Defining a Coaching Cadence is a Force Multiplier that Will Supercharge Performance

 

 

 

 

 

In military parlance, force multipliers are anything that can take the given combat force of a unit and multiply its effectiveness as if it were a larger unit.  Classically, terrain and fortifications are common examples, but advanced weaponry that outranges the enemy, air support, electronic warfare, information warfare, and psychological warfare, all can play a role in multiplying the combat force in a unit.

For example, if a unit of 1000 soldiers attacks a unit of 500 soldiers, all other things being equal, you would likely expect the attacker to win. However, if the 500 soldiers sat upon a hill, surrounded by minefields and barbed wire, with muddy ground that slows movement and a stream that the attackers must cross, the 500 soldiers might be able to defeat an attack by 1,000 soldiers.  It might take 2,000 or 3,000 soldiers to overcome such a position.

The terrain and fortifications are called “force multipliers” as it permits the unit of 500 to operate with the power of a much larger force.  A force multiplier of +50% or +100% or more might exist for particularly favorable terrain.

Having a consistent coaching cadence for leading your team is a workforce output multiplier. A cadence is simply a rhythmic pattern or sequence you follow. For leaders, it provides a structured process for the activities involved in managing and coaching your team.

Too many leaders bounce from one thing to the next without a method to the madness. Flying by the seat of your pants is not flexibility, it’s a recipe for dropping the ball and missing opportunities. Defining a coaching cadence ensures you cover all the key elements on a set schedule.

Leaders must hold regular check ins, provide individualized coaching, analyze performance, assess and address team dynamics and hiring and retention issues, and track progress towards goals. Setting these meetings and time blocks ahead of time keeps everyone on the same page and embeds them into the processes.

Leading high-performing team requires leadership to juggle a lot. An intentional cadence creates a healthy rhythm to keep those tasks in the air at the same time.

A coaching cadence will simultaneously improve your team’s skills, tap into their internal motivation, and gain buy-in for the actions they need to do in order to be successful in their role.

So how do you create a coaching cadence like this?

Here is a 5-step process to help you define and/or optimize a coaching cadence.

Step 1 — Identify the types of meetings you need to conduct

There are three different stakeholders for a manager and subsequently a need to create three groups of meetings. The first is the individual employee, the second is with your team as a whole, and the third meeting you have is with  direct reports who are supervisors.

A sample guide to communication cadence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2 — Set the duration and frequency of your meetings

After identifying the types of meetings you should have, you then need to determine the duration and timing of those meetings.

How often are you going to have these meetings?

You may have meetings daily, weekly, and monthly — depending on their agenda and objectives. In most cases, the more frequent meetings will be one-on-one with your employees and the team meetings whereas the meetings with your supervisors will be less regular.

Step 3 — Determine the meeting agenda

Read any book on running effective meetings and, chances are, one of the first recommendations is going to be to set an agenda. Managers are often led to believe that having a written plan is the key for an engaging and successful meeting. Sadly, it’s not that easy. Research has actually found little to no relationship between the presence of an agenda and attendees’ evaluation of meeting quality. What matters is not the agenda itself but the relevance and importance of what’s on it, and how the leader facilitates discussion of the agenda items.

Instead of designing your agenda as a laundry list of topics to be broached, consider creating your agenda as a set of questions to be addressed . In its simplest form, the meeting exists to answer a set of compelling questions in an allotted time. Here are some examples of what this could look like:

• Instead of a topic titled “Budget Problems,” consider a question such as, “How will we reduce our spending by 100K by the end of the fiscal year”?
• Instead of a topic titled, “Customer Process Improvement,” consider a question like, “What are the key ways of improving overall response time to customers by 25%?”
•  Instead of a topic titled “Leader Succession,” try changing it to “Where are we vulnerable in our leadership bench strength and how might we address these vulnerabilities?”

Ultimately, a questions-based approach to agendas can bring focus, engagement, and better performance to your meetings (See ask more, tell less). If you have never tried this approach, give it a go. It’s important to experiment, reflect, learn, and tweak your approach. This work will not only help make meetings better, but will also build a broader team culture of learning, taking reasonable risks, and non-complacency.

Step 4 — Map out your quarterly plan

A number of your meetings won’t occur every week so it is also important to map out a quarterly plan.

There is no “one and done” way to approach a quarterly coaching cadence, but this example will give you a well-tested approach to the rhythm of meetings you should be having.

Once you plan out your quarterly meetings it gives you some real structure and purpose to your one-on-ones and day-to-day team habits. It’s no longer just the same old questions being asked every week because the focus is on coaching and continuous improvement over a period of time.

Step 5 — Communicate with your team

The most important thing to consider when you are building a coaching cadence is that you communicate clear responsibilities and expectations with your team. Clarity and alignment on what success looks like for each team member's essential functions is a moving target that needs continual adjusting and fine-tuning.

You want to demonstrate that coaching is at the forefront of everything you do. That failure is okay and feedback is encouraged. That the continuous improvement and honing of team member’s craft is a top priority for the company.

If each member of your team genuinely feels as if their development is the number one priority for you as the leader, then ultimately their performance is going to exponentially improve over time. Helping you move closer to your goals and targets.

These tips will help you build your own coaching cadence and go a long way to creating a high-performing team.

Here are three related posts:

What's Your Work Cadence? Five Ways Cadence Impacts Your Culture and Results   (3 min read)

Proven Ways to Calibrate Organizational Cadence  (3 min read)

 3 Strategies to Develop--and Retain--Your High Performers (5 min read)

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

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