My intention was to re-read Tannen's You just don't understand. Woman and men in conversation as a follow-up to the last blog entry. Got side-tracked by pondering how to build trust among colleagues. Now that's a good question! Which prompted me to search for books on "trust in the workplace". You can imagine how many books would have popped up on that topic on the web! So of course I didn't do that. I narrowed my search to books in English that I could borrow in Danish libraries in greater Copenhagen using "trust" as the key word. Which led me to Coaching at work. Powering your team with awareness, responsibility and trust, by Matt Somers (2007). Deviations from a plan can be useful - get it, key thought here ...
Have to confess that I have always been wary of books on coaching - there's just so much stuff out there. Some good, some not. I would recommend Somers' book to any manager who would like to 1) define his/her own approach to managing people and 2) learn now to make that approach more effective. Good summary of Theory X and Y management styles. Good advice to managers on how to apply coaching to areas that can be tough to discuss with staff like performance management and career development. Other good tips on how to overcome presentation nerves and improve personal organization.
What I really liked was his 8th "law on coaching":
Curiosity is more useful than judgement.
That neatly sums up just about all my previous entries on communication, on listening, on seeking to understand. Just be curious. Ask open, non-judgemental questions.
Is that really so difficult?
