Grow your team by goal setting

Traditional management based on fear and control does not create the right atmosphere of co-operation; nor does it develop a culture based on respect. The underlying principle of coaching interaction is to encourage self-belief in an employee, and look at their future potential rather than their past performance to generate the idea of self-motivation.

One of the most widely used and effective coaching tools is the GROW model, which breaks down as follows:

G stands for Goal

At this stage, the coach needs to pinpoint the issue or subject the employee would like help with, and might need to make them aware of the issue that needs addressing. For example, you might say: "I have noticed that you rarely offer your clients advice on their hair; you seem to be happy to follow their instructions."

The motivation for doing this is to bring behaviour into the employee's consciousness - it is very difficult to change behaviours we are not aware of.

It's even better if the employee has an idea themselves of what they would like to work on. So a team member might say: "I would like to increase my retail."  You then ask them: "What would you like to increase it to?"

R stands for Reality

What is the situation now? How many products did the employee sell last week/month? From this, you can create a target. If they sold four products last week and contacted 20 clients, ask them what would be realistic for next week - let them set the goal so they feel involved in the decision, and are aware of their target.

O stands for Options

Rein in the temptation to tell a team member what to do; this can feel like it is being imposed on them, and you might meet resistance. Ask them what they could do to achieve their target. Get as many options as possible, then ask: "Would you like one more option?"  This way, you can add an option of your own, while including them in the decision process.

W stands for Will

How committed is your employee to achieving their goal, and how will they go about achieving it? It is important to get them to commit to a 'by when' date, so ask:  "When will you start this?"  It's a good idea to ask them mid-way through the target time how they are getting on, and when the week is up to carry out a review of how they did. 

Eventually, the GROW model becomes part of your culture, and the teams I have worked with end up being more motivated and confident.