|
Times Have Changed
COVID-19 has caused most leaders to rethink how work gets done. And not surprisingly, our clients are reporting that first-time and middle managers are being asked to do more with less. Especially when it comes to leading virtual teams AND getting specific tasks done themselves.
What Exactly Is a Player-Coach at Work?
The origin of the term player-coach refers to a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. In fact, the first six Baseball World Series were won by a player-coach and Bill Russell won two NBA titles as a player-coach for the Boston Celtics. Although the practice is mostly extinct in sports, many companies today expect their managers – especially their first-level managers – to be an effective player-coach at work.
The Pressure to Do Both
Many pundits believe that people can’t simultaneously perform both roles well. However, some corporations continue to believe that high performing and high potential employees can, at the same time, operate as an effective individual producer and people leader.
These hybrid player-coaches must straddle getting their own project work done while ensuring that their team performs at their peak. Wearing both hats at work is not always easy.
The Top Challenge for People Managers
Over the decades, we have asked thousands of people managers to list their biggest challenges. In the last thirty years, being a player-coach at work has been listed in the top five.
When we ask managers to describe what being a player-coach means to them, they talk about managing project teams while also accomplishing project tasks, managing sales teams while also having a personal sales quota, and stocking store shelves while also serving customers.
While the practice of assigning players as coaches can create great efficiencies, it also poses unique challenges. You need to make sure that the player-coach model makes sense in your company and in each individual situation.
| 
