Managers as Coaches
Organizational
Description
In healthcare, high turnover among frontline staff challenges the ability to deliver high quality care. When it comes to turnover, it’s often said that “people don’t leave their job, they leave their supervisor.” Adopting a coaching style of leadership and supervision is one strategy high performing organizations use to improve retention rates. A coaching style emphasizes supporting team members to gain new skills and advance their careers. As a people-centered management strategy, coaching increases employee satisfaction and retention and improves quality of care.
Process
Supervisors and managers play a pivotal role in the career development of incumbent workers. For example, they mentor staff to grow their skills and identify career paths, recommend employees for training programs, and support flexible scheduling to accommodate learning. Successful implementation of coaching throughout an organization requires a shift in the culture. However, when a relational model of leadership and management is fully embraced at all levels, it is truly transformative.
Here are key steps to implement a coaching style:
- Train leaders and supervisors in core coaching skills such as active listening, self-awareness and self-management, and communicating without judgment or blame.
- Model coaching skills at the very top of the organization. This sets the tone for supervisors at all levels.
- Fully integrate this training into all processes, for example, new hire orientation and supervisory training programs.
- Reinforce skills with regular and ongoing reminders and boosters.
- Redesign the performance review and disciplinary processes to incorporate the coaching style
CareerSTAT Members Implementing This Practice
Resources
How to Adopt a Coaching Mentality and Practice, Madeline Mcneely & Michelle Ehrenreich, Harvard University, 2019.
A blog with tips on how to develop a coaching leadership style.
Coaching in a Business Environment, SHRM.
An article that provides an overview of coaching in a business environment. It discusses the value of coaching and describes some of the practical techniques and tools used in the practice.
PHI Coaching Approach® – PHI National.
A training curriculum to help shift organizational norms and embed coaching skills throughout long-term healthcare organizations.
CareerSTAT Guide to Investing in Frontline Workers: Employer Best Practices for Making Effective Investments in Frontline Workers, National Fund for Workforce Solutions
Related Best Practices
Career Pathways
PROGRAMMATIC | Healthcare provides one of the greatest opportunities for jobs in today’s economy. However, many people do not know about the array of healthcare jobs that exist and struggle to see how an entry level job can grow into a career.
Read MoreSupportive HR Policies
ORGANIZATIONAL | To truly develop the frontline workforce, you need more than programs or initiatives designed for them.
Read MoreCompetency-Based Instruction
PROGRAMMATIC | Competency-based instruction focuses on the knowledge, skill, and attitude needed to succeed in at a task or job rather than classroom hours.
Read MoreCreate an Incumbent Worker Pipeline
PROGRAMMATIC | Employers sometimes overlook a prime talent pool to fill high demand positions — their current workforce.
Read MoreEmployee Skill and Educational Assessments
ORGANIZATIONAL | To effectively coach frontline workers to move ahead, you have to understand their current skill set and education level.
Read MoreFlexible Learning Options
PROGRAMMATIC | With a full-time job and family responsibilities, it can be challenging to accommodate a traditional classroom learning schedule.
Read More