Digital Dealer - July 2019 - 4

D E A L E R OP S & M A NA GE M EN T: Le ad er shi p

By Dave Anderson
President,
LearnToLead

Are You a Critic
or a Coach?
Ken Blanchard called
feedback the "breakfast
of champions," and rightfully
so because we all need
feedback in order to grow
and develop to our fullest
potential. When done
properly, coaching those on
your team and giving quality
feedback is one of the
highest return uses of your
time. However, when it
comes to giving feedback,
many leaders today are
more of a critic than they are
a coach. They point out
what's wrong without
offering the individual any
coaching that would allow
them to adjust and bring
better performance day in
and day out.
Criticism without coaching doesn't elevate people
- it frustrates them. What
follows are some key principles of coaching, and some
steps to make sure you're
the coach your team deserves and not just a critic.
But first, let's define and recognize what it means to be
a critic, and what it means
to be a coach, so you can
better assess your style of
giving feedback.
A critic is defined as "one
who expresses displeasure
or an unfavorable opinion
about someone or something." Simply put, criticism
without coaching is merely
expressing displeasure and
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leaving it at that - not exactly the balanced feedback
"breakfast" necessary to
grow, develop, and invest in
the people on our team.
A coach, on the other
hand, is defined as "someone who gives private
teaching, a trainer or coach."
Make no mistake, a coach
will also express displeasure
concerning poor behaviors
or performance, but the
difference is that he or she

reminding the offender of
their past flaws and faults as
the critic does.
2. To improve performance a good coach will
show the person what good
performance looks like if
necessary.
By redefining the performance expectation with the
individual, you're setting
the standard. By modeling
and demonstrating the good
performance that you're

STRONG CULTURES
UNDERSTAND THAT
TALENT DOESN'T ARRIVE
FULLY DEVELOPED, AND
THAT A FEROCIOUS
DEDICATION MUST BE
MADE..."
will also provide instruction
on how to improve.
With a better understanding of what it means to be a
critic and a coach, let's look
further at the differences
between them.
1. To improve performance, a coach will provide
feedback concerning poor
performance, and immediately follow it up by redefining a performance expectation.
The coach will do this
both conversationally and
sincerely, without getting
personal, profane, loud, or

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

looking for, you're setting
the example.
3. To further reinforce his
or her point, the coach will
explain why it's important to
perform the task or duty in
the manner prescribed.
A great demonstration
of what you're looking for,
by itself, is not enough to
help coach the individual
to greater levels of performance. This is why the best
leaders in any field explain
the "why" behind it. They
understand that people
are more likely to apply
the "how," and live with the

"what," if they first understand the "why."
4. To test the individual's comprehension of the
feedback and the example
demonstrated, a coach will
ask the person to perform
the task again to demonstrate their understanding of
the proper technique.
The only way you can
know for sure that people
get it is to test them and let
them show you that they've
got it.
5. If the person requires
further training to be able to
perform the task or create the desired outcome,
the coach will provide the
resources necessary to
support the person.
Strong cultures understand that talent doesn't
arrive fully developed and
that a ferocious dedication
must be made to training,
coaching, and mentoring
employees. Identifying and
resourcing a team member's
growth by providing tools,
experience, mentors, training or additional practice
are key ways the coach
supports and helps build the
skill set necessary for the
person to perform well.
6. Once the performance
improves a coach will
reinforce the change or
improved behavior.
This is because behaviors
that are reinforced and rewarded are more likely to be
repeated. But remember, the
longer you wait to reinforce
the behavior, the less impact
it has. Reinforce often and
quickly when you're trying
to influence behavioral and
performance changes.
7. If necessary, the coach
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