by Hans M Verheijke, chairman of the Business Performance Academy
If there were a hall of fame for coaches, Socrates would immediately be included.
In a heated discussion about whether slaves have a soul (the ancient Greeks believed that only intelligent people had a life after death), Socrates bet a barrel of mead (the Greek equivalent of a crate of beer) that he could teach an ordinary slave Pythagoras’ theorem.
Pythagoras knew the secret of coaching: learning through questions. Well worded questions lead to awareness. This arouses curiosity which in turn brings the necessary knowledge.
If we know how to use this to motivate self development in co-workers, it will automatically have a positive effect on their behaviour. When we have achieved this, the next step is “just” a question of implementation.
Exemplary behaviour
The most effective way to achieve implementation is through exemplary behaviour. Based on the fact that we are always influential, our exemplary behaviour has a bigger influence than most managers think. When we ask a manager the question,”How do you lead?” the answer usually comes down to the fact that he / she is strongly influenced by the way his/ her boss used to lead. If the former boss set a bad example, he / she will do the opposite. It should be added that man has a natural tendency to follow, and so our exemplary behaviour has a decisive influence on ambition and personality awareness.
Initially, after we have succeeded in using our exemplary behaviour to make our co-workers open to self development, we have to always begin from the point of their current behaviour.
Specifically, this means we have to find out what their ambitions are and the relationship between these ambitions and their personality.
At this point many managers back off; bringing personality into play should be left to the psychologists. But this is a misconception. Being interested in a person and their interests, which are often linked to the person, doesn’t mean we want to change them. By becoming aware of a person’s ambitions we can build on them so that further developments take place and possible changes come from the worker himself. In other words: discover Socrates’ secret. Get to know your colleagues by asking questions. Changes will automatically follow.
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