Coaching, Mentoring and Managing: A Coach Guidebook

Make Sure No Interruptions Will Occur

Be careful that you might inadvertently signal that the

employee is not important. Take care of phone and people

interruptions. Here’s what you can do ... When someone comes to

your office, notify whoever handles visitors and incoming calls

that you are unavailable until a specific time. If you think you

might be interrupted by an upper-management emergency, tell the

team member about that possibility — and apologize in advance.

When an employee sees that these precautions have been taken, he

knows you believe that he is important.

Avoid Distractions

When you conduct a face-to-face meeting, choose an

environment that won’t distract you. Offices with no windows are

best for this — especially if the windows open onto another office

environment. Focus on your associate.

Plan Ahead and Finish on Time

Have you ever been told, “I need five minutes of your time,”

and it cost you an hour? Frustrating, isn’t it? You can avoid that by

making a meeting agenda. It doesn’t have to be a detailed, multi-

page affair — just a short outline will do. It will keep you on time

and on target, while giving your team member a sense of what you

want to cover and how far you are in the meeting. Also, consider

attention span and the ability to concentrate. People can stay with

a concept or thought for no more than 15 to 20 minutes. Group

your information into palatable time frames. The ideal is to deal

with no more than three points or three subjects within each 20

minutes.

Gain Control of Your Emotions Before You Start

Make sure your emotions are under control in two ways:

1) Make your breathing regular and deep and 2) guard your voice

tone.

Coaching, Mentoring and Managing

5

If you get your

voice tone

under control,

your emotions

invariably follow!