From Captain to
Coach
Leading a business is a
tough job in the best of circumstances. How one balances the complex roles of
business leader, steward of corporate assets and fallible human being can lead
to vastly different outcomes. The roles often have conflicting demands and may
leave the CEO feeling, at the end of the day, that there's no way to win. While
there are no easy answers, the CEO can change these circumstances with a
deliberate, considered effort to lead in collaborative ways. And one of them is
to be a coach. In today’s competitive environment you need to attain and
practice new work habits. To become a coach from a captain is not a luxury but
a necessity.
Power
play doesn’t work but it needs a mentorship. In past CEO’s focus was on result
and now paradigms are shifting to people.
It is time when organization run short of
talent so CEO should play a mentoring role looking organization from outside.
He must analyze how is decision is perceived and what perception people carry
about their roles and organization.
“Training
is now a need, which has to be undertaken everyday at every level. So a new CEO
means who remains behind curtain and train people.” Says Prince Augustine,
President, Mahindra Group “There is a lot of change in attitude that time is
demanding and it has to be context specific. Leaders must take step towards
fulfilling personal self-actualization needs. They must enhance their social
responsibility.”
Enhancing
Social responsibility of business also means strengthening corporate branding
strategies, enhancing role of business and be more sensitive towards society
needs and its progress. “While playing this role he must see organization from
all the angles from outside and see where actually shaping and reshaping is
needed” continues Prince.
Information
revolution has empowered everyone and people are empowered with ideas like ever
before. It’s not about managing people but managing ideas and intellectualism.
“A Leader must be direction provider now helping people to club their personal
goals with organizational goals so as they achieve want they want at the same
time enhancing growth of their organizations.” Says Sridhar Patrachari CEO of
Aqua logistics, “In past CEO’s focus was result but now employees awareness
levels have gone up so paradigms should shift to people. They must convey Team
Leaders to mentor thoughts and coach them in training minds. A CEO not only has
wisdom but power of experience that young mind needs”. Explain Patrachari.
Looking
at recent Sharukh flick Chak De India Leaders must know that when a team
captain lift the cup the whole credit goes to coach. How a coach handles
situation, handles people and handles professional and personal problems of
players affect overall performance of team. A coach reserve power to change
Captain and has power to raise a 12th man to achieve status of
captain.
“In
corporate sector best example is of Narayan Murthy of Infosys, a Chief Mentor
Officer now. He is playing a perfect role of a coach and growth of Infosys is
exemplary and credit goes to his coaching and mentoring abilities” accentuates
Gaurav Verma HR Professional from Heinz India “How a CEO is being perceived by
people plays a pivotal role when we talk about transition of role from being a
captain to coach. If his way of doing things have brought success to company
than it is best time for him to share his ways of doing day to day things
shaping long term goals.”
Relationships
become key to the effective sharing of needed information. Collaborative
relationships create the connections inside the organization required to
operationalize its strategic intent. These relationship interconnections are
referred as "thought partnerships." More specifically, a thought
partnership is a relationship formed among two or more people, in a value
creating enterprise for the purpose of generating social or intellectual value.
Thought partnerships are the fundamental ingredient needed to be successful in
any collaborative relationship between the Coach and his/her team. No team can
afford "victim thinking" or "finger-pointing." To stay
positive and productive, leaders must be able to adjust their own attitudes
when discouragements or unwelcome situations come their way. And they must
encourage those they lead to do likewise. With a variety of easy-to-use
"Attitude Adjustments," leaders learn to accept and even profit from
difficult change and crisis, instead of resenting and resisting them. Being
authoritative and dictator is good when you have people who are not responsive
to change and happy and content with way they are doing their job. But when you
want same set of people should be responsive, have an urge to grow and wish to
be progressive than coach them dictatorship won’t work.
Its
all about growing organizations not individual.
Good wisdom for managers and leaders.
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