Adult Communication - Essay Example

m the emphasis is on helping the individual members of the team to learn their potential for performance and through that learning maximize the performance of the team (Whitmore 2003). Managing in simple terms is the process of getting things done by individuals through planning, organizing, coordinating, directing and controlling their activities. Thus managing a team involves using the five functions of planning, organizing, coordinating, directing and controlling the activities of the team members towards the objectives of the team (Managing and Leading).

The difference between coaching becomes evident from their definitions and is lies essentially in their approach. Coaching is people oriented in that it is concerned with the development of the individuals. Managing is task oriented in that the emphasis is on the task to be achieved. The individuals in the team are the means to achieving the task. This analogy gives provides clarity in the difference between coaching a team and managing a team. A given area of land is to be invested with oak saplings.

Oak saplings have a unique feature in that there is a single tap root that extends, as the sapling develops. In nursery saplings the tap root tends to be curled up into a ball, because of the restrictive environment for growth. Managing the investing of the land with oak saplings would involve the transfer of the saplings into the allotted number of pits in as quick and efficient a manner and ensuring the required fertiliser and moisture is provided for growth. This approach is due to the task oriented approach in managing a team.

In the coaching approach the curled up taproot would be first uncurled and in the replanting process care would be taken to ensure that the fragile taproot is extended deep into the ground without damaging it, as this would ensure proper development of the oak sapling into a tree. The necessary moisture would then be provided. Coaching is oriented towards the development of the