The Manager As The Coach

Even though I don’t practice as a professional athlete anymore, I’m still a sports person inside. This nature often supports me in my role as Event & Project Manager. I think the coach and the manager have many similarities, both in enhancing the team and/or the individual.

Unlike in the past when the manager was mainly an expert who gave solutions, today he should be a guide, reference and inspiration for the employees. Thus, the manager, like the coach with his athletes, must know how to communicate, motivate and stimulate for maximum performance, through knowledge of the subject and possessing soft skills, i.e. specific social skills.

Being emotionally and empathically intelligent, speaking clearly and thoughtfully, being able to listen and verify that the team has truly understood and leading the dialogue through thought-provoking questions. The manager must guide employees to solve problems, not provide solutions, but ask targeted questions to process and handle any critical issue; develop a maturation process that will lead employees to become aware of their own growth process, capable and responsible for their own choices. 

I believe that observing is more important than simply listening; being physically present and reading the “team world” through behaviours, daily patterns and body language. It is necessary to notice changes and differences from normal behaviour, to understand these differences, both physiological and psychological, in order to train the person and not the employee. This is what a coach does with his team.

Creating an environment of constant learning and improvement for yourself and your team equals your project growth. 

Employees should be able to look at their manager as the one who makes complexity simple.