Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service, 3rd Edition

19

Thinking and Acting Like a Coach

Coaching subordinates isn’t an addition to a manager’s job; it’s an integral part of it.

—George S. Odiorne

The definition of “boss” begins to take shape in most of us long before we get to the job market. It starts with “father” and “mother,” then progresses to “teacher,” “principal,” and “coach.” It may eventually include “professor,” “scoutmaster,” or “drill instructor.” By the time we get to the work world, most of what we know about “bossing” has been shaped by people on whom we were dependent and times when someone else had close to complete control over our immediate actions and longer term destiny. Small wonder that “boss” for most employees is a four-letter word!

From Boss to Leader

Directing the ...