4 ways to help Finance coach employees more effectively

The last thing you want are managers and supervisors who do little more than bark out orders and expect finance staffers to follow through.

More often than not, effective managers are skilled coaches.

In fact, research shows that businesses with senior leaders who coach effectively improve their business results by 21%, compared to firms where workers are never coached. Here are four things managers can do to act more like a coach than a boss:

1. Try an ‘ask vs. tell’ approach

Instead of simply telling employees what to do, ask the type of question that will help them create their own solution (e.g., “How would you handle X?”)

2. Lead the conversation

Again, managers want to guide workers with questions – not directives – until the employee comes to a clear understanding of what’s expected and how it will be accomplished.

3. Set up a clear structure

Good coaches excel at setting up a clear structure of actions and outcomes for employees to follow when it comes to achieving a certain goal.

This helps workers stayed focused on what they’re trying to accomplish.

4. Ensure they really understand the feedback

It’s not enough to simply offer workers feedback on what they’ve been working on. Managers must make sure workers really understand what the feedback entailed.

Following up the feedback with a series of clarifying questions is generally the best way to do that.