Not everyone is automatically good at everything they do; some take longer to understand the simple concepts that others do in less time, and that’s perfectly fine. We’ve probably encountered this in on our personal lives as well as our professional lives. It’s important to learn to give contrastive feedback and coaching if you’re in a position whereby you’re helping someone, whether they be a friend or a colleague. Coaching that’s done delicately, with kindness and understanding goes a long way! Specifically in business as a leader, you need to believe that your employees have the capacity to improve rather than dismissing their potential because they fell short.

Consider this example: SMRT is a leading public transportation company in Singapore that has launched a mobile app for its patrons. However, not all their employees know the ins and outs of modern technology; instead of replacing them, they helped them grow. The same goes for their customers – they might need education and coaching too!

Here are five tips you can try to help your employees reach their full potential too:

Tip #1 Establish a Comfortable Working Relationship

It would be impossible to work with a direct superior who gives off intimidating vibes, especially if they should act as a mentor. You won’t want the employees you’re supposed to be coaching to cower when speaking in your presence; you must first establish a comfortable working relationship with them. This way, your employees can truly speak their minds and woes without fear of getting punished for lagging. It is at this point where you can listen to what they have to say, where they feel like they’re lacking, or what kind of help they need to improve their performance.

Once you have established a comfortable mentor-mentee relationship, you can also ask them how they like to be recognized when they do a good job. This is because doing so will allow you to appropriately praise them for their job well done throughout the duration of your coaching sessions.

Tip #2 Create a List of Achievable Goals

One of the main reasons you’re coaching your employees is that you want them to develop their skills, which can help strengthen their performance at work. However, not everyone is built the same way — you have to allow your employees to set goals based on their individual capabilities.

Of course, you can provide your mentees with a list of goals that must be achieved within your allotted coaching sessions, but nothing should ever be set in stone. Instead of forcing them to adhere to a stringent list of goals, give your employees some room to create their own set of achievable goals because they know themselves best.

Tip #3 Identify Areas of Improvement

Most employees learn better when they realize their faults on their own rather than if they were pointed out to them. But just because they have to get to that point themselves doesn’t mean you can’t help them get there faster. As a coach, you are allowed to give your insight through guiding questions.

It can be difficult for your employees to make progress if they have to stop and rack their brains for non-existent answers every few steps. If you know how to help your employees, you should take it upon yourself to encourage them without spoon-feeding the answers they need to learn independently.

Tip #4 Build a Feasible Progress Timeline

The goal of coaching is to yield changes and results, which is why you need to follow a specific timeline of events that you hope to meet. Doing so can allow you to rest assured that you and your employees are on the same page regarding how they can improve their performance.

Of course, this progress timeline should take your employees’ individual strengths and weaknesses into account, so the deadlines should be feasible. You must also remember that all your employees are different people with varying levels of expertise, which means you can’t compare their progress to one another.

Tip #5 Provide Constant Moral Support

It can be frustrating to repeatedly go over the same things during your coaching sessions, but as a mentor, it is your job to let your mentees know that you’re there for them. Showing that you believe that they can improve, learn, and eventually do a good job can go a long way in motivating them to work harder.

Encouraging your employees when they’re stuck will be better than tearing them down for failing because focusing on the negatives will only demoralize them. If they’re having a hard time, allow them to rest for a bit to boost their morale before they jump back into the task. You’ll be surprised at how effective rest is when boosting employee productivity.

Change doesn’t happen overnight, no matter how hard your employees try. Going too hard too fast can even take a turn for the worse because they rushed through the slow-brewing process instead of taking their time to acknowledge their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

If you are determined to help your employees succeed just like SMRT CEO, you must first ingrain this mindset into their heads. Doing so will allow them to be more mindful of their actions and decisions throughout the coaching process instead of diving headfirst into the murky waters of their misdirected intentions for personal development. 

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