Leading from the Middle

5Leading Those Who Report to You

Sure, as someone leading from the middle you get automatic influence over those who report to you because of your position power. But it's personal power well‐wielded that separates the very best at effectively managing downward. The best at this know it's about relationships, not reporting lines. Their efforts yield commitment versus compliance. They know it's about being a facilitator, not a fixer, and that it's about helping others improve, not proving their own depth of knowledge.

All of that will be you after reading and putting into play this play‐packed chapter. You'll learn how to become a once‐in‐a‐career coach to your employees, how to have great coaching conversations, how to pinpoint their opportunity areas, how to give transformative feedback, and how to teach them in teachable moments.

So, let's get the growing going.

Have Great Coaching Conversations

Leading and influencing down in the organization starts with effective coaching, which centers on having effective coaching conversations. There are several types of coaching conversations, ranging from the initial role and expectation setting and relationship building discussion, to quick check‐ins, to the formal performance review. Let's focus on where you can have the most influence on a continued basis, on ongoing developmental coaching conversations that take place during one‐on‐one meetings with your employees. The first step is to know how to structure these conversations. ...