Coaching your coach or in other words dealing with your boss at work is one of the most challenging aspects of working life. People who do this well can often count on improved compensation, advancement and visibility to more senior leaders. Those who do not do this well often find themselves with limited if any raises, dead-end careers and little if no “face time” with senior leadership. What differentiates those who do this well from those who do it poorly? While there are many elements to the dynamics of dealing with your boss or coach, several are proposed here.

Do not:
Constantly use face time with your coach to ask what to do or how to do it.\ Use time with you boss to talk only about you, your work and your career unless you have scheduled it in advance as a “career development session”. Limit these to a couple of times per year maximum.

Spend the time with you coach criticizing your company, organization, peers or subordinates. If you are asked about these topics be honest, concise and put it in the best possible terms.

Do:
Come prepared with an outline of what you want to talk about including a brief update on any major projects including quantifiable performance results.

Be prepared to propose what you can do to make you coach more successful and offer to assist in ways that will leverage your strengths and skills. This includes picking up additional projects that may have been assigned to your boss since your last meeting.

Listen more than you talk. Make constructive and specific recommendations. Do not guess. If you can assist with something but need more information, write it down and offer to follow up with the details in a specific period of time.

Optional: if you coach likes things in writing, follow-up the meeting or session with a summary of what you have committed to doing and by when. If this is not consistent with your coaches style, then within one business day, follow-up with a call if your on not co-located summarizing what you committed to doing and by when.

Following these suggestions in dealing with your coach can serve to make you more effective and can also serve to demonstrate to your boss that you are a person he can count on to make the most of their time and deliver consistently on important projects. Both are important to success and advancement in any organization.

George F. Franks, III
http://www.franksconsultinggroup.com