I have worked in many types of businesses from large multinationals to small indigenous start-ups and have held titles such as “Team Leader”, Strategic Account Manager”, “Business Development Manager” “Sales Manager” and currently “Business and Personal Life Coach”. The challenges and duties demanded of me in these roles varied considerably. They all required managing and interacting with people on a daily basis. While the job descriptions may have been different, there is one common element between them all; - my ultimate aim. The ultimate aim for every Manager should be to “Become redundant”. Before you fall off your seat and flick to the next page writing me off as a madman, allow me the opportunity to explain.

I believe it should be every Manager’s ultimate aim to (a) take 2 weeks holidays off and be confident that everything will not fall apart in his/her absence, (b) have such a motivated and committed team working with him/her that the day to day duties of the department/team/production line and taken care of by team members not by the manager.

By focusing on working to make myself redundant it forces me to ask some difficult questions of myself and the people I work with such as (a) what and how can I delegate, (b) how can each member of my team be as motivated and committed to achieving the Companies objectives as I am, (c) how do I encourage team members to make decisions and take personal responsibility for these decisions, (d) how can I assist my team distinguish between what is important and what is not, (e) what are the important things that I need to focus on that will facilitate the growth, learning and development of each individual, the team as a whole and the organisation in which we work.

If you are a manager, have you ever asked these questions and better still have you found some of the answers?

The method and approach needed to discover the answers requires you to listen, challenge, question, and try to understand, clarify and retain an open mind. It calls on some specific skills, which are not normally taught in Management schools or Universities but can be found in the discipline of Coaching.

I believe that in order to be an effective 21^st century Manager, one needs the ability to recognise, acknowledge, harness and channel the talents, values and beliefs of individuals and teams to maximise that person / team’s potential within the organisation. You can do this by developing your Coaching skills, which are fundamentally based around two very simple yet totally under utilised skills – listening and questioning.

If you too would like to start on the journey to making yourself redundant and finding out more about coaching and how it could benefit you and you team, please feel free to contact me.

As always if you would like to share your experiences, I would be delighted to hear from you. I can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

GOOD LUCK!

Fergal O’Connor is a Business and Personal Life Coach working in partnership with his Business and Private clients providing a supportive, confidential, challenging and non-judgemental environment to make their ambitions and dreams a reality. Fergal can be contacted at Synergy Coaching Services, Tel: (061) 467287, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Limerick Leader 3^rd Spetember 2005.

Copyright  2005 Synergy Coaching Services.