observation purposes and instead of observing quietly, they "can't help themselves and would start doing all the selling".

Such coaching isn't helpful, says Magee, because employees still wouldn't understand how to do their jobs well. "You need to make sure the manager can describe the steps, the behaviours involved, [how to] ask questions or [how to] overcome concerns in a very detailed fashion so the employee can see how it's done."

On a day-to-day basis, Magee says managers should be in a coaching and communicator role. As the link between the senior levels that are crafting the strategy and determining the vision and the rest of the organisation, Magee says managers have one of the most critical functions to perform. "Managers have to ensure executives are informed on what's happening on the ground and employees are aware of what needs to be done."

But it's also important for managers to be a motivator at work, says Magee. "As a manager, if you are not able to get results through other people, maybe management is not right for you."

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