Stay on track...

Training, from an Olympian’s point of view, is serious business. It’s no less serious for anything someone want to do well.

 

Athletes train to be successful.

So should business professionals.

 

Because we expect competence and professionalism from our mid-level managers, it’s important to invest in their training and development. Many in that group likely were promoted because they were good employees who were good at what they did. But because supervising others often doesn’t come naturally, it’s important to give new managers and supervisors soft skills training, provide coaching to help build their competencies, and allow time for practice to build their confidence levels.  Coaching in this business context includes setting developmental goals and providing training to help achieve them.  Include discussions in your regular meetings with them about the things they learned – ask them questions related to that training to ensure they fully understand what they’ve learned, give them assignments to help them practice, and discuss their experiences using these newly learned skills (whenever you continue to supervise and coach them).  And when they get it right, recognize their efforts (known as catching them doing things right). Help your mid-level managers stay on track with their training goals today.

 

Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall (born 1982): American former competition swimmer and twelve-time Olympic medalist.