Coaching vs Telling
A new supervisor told me, “If I don’t tell them exactly what to do, it won’t get done right.”
They weren’t wrong to care about standards.
But the team had become dependent, waiting for instructions instead of thinking.
What’s Really Going Wrong
Telling creates compliance.
Coaching creates capability.
In manufacturing, both matter, but capability is what scales leadership.
The People-First Shift
Mentoring doesn’t mean hands-off. It means building thinking.
Boss Talk: “Do it this way.”
Guide Talk: “What’s your plan and what could get in the way?”
3 Coaching Questions That Build Ownership
“What’s the outcome we need?”
“What’s your plan to get there?”
“What support do you need from me?”
Reflection Question
Where could one coaching question replace a directive this week?
Ownership grows when leaders coach in the moment, not just correct after the fact.