You are a manager and a leader because you cannot do everything yourself, and your impact is going to increase dramatically as you work through your team. The process of achieving impact through others and increasing that leverage by growing the ability of others to execute and add to the direction you are providing is called coaching. It is about providing direction and empowerment without doing the job yourself.
— Arnie Lund, User Experience Management.
A nice summary of why you even need a manager or team lead in the first place. You can’t do it all yourself but that challenge is actually an opportunity to do even more. And in particular, you can accomplish that in part with coaching.
If you’re a manager or team lead — or a leader because of the actions you take — it’s worth knowing that a strong coaching habit can help you help your teams find a real connection and meaning in their work. Coaching can help them grow through self-reflective problem solving associated with work.
It’s also worth knowing that coaching isn’t necessarily a formal, scheduled “It’s Coachin’ Time!” event. You can coach someone in ten minutes or less and it should be a daily informal event that happens organically if you’re a manager. It shouldn’t have to be a formal thing you do.
If you’re interested in getting better at coaching I recommend Michael Bungay Stanier’s The Coaching Habit and for an introduction, my notes on his Seven Essential Questions for Coaching. I think back on these questions at least once a day. They’ve really helped me improve how I lead, my comfort with seeking out feedback, and given me a framework for solving problems with my team.
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