Hear Hear!

Link: MANAGEMENT MATTERS: Managers should be coaches too - Waltham, MA - The Daily News Tribune.

Just for fun, I Googled "management" in the news category tonight, and got this. I really like this article: it's a good, solid, thoughtful reflection on why skillful people management implies coaching - and why that's important. I especially like and agree with this line:

My grandfather knew this when he wrote in the 1930s: "People like to progress. They like to feel that each day, week, month or year they are taking a step ahead. If you can make someone feel that you can show them the way or help them, you can influence them.''

I really think that's right - most people DO like to progress. They may talk themselves out of it, through fear of failure or a need for security and control, but still -- that urge to grow and improve, I think, is hardwired in. And as Stuart Danforth, the writer of the article, says - when people feel you truly support them in their efforts to grow, they'll support you in return.

That's certainly true of most of the people I deal with...how about you?