11 Reasons You Need to Make Time for One-on-One Coaching

As a manager, it can be quite awkward to admit a weakness. I openly discuss these topics a lot because I want to make other managers aware of any potential blind spots. Another is to show modesty and put your attention on bettering yourself. This blog entry is no different. The purpose of sharing this challenge with you as a manager is to make you aware of how crucial one-on-one coaching sessions are for every member of your team. Additionally, to assist you in comprehending how your employees, business, and career will be impacted by these interactions.

The Issue

I never had enough time as a young sales manager to complete everything I wanted to do each day. I wanted to have a conversation with each team member one-on-one on their efforts. I hoped to have enough time to learn about their objectives and concentrate on strategic business planning to help them be attained. This wasn’t feasible in my reality. Although I had these intentions, I always found an explanation or an excuse not to act. I would spend my time catching up with my staff, putting out fires, and helping them with issues, and I would run out of time. This was in addition to the numerous responsibilities, meetings, reports, interactions with clients, and other duties that high management positions included.

My perception of the advantages of performance coaching eventually changed. I came to understand how effective the activity, when carried out properly and consistently, can be for all parties concerned. I was unable to schedule these private sessions with every member of my team because I still had so much going on. I played down its significance because I had to finish everything else first.

I felt that I was doing a subpar job of holding both my team and myself responsible for attending frequent meetings. I was “successful despite myself,” as my coach described it, but there was still something lacking. With the help of a single passage I read in a book, the missing component was found. The book’s title was “The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results,” and it was written by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. “What is the one thing you can do to make everything else simpler or unnecessary?” asks the book.

The Answer

I quickly made the connection between coaching and targeted intention. I came to a choice after giving this question some thought. Everything would be simpler or unnecessary if I made coaching my team in person my “one thing.” They would develop into the kind of workers who could think through and take responsibility for their own difficulties in order to find solutions. My team would stop fires from starting by improving their communication and customer service abilities. They would create business plans to make sure they achieved or exceeded their objectives. I would support them in long-term planning and serve as their partner in accountability. Making performance coaching my only focus would assist my team in succeeding, break down obstacles to success, and propel my business forward. I committed and made a decision to set aside time for individual growth for my team and me.

11 Benefits from the Coaching Time Spent

I started coaching my squad for at least 15 hours a month or more. Here are some of the outcomes as reported by my staff. These are only a small sample of the many accolades and coaching triumphs we have enjoyed over the past few years.

1. Coaching Builds Self-Belief

Knowing that I am putting in the effort each week to achieve my goals feels amazing. “I enjoy being a member of the successful team!” and “It’s fantastic to be able to interact with my CEO successfully.” What a relief.

2. Coaching Aids in Employee Development

“I am confident that I am advancing my career in the right way.” and I achieved all of my career objectives this year! I’m eager to find out where I go next year.

3. Accountability is Promoted by Coaching

“I did promise to do that going forward, but this time I didn’t.” “My error is mine.”  I rate my ability to take responsibility for my actions this month at ten.”

4. Coaching Clarifies Goals

“I used to sell for money, but now I realize there are so many more important things to sell for.”

5. Coaching Encourages Independence

I no longer feel the need to come to you for every solution because I am capable of solving problems on my own, and I regularly ask myself, “What Would Sean Do?” I laughed at this one because I’ve said the same thing about my coach.

6. Coaches Encourage Mastery

“I’m improving at my job.” I was able to enhance my online sales procedure because of the book I recently finished. In comparison to my finest month ever, I sold 7 more units this month.

7. Coaching Produces Achievement

Never in my life have I earned this much money. I’ll never again work for a salary. and “I’d like to thank you for your assistance in advancing my career.” Working with you is very enjoyable.

8. Coaching Provides Contentment

“Today I sold 2 units! I adore my work. and “We could only have fun like this in this office!” I genuinely enjoy going to work every day.

9. Mentoring Reduces Turnover

They can see I care when I spend one-on-one time with them, and it makes them feel valued. We also work together to find solutions and create programs that will enable them to meet their sales targets, which will enable them to achieve their financial objectives. Meeting sales quotas makes people feel more accomplished and satisfied, which helps them remain on the job longer. At a top-producing auto dealership, having fewer than three salespeople leave while promoting seven and hiring six in more than a year is quite a success story.

10. Coaching Boosts Sales and Revenue

Our staff is pushing themselves to try things they might not have done on their own. Although they are aware that their managers are available if necessary, they are free to take the necessary action to produce the desired results. I see every advantage that my team sees. Their success is my success because I am their leader. I can feel their successes, and they are addictive!

11. Coaching Reduces the Stress of Leadership

Since one-on-one coaching is the same as understanding and knowing every member of your team. It relieves a lot of tension to know what makes each team member tick and how to effectively inspire and motivate them. Effectively generating buy-in for the tasks that will make each team member successful will be possible. Your blood pressure will drop if you don’t repeat yourself as often or yell at yourself to get moving. Coaching also helps you keep an eye on your employees’ levels of satisfaction. This knowledge can minimize stress while preventing costly misunderstandings and team discontent.

Did Scheduled One-on-One Coaching Give Me More Free Time?

Sure enough, it didn’t! Ironically, having frequent one-on-one coaching sessions with my entire staff didn’t free up any of my time at all despite the overall shift in thinking and behavior. However, it did alter the tasks I was made to complete. I spend less time putting out fires and responding to queries that people could find answers to on their own. Simple processes don’t need as much babysitting from me. Since so few of the people we coach regularly quit, I no longer have to spend time finding replacements.

I’ve replaced these activities with hammering out more deals for higher sales in order to free up my time from them. I talk to the new clients that my sales team brings in more frequently. To expand and keep up with the growth in sales, I find, hire, and train additional employees. I like investing more time in developing leaders for my business. For the higher sales volume, I spend time sourcing and managing a larger inventory.

In the end, I gained important knowledge. The world of business and management will always be chaotic and difficult. You will constantly be occupied and have a wide selection of assignments and activities to choose from bell to bell. Would you rather be proactive and invest your time in tasks that foster personal development, yield positive outcomes for your business, and create a work environment where people are motivated by shared objectives? Or are you going to skip the coaching and spend all your time being reactive? As a result, if you choose this path, you’ll have to spend more time fixing mistakes, putting out fires, and rebuilding after employees leave frequently. You’ll also have to fire people more frequently for poor performance, drive people to mediocrity, and watch as your employees struggle to meet goals if you even know what they are. Both routes are congested and contain some stress. Any decision you make will demand a lot of concentration and movement on your part. In comparison, one feels wonderful and benefits others, whilst the other occasionally seem annoying or even upsetting. The alternative to random environmental responses is focused intention and growth.

Learn from my mistakes. Schedule frequent one-on-one coaching sessions with each team member. Find out how to accomplish this efficiently, schedule the appointments, and keep them. Both your life and the lives of your team members will be altered. You will gain knowledge and experience from performing this crucial action, and you will do so again. If you don’t want to, at the very least, pay someone to coach each member of your team individually. By doing this, you will spend more time engaging in the pursuits that advance your profession, bring about success, and renew your energy.