The Need of the Hour: Managing vs. Coaching

Published: Thu, 07/03/14

Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro

"Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference." -- John Wooden, American basketball player and coach.

The Need of the Hour: Managing vs. Coaching

Despite what some people may think, being a manager is no walk in the park. In fact, the combination of mental work, social interaction, project juggling, time management challenges, high pressure, responsibility, and variability makes it among the more demanding types of work any person can take on. The hours are terrible and the stress is inevitable.

But if organizations expect to accomplish anything of consequence, they must have managers, from the front line supervisor on up. While a manager may not directly produce whatever it is an organization makes, they do facilitate and organize team productivity, clearing the way for others to succeed with a minimum of obstacles.

However, a true leader acts as more than just a manager, driving the team's performance; they also act as a coach in the best sense of the word: laying out the general strategy with their talented, trusted team members, who then run with the ball while the coach steps out of the way. So when should you be one or the other?

 
The Managerial Side of the Job.  Managers often have to tell others what to do to get a job done. You may have to act from greater experience, knowledge, or training, directly passing on your requirements through tasking, directives, and initiatives. This most often occurs in situations where immediate needs are paramount, and you need to achieve specific outcomes efficiently and quickly.
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(C) 2014 Laura Stack. Laura Stack is America's premier expert in personal productivity. For over 20 years, her speeches and seminars have helped professionals, leaders, teams, and organizations improve output, execute efficiently, and save time at work. She's the author or coauthor of 10 books, most recently, Execution IS the Strategy. To invite Laura to speak at your next meet or register for her free weekly newsletter, visit www.TheProductivityPro.com.