executive coaching, team building, leadership, organization development expert michael cardus

We’ve all heard it “You should be coaching your staff.” Then you walk away agreeing and thinking, “I barely have time to do my work, never mind coach and do the work of my staff.” Agreed.

And at some point (because you are a great manager), someone will come to you with a problem. And (because your job is to add value to the work of others) you will have to do something.

  1. You tell them what to do – and they leave feeling dejected. Because they already know what to do. Or they think you don’t understand their need, or worse, they keep coming back and asking what to do next-then complain that you are micro-managing the work.
  2. You ask them the 4 questions below – and they leave feeling supported and confused and with a next step. Once that next step is taken, if they come back, ask the same 4 questions…eventually (because you are a great manager), they will start asking the questions themselves and get the work done.
On to the Inquiry:

What is your next step, and when can we go and see?

  • What is your next step?
  • If you were one step closer to the goal, how would you know?
  • In the past, when successful, what could you go and see that showed that you are progressing?
  • What is your next step? When can we go and see?