Title: Project Manager as Team Coach - Plan for Success
Headings: The project manager as team coach
The project manager as team coach
How to cite this article:
Pamela Abdon, MBA, PMP
Chapter Vice President, PMI Southwest Missouri
Abstract
Introduction
What Is Coaching and What Is Not Coaching?
Why Should You Coach?
Whom Should You Coach?
When and Where Do You Coach?
How Do You Coach for Success?
How Do You Know When Coaching is Successful?
Conclusion

Content: Empowerment is a powerful tool in the hands of a project manager as it increases individual and team accountability and motivation to perform. In essence, coaching is about getting the best results from the team by providing them with the skills and knowledge to promote effective decision-making that results in improved project performance. Whom Should You Coach? Coaching is most effective when the person being coached wants to be coached. As long as an individual is willing to be coached, coaching will improve their performance. A coaching partnership can develop between a project manager and team members, between two project managers, or between a project manager and their supervisor. In a coaching relationship, there is one party who needs guidance in resolving an issue (“coachee”) and one party who can provide guidance on resolving that issue (“coach”). Some project team members recognize they lack certain skills and are motivated to improve through coaching. Other members may not be aware they are lacking specific skills. In this case, you as a coaching project manager need to help the team member identify the need and allow them to acquire the skills before y