At one time, the model for managing was “plan, lead, organize, and control.” The words we now need are “empower, influence, facilitate, and coach.” Hudson Valley coaches recognize the possibilities in individuals that they cannot see for themselves and help them reach maximum achievement levels.

To often, companies pay lip service to the idea of coaching without fully supporting change. They continue focusing on the bottom line and reward managers for direct results, not on how they achieve them. In effect they say, “Sure, we want you to be a coach, but you’d better make budget, and hit your targets.”

In a typical management environment, it’s quicker to tell someone what to do based on the manager’s experience. In a coaching environment, on the other hand, the best thing is to share responsibilities and to allow individuals to discover different solutions for themselves.

Hudson Valley managers might focus on controlling a short-term fix and avoiding mistakes, our coach’s focuses on helping the individual see for himself where performance can be improved, and then helping that happen. Everyone benefits when the individual wants to perform at his highest level.

Pure management is about perfecting processes and systems to ensure that things run and work right. Coaching is about identifying right practices and then applying them to produce desired outcomes. The goal is not to create a dependent relationship, rather, create an environment that unlocks the individual’s ability to be self-aware and self-correcting.

Warren Bennis was the first to describe leaders as “doing the right things” and managers as “doing things right”. An obsession with only “doing things right” can result in a finely tuned department of process, controls, and plans without the human component. This stifles innovation and new ideas.

In sports coaches explain things and team members ask questions. In the process, both keep learning. In business this type of exchange is not considered important. It is assumed that everyone simply learns new skills by adopting tips and techniques.

In sports, it is easy for everyone to agree to the same standards of play. The boundaries are clearly marked, and the rules are generally understood and accepted. Establishing business boundaries means explaining the rules and expectations for performance at work. While average managers provide this information in general, a coach communicates it painstakingly. “Here are the boundaries. Here are the expectations. Let’s agree to work on this together.”

Being flexible and negotiable with others is critical to being a successful coach.

Individuals and businesses tend to work inside of a box. They stay with the familiar. Coaching opens the door to the realm of new possibilities, encouraging the individual to explore new options, new potential, and new results. This takes time and practice.

The focus on things like control needs to shift to the value of building lasting coaching relationships. Successful Hudson Valley coaching companies understand that leadership is no longer based on managing, directing, or supervising.

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