How to be coached by your team

Nobody observes how you work and behave better than your team. Research shows that teams have a much more accurate perception of their boss’ leadership strengths and weaknesses than their boss does of theirs. So your team can be a valuable resource for your self-development – if you permit them.

If you want to use this resource, you will have to:

• Create a team climate of psychological safety, where people feel safe in speaking their minds. You can do this by:
  • Accepting mistakes as part of the learning process and being open about your own mistakes
  • Showing that you value and want to listen to team members’ opinions and ideas
  • Thanking people for their honesty
• Share with the team your Personal Development Plan and any psychometric tests you have done
• Be specific about the behaviours and/or skills you are working on and ask for their feedback and help
• Develop the habit of co-coaching – where you coach them and they coach you
• Be open to some tough messages. If you don’t get them, simply saying “I was expecting a lot tougher feedback” can encourage a more candid response
• Really listen to them when they coach you. Show that you are thinking about what they say and summarise the conversation with what you have taken on board, what you need to think about more, and what you are going to try to do differently
• From time to time review with the team how each of you is progressing on their self-development goals and what help you each need. Of course, this includes you!

© David Clutterbuck. All rights reserved