Andre, a 48-year-old manager, head of operations of a large engineering and building company was referred to me for coaching to improve his interpersonal relationships at work. He was a good manager – delivery was on time, deadlines were met, projects handled well. Overcoming challenges typical in that industry was a priority especially when it came to managing trade union relationships and staff.
The challenge he wanted to work on in coaching was developing his relationship with his team members. He felt his team was operating well enough on a tactical level but that they rarely, if ever, went the extra mile and didn’t take complete ownership of their work. They did as they were told and performed well but didn’t come up with their own solutions and ideas about how to deliver even better results. He wanted to take his team and his business unit to the next level of high-performance.
The first time we met, he was stumped. He was doing the right things; his overall performance and ratings were good but he wanted more…
Within the first couple of sessions his story began to unfold. Through exploring more about who he is and what drives him, I noticed that he spoke with such pride and affection about his family. He told me he was particularly proud of a recent achievement of his daughter’s in her first year of university. Naturally, I asked him how they celebrated her achievement and he said that he told her how happy and proud he is.
The conversation went something like this…
Me: Did you take her out for dinner?
Andre: No…
Me: Did you buy a small gift?
Andre: No…
Me: Did you hug her and tell how much you love her?
Andre: Mmmm… we’re not that kind of family
Me: You don’t hug her every day when she comes home from university?
Andre: Naaa…
Me (still on the same line of curiosity): Do you hug your wife every day?
Andre: I love my wife but we’re just not like that
Can you guess what his coaching assignment was?
“Hug your wife and kids every day until I see you again”
The next time we met, he had done his homework. He said it took some courage to change his mindset and he hugged his wife when he came home from work… every day. As he told me this, his smile lit up the room and something inside him just opened up in that moment.
That daily hug opened something in him that translated into a connection and a level of caring that was projected on to his team at work as well. From this conversation, we went on to design an approach to connect with his team more deeply. He found out what they care about so that the level of care could permeate into their work relationships, style and performance as well.
He now enjoys trust relationships with his team where the kindness and caring translates into openness, ownership and even higher levels of performance.
The daily hugs only happen at home (much to Andre’s relief, I didn’t give him homework to hug his team every day) but the impact is felt in his team.
If you want to uncover the secret in you to creating trust relationships at work that translate into ownership and high performance, we’re ready to help you figure it out. Let’s have a conversation.
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