Choose the time for coaching with care. If something is being done wrong, you may need to act immediately to minimise the problem. In other cases it might be better to let people reflect on their performance, before discussing it with them.

Try hard to catch your team members ‘doing something right’ and praise them for it.

If you need to criticise a weakness, give praise for something they are doing right first, let the individual know they are a valued member of the team.

Do not attempt to tackle more than one or two weaknesses at a time. When you can praise a former problem area as a job well done, you can move onto the next problem.

If an individual has a number of weaknesses, it makes sense to prioritise them, tackle those having the most serious effect on performance first.

Make sure each team member knows what is expected of them, and review this with them regularly as they develop.

As a team members’ strengths grow, look to develop them further. How can you give them further opportunities to utilise their strengths?

Do not force everyone to do things ‘your way’ unless there is an over-riding reason, such as health and safety, to do things in a fixed way. Get your team thinking about the most efficient way to get things done.

Support innovative ideas from your team whenever you can.

Look to identify members of your team who could themselves be coaching the team, and include this in their duties.

Remember your own working practices will be taken by your team as their lead, and will be a strong influence.

Review your efforts in coaching your team very regularly, ideally once per week. Are you doing s much as you can to develop your team? Is any individual being neglected?