But I have no time to coach! (IntelliCoach Newsletter)

Do you think you have no time to coach? Your calculation may miss something important!

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This is the number 1 objection I hear from anyone who evaluates the role of coaching as a leadership style or skill from the sidelines.

The underlying assumptions about coaching are pretty clear and numerous in this case:

It surely takes a serious amount of time.

It must be slow.

It definitely takes me away from getting things done.

It is just a nice to have, but when things get serious, it's not the right tool.

It is soft and wishy-washy.

Over the next few weeks, I will talk to all of these points and more. And this week, let's start by addressing the main objection that prevents people from doing it: 'I have no time for it'.

Here's the 1 idea I want to convey in this newsletter:

Coaching is a technique and intervention which has its main positive impact in second and third-order effects.

One of the main issues with 'I have no time' is that we typically stop at comparing 1st order costs with 1st order benefits. Let's talk about what that means.

What is the idea behind it?

For many actions in your life, there are multiple levels of consequences and outcomes. Let's look at a simple example: Going to the gym.

(Source: Medium / Paloit)

1st Order Impacts of going to the gym:

Time 'Lost' to the overall transaction (going and leaving and exercise itself)

Immediate Exhaustion

Money Spent

Potentially high opportunity cost (I could have done this or that instead)

Immediate emotional and physical release

2nd Order Consequence (here it gets interesting)

Time gained due to the generally higher productivity

Feeling great later after having done a good workout + shower.

Getting an additional energy kick for upcoming work/activities.

3rd Order Consequence

Building and maintaining emotional balance as a human being

Gaining capacity and stamina to succeed better in all areas of life

Gaining time back due to higher, general productivity

Better sleep

Being less sick

More general happiness

Gaining a competitive advantage over people who do not practice it

and many more. Do you see a pattern here?

What are some other activities that have similar patterns?

Eating healthily (has lots of positive second/third order effects, but may require some short-term trade-offs and adjustments.)

Learning (the positive second/third-oder impact of learning is massive! think of the immense first-level opportunity costs of going to university and the long-term benefits in society, for example)

Saving Money (gaining future financial power by reducing your available cash today)

Well, and then, there's the activity of coaching team members.

The Effects of Coaching

What are some of the effects of coaching team members? Let's apply the same thinking as in the gym example above. (Note, this list is not comprehensive and your experience may vary!)

1st Order Outcomes of Coaching Team Members, as perceived by busy Leaders:

Immediate time 'lost' by listening to them and understanding their exact 'wants' and 'challenges', instead of telling them quickly what to do

Uncertainty of not knowing where this conversation may go

A feeling of loss of control and discomfort

The very tangible opportunity cost: I could have addressed something else that's urgent and important.

Immediate Team Member motivation, excitement, reflection, ideation.

2nd Order Impacts that are typical for Coaching:

Drastically reduced need to make time for follow-up questions and meetings when instructions and intentions by Leader are misunderstood.

Team members gains innate motivation by being a co-creating partner in the conversation.

Team members feel ownership and excitement about having come up with a solution and idea.

Team members feel supported and taken seriously by their Leader.

3rd Order Impacts that are typical for Coaching:

Consistent growth in ability of Team Members to handle more and more challenges themselves with confidence.

Growing capacity of Team Members to master future challenges.

Increased Trust between Leader and Team Member, leading to less 'protective' behaviours and generally faster overall collaboration ("The Speed of Trust").

Generally higher levels of autonomy for team members, leading to more space for the Leader to focus on what only they can do.

Healthier overall team culture and faster/better delivery of work objectives

This is quite a typical lop-sided distribution of effects: Coaching is an activity with often perceived clear upfront immediate costs, but significant 2nd order and 3rd order positive effects that are easily missed in the heat of the moment.

Summary

When we say 'I don't have time for coaching', we typically compare the immediate 1st order benefits to the 1st order costs. And here, the calculation is clear. The immediate effects of coaching may be costly, similar to learning, saving money or going to the gym.

However, the pictures changes completely when we compare the expense of time for coaching to the massive 2nd or even 3rd order positive effects it creates. It's hard to see the 3 clarification meetings later this week that now don't happen as a positive impact.

As they say: There is no glory in prevention. Coaching does somewhat work in the same category, as it prevents future need to react, firefight, solve and remind.

In the end, 'I have no time' is just code for 'I have prioritised'. Let's admit to ourselves that we prioritised a short-term quick solution through our advice, rather than building future capability for our team member. Even if it was the right decision, our assessment and decision will have been a lot more mature.

All the best and enjoy prioritising:)

Maik

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An Inspiring Quote

"If you don't make time to coach your team members, be prepare to make time to continuously react, solve and remind instead."

Have a great week ahead!