TORONTO, Ont. – According to Bob Flynn of PeopleWorks, there is no leadership without influence and neither without coaching.

These are just some of the words of wisdom the presenter had to offer during the Ontario Trucking Association’s convention.

The presentation touched on skills that enable executives and managers to identify key characteristics essential to effective leadership.

“Coaching and teaching are a predominant way you influence people. Your job as a leader in business is to coach and teach. It is incumbent onto all of us to be drivers of change,” says Flynn.

Flynn explained to the well-attended session that teaching without pinpointed coaching has an 85 per cent failure rate.

He insists the coaching process has five specific elements to look for: what do you want to accomplish, communicate and collaborate with the persons directly responsible for those accomplishments, determine the behavior necessary, determine strengths and weaknesses of those persons, determine and adhere to the trainee’s style.

“All roads lead to the manager’s office. You are the problem and you are the solution,” he says. He explains businesses cannot rely on trial and error to survive in today’s competitive business world. A business slow to respond to market changes is on the road to mediocrity.

“If you are not predicting market changes, they’ll jump on you like a chicken on a june bug,” says Flynn.

Coaching is the reinforcement managers and executives should use, Flynn says.

“Without reinforcement, no behavior will last long. People are starved for reinforcement … People do what they do because of what happens to them when they do it.”

To achieve the level of performance desired Flynn explains one has to catch people doing things right rather than always focusing on the wrong.

“If you are getting behaviors you want, they are being reinforced … if you are getting behaviors you don’t want, they are being reinforced,” says Flynn.

“In work environments where management is not making a conscious attempt to positively reinforce, the extinction of best efforts is assured.” –