The idea of Managing People is to get them Comfortable to express themselves, both as a professional as well as a person. One once said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know that you care”.
Taking someone to coffee gives you an opportunity to sit with them, listen, and learn. That kind of a conversation can be powerful employee motivation. It can head off conflict and violence. Just sharing a cup of coffee gives you a great chance to learn important information about yourself, your employees, your company, and even your competitors.
The whole point is to get away from the distractions for a little while, if any of you can’t take coffee then the beverage really doesn’t matter. Bottled water , Tea, Fruit Juices, and Sodas are all acceptable. It only needs to be something relatively inexpensive that is readily available, can be served quickly, and that you can linger over while you talk.
The one thing you want to avoid is anything Alcoholic. Going out for a “beer” or “having a glass of wine” makes it more of a social event than a business meeting. Besides, you don’t want either of you to be embarrassed with “after-sober” effect.
Remember the reason you are having this chat in the coffee shop instead of your office is to learn something from the other person in more relax way. It might be that you want them to share their progress. It could be that you want to hear their ideas for the new product or how to fix the old one. It can be just as important to check their temperature as to check the coffee’s and to find out if they are overstressed and why. The thing is you need to keep your mouth shut and your ears open.
Listen to the other person. That’s the purpose for this getaway. Listening, is more than just letting the other person speak. But also focus on what they are saying. Remember you left the office to get away from the distractions there, so don’t distract yourself here by letting your mind wander. Unless any of you have something to present, then you should keep your laptop closed and your phone silenced.
Actively listening also means occasionally repeating a statement of theirs back to them to show you are listening and to encourage them to keep talking. The Japanese even have a word for this, “Aizuchi”.
Here, coffee is described as a tool to narrowing the gap of superiority and to get with people. I would say, a cup of coffee could loosen up the tense which allows people to think creatively about issue on their productivity for instance. Upon then a shot of statement in challenging them to be proactive towards their creative idea could be injected.
Have a Productive Proactive Cup of Coffee.
