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Posts Tagged ‘Coaching’
Monday, October 31st, 2011
While there are plenty of skeptics out, Coaching does get results. Documented research and the hands-on application of coaching, has proven this. If the coaching process is done properly and effectively coaching can yield a return on investment far greater than most people realize. What does successful coaching that gets results look like? Consider this rare inside look at how a Coach took an outside-in approach to helping an employee increase and maximize performance, not to mention saving his job. Dear ________
I wanted to take an opportunity to thank you [again] for the workshops a few years back that have proven to be extremely valuable to me as a manager, mentor and coach and would like to share a recent success story with you if that’s OK?
We had an employee who has been with the company for many years – in fact he celebrated his 12th anniversary w/the Company on July 6th. He had slipped into a ‘rut’ over time and in coaching sessions had revealed to me that while he was “happy and content” with his current position and responsibilities, he felt he had been overlooked in compensation and promotion opportunities over time. (My perception based on his behavior and demeanor was quite the opposite – that of unhappiness and discontent.) I committed to him 2 years ago that I would personally do what I could to move him up, but that he had to “buy in” and take greater initiative before I could advocate any advancement.
As he continued to make some improvement, I recommended him for an officer promotion (with no additional compensation) a year ago, but was denied by leadership since they hadn’t observed the initiative necessary for advancement. I felt this would compel him to accelerate his efforts, but realized then and especially now that “rewarding” with an expected improvement isn’t likely to have the same impact as “rewarding” for observed improvement.
In the meantime, he continued to do just enough to get by and with a change in leadership, it was suggested that we let him go (outright w/no relocation or reassignment to another department). While this might have been justified at the time, I felt 11 years tenure w/the Company had some value and that he had untapped talent and skill that would undoubtedly add value to our department and to the company as a whole. I appealed for one last chance to coach him up, we put him under a stringent “performance plan” with required dates to reach expected competency in various areas.
The short story is that we are meeting at 3pm today to review his progress. As a result of his efforts, I have recommended and gained support from 3 levels of management (up to the Chief Credit Officer) to not only promote him from_______ to ______ but to promote his functional title resulting in a pay grade advancement in addition to a slightly more aggressive incentive plan – conditional upon a 9-12month timeline with increased responsibilities and expected competency in specific areas every 90 days. (This is an “open-end” comp change plan that may be extended if thresholds are not met as timely as expected.)
The end result will be that his salary will increase over time by ____ potentially within a 12 month period… Beats the heck out of 2.5% per year in my book! We now have a committed associate who is punctual, smiling when he reports to work and smiling when he leaves. Where he was once very stand-offish and unapproachable, he now exhibits a sense of humor and positive banter among his fellow associates.
In my opinion, today’s environment is much different than that of ______. No longer (at least for now) do our associates “choose” to work for us due to plentiful opportunities elsewhere. Unemployment is at unexpected levels so if we lose them today, they could potentially be unemployed for quite some time.
The outcome could have been quite different had this associate not accepted accountability and made sure that he reached deep within himself to make some personal changes. I am proud of the progress he has made and will be delegating and depending on him much more heavily in the months and years to come. His peers within the department and across the company have noticed, commented and documented the positive changes they have observed, up to and including the same leaders that advocated his termination only 5 months ago.
My intent w/this email is NOT to boast (for in fact I am humbled), but to testify to the effectiveness of the “Coach Approach” rather than dictatorial management style. What a great tool to bring out the best in others, and what personal satisfaction comes from it as a result.
I sincerely hope that all is well with you and yours. THANKS again! I APPRECIATE YOU!!
Respectfully,
_____________________
The testimonial above clearly shows that coaching does get results. Factor in the value of not having to hire, train, and develop a new employee, that you didn’t lose an employee with 11 years of experience, and that the person is an “officer level” candidate, you can see a cost savings of six figures — potentially getting close to seven figures by the time everything is said and done. Coaching can directly and indirectly affect the bottom line. Take the time to coach and get the results you need.
While there are plenty of skeptics out, Coaching does get results. Documented research and the hands-on application of coaching, has proven this. If the coaching process is done properly and effectively coaching can yield a return on investment far greater than most people realize. What does successful coaching that gets results look like? Consider this rare inside look at how a Coach took an outside-in approach to helping an employee increase and maximize performance, not to mention saving his job.
Dear ________
I wanted to take an opportunity to thank you [again] for the workshops a few years back that have proven to be extremely valuable to me as a manager, mentor and coach and would like to share a recent success story with you if that’s OK?
We had an employee who has been with the company for many years – in fact he celebrated his 12th anniversary w/the Company on July 6th. He had slipped into a ‘rut’ over time and in coaching sessions had revealed to me that while he was “happy and content” with his current position and responsibilities, he felt he had been overlooked in compensation and promotion opportunities over time. (My perception based on his behavior and demeanor was quite the opposite – that of unhappiness and discontent.) I committed to him 2 years ago that I would personally do what I could to move him up, but that he had to “buy in” and take greater initiative before I could advocate any advancement.
As he continued to make some improvement, I recommended him for an officer promotion (with no additional compensation) a year ago, but was denied by leadership since they hadn’t observed the initiative necessary for advancement. I felt this would compel him to accelerate his efforts, but realized then and especially now that “rewarding” with an expected improvement isn’t likely to have the same impact as “rewarding” for observed improvement.
In the meantime, he continued to do just enough to get by and with a change in leadership, it was suggested that we let him go (outright w/no relocation or reassignment to another department). While this might have been justified at the time, I felt 11 years tenure w/the Company had some value and that he had untapped talent and skill that would undoubtedly add value to our department and to the company as a whole. I appealed for one last chance to coach him up, we put him under a stringent “performance plan” with required dates to reach expected competency in various areas.
The short story is that we are meeting at 3pm today to review his progress. As a result of his efforts, I have recommended and gained support from 3 levels of management (up to the Chief Credit Officer) to not only promote him from_______ to ______ but to promote his functional title resulting in a pay grade advancement in addition to a slightly more aggressive incentive plan – conditional upon a 9-12month timeline with increased responsibilities and expected competency in specific areas every 90 days. (This is an “open-end” comp change plan that may be extended if thresholds are not met as timely as expected.)
The end result will be that his salary will increase over time by ____ potentially within a 12 month period… Beats the heck out of 2.5% per year in my book! We now have a committed associate who is punctual, smiling when he reports to work and smiling when he leaves. Where he was once very stand-offish and unapproachable, he now exhibits a sense of humor and positive banter among his fellow associates.
In my opinion, today’s environment is much different than that of ______. No longer (at least for now) do our associates “choose” to work for us due to plentiful opportunities elsewhere. Unemployment is at unexpected levels so if we lose them today, they could potentially be unemployed for quite some time.
The outcome could have been quite different had this associate not accepted accountability and made sure that he reached deep within himself to make some personal changes. I am proud of the progress he has made and will be delegating and depending on him much more heavily in the months and years to come. His peers within the department and across the company have noticed, commented and documented the positive changes they have observed, up to and including the same leaders that advocated his termination only 5 months ago.
My intent w/this email is NOT to boast (for in fact I am humbled), but to testify to the effectiveness of the “Coach Approach” rather than dictatorial management style. What a great tool to bring out the best in others, and what personal satisfaction comes from it as a result.
I sincerely hope that all is well with you and yours. THANKS again! I APPRECIATE YOU!!
Respectfully,
_____________________
The testimonial above clearly shows that coaching does get results. Factor in the value of not having to hire, train, and develop a new employee, that you didn’t lose an employee with 11 years of experience, and that the person is an “officer level” candidate, you can see a cost savings of six figures — potentially getting close to seven figures by the time everything is said and done. Coaching can directly and indirectly affect the bottom line. Take the time to coach and get the results you need.
Tags: business coaching, Coaching, coaching results, corporate coaching, Employee Coaching, Performance Coaching
Posted in coaching skills, communication | No Comments »
Monday, October 24th, 2011
One of the services I frequently provide organizations is a process called “Executive Coaching.” The process consists of me working with, or coaching/counseling, usually a senior person in a company. Most commonly the person coached is perceived by his or her boss as needing to improve in some area of performance. Or, the person has demonstrated difficulty in being effective within the organization. I typically work with a person for six months, sometimes longer. During this time we meet at least monthly and discuss personal leadership/managerial effectiveness along with other issues that usually surface during the discussions. I find executive coaching to be a challenge and an incredible training experience, not only for the person I’m coaching, but for me as well. Many techniques and principles I teach in workshops have been learned in coaching sessions. It’s interesting how the differences in people create such a wide variety of behaviors, feelings and attitudes. But I guess that’s what makes us human beings and not animals.
I would like to describe two people whom I have coached in recent months. Obviously, I must conceal their identities, but the people and their situations are real. There are leadership principles represented in these cases that are so compelling to me that I welcome this opportunity to share them in this article.
The first person is a store manager of a regional grocery chain. He has been a store manager for over 15 years and from a first impression a person could assume that he is effective. He has a public persona of charisma and up-tempo happiness. I’m sure that many customers know who he is and might even believe he is a good manager. The truth is, however, that his boss is very close to terminating him. Let me describe why termination is a near possibility, because after we understand why, we can learn from his mistakes.
The district manager and the store employees have a very different opinion of this manager. instead of a charismatic leader, they see a person who procrastinates, doesn’t follow-through on assignments, gets lost in the trees and can’t see the forest, is a poor delegator, and either avoids confrontation at all cost, or is overly dictatorial and sometimes even abusive.
Now remember; this store manager is clearly aware that his continued employment is in serious jeopardy; he has been told by his district manager that if specific issues don’t immediately improve that he could lose his job. So if you were in this manager’s position, what would you do? How would you behave? What would you do to save your job? Those are questions I think I would ask myself, if I were in that position. Wouldn’t you?
Nonetheless, in a recent coaching session I conducted with the district manager, I watched this store manager say anything he could to please his boss. Rather than taking notes on what he needs to do differently, he spent his time trying to say whatever he could to merely get through the meeting and leave the room. It seemed to me that the prudent thing for him to do would have been to make a list of specific action items that needed to be accomplished in order to improve his job situation; instead, he nodded agreement to everything he heard and did whatever he could to shorten the meeting. Although he had a note pad and pen in front of him, he didn’t use them. When asked for a deadline to complete an assignment, his response was, “I’ll have to get back to you on that.” His nervousness was apparent and lie was obviously uncomfortable with the two of us trying to pin him down on specifics. At one point I observed him rocking back and forth in his chair—a clear indication of profound agitation. After the manager left the room the district manager turned to me and said, “He doesn’t get it. And I didn’t get any impression that anything will be different tomorrow than it was yesterday. I’m locked into a course of action that I don’t want to do.”
Why? Why did the manager behave this way? What could be motivating him to be so self-destructive? Before I give my interpretation of the answer, let me describe the second person. She has 35 employees and is the manager of an important department in a manufacturing company. With a master’s degree in engineering and almost 27 years of experience, she commands an impressive salary and position in her company.
Her problem is that she behaves like she is seven feet tall and bulletproof! She is openly defiant of her boss’s instructions and on occasion says things that approach insubordination. For example, her boss told her a few months ago that she needed to attend an important planning meeting in Mexico. When she concocted an excuse why she couldn’t attend on a specific date, her boss changed the date of the meeting to be more convenient for her schedule. So out of a dozen people to attend the meeting eleven adjusted their calendars to agree with this woman’s wishes.
Then, believe it or not, a week before the meeting in Mexico this massager announced to her boss, “The Mexico meeting is unnecessary and stupid. I’m not going!” Let me repeat the same questions I asked about my first example: Why? Why did she behave this way? What could be motivating her to be so self-destructive?
After her announcement I had an unfortunate conversation with this second manager’s boss. He said that he is fed up with her lack of cooperation and unprofessional behavior. He concluded by adding, “If you can’t get her back on track, I only have one final option, and she’s not going to like it.”
So why? Why do some people choose to behave in such indescribable ways? What could cause a person with a great job, including future career possibilities, to either fail to act (as in my first example) or openly rebel against all reason (as in my second example)? What do you think? Have you experienced someone similar to either of these managers?
Put yourself in my position for a minute, what would you do if you were coaching either of these managers? How would you approach the situation to effect change? What techniques or tactics might work better than another? Or, what about this question: is either of these managers salvageable? Are they worth saving? Is it best for all parties to merely terminate the person and start over again with a replacement? Think about these answers and in Part No I’ll describe what actually happened.
One of the services I frequently provide organizations is a process called “Executive Coaching.” The process consists of me working with, or coaching/counseling, usually a senior person in a company. Most commonly the person coached is perceived by his or her boss as needing to improve in some area of performance. Or, the person has demonstrated difficulty in being effective within the organization. I typically work with a person for six months, sometimes longer. During this time we meet at least monthly and discuss personal leadership/managerial effectiveness along with other issues that usually surface during the discussions.
I find executive coaching to be a challenge and an incredible training experience, not only for the person I’m coaching, but for me as well. Many techniques and principles I teach in workshops have been learned in coaching sessions. It’s interesting how the differences in people create such a wide variety of behaviors, feelings and attitudes. But I guess that’s what makes us human beings and not animals.
I would like to describe two people whom I have coached in recent months. Obviously, I must conceal their identities, but the people and their situations are real. There are leadership principles represented in these cases that are so compelling to me that I welcome this opportunity to share them in this article.
The first person is a store manager of a regional grocery chain. He has been a store manager for over 15 years and from a first impression a person could assume that he is effective. He has a public persona of charisma and up-tempo happiness. I’m sure that many customers know who he is and might even believe he is a good manager. The truth is, however, that his boss is very close to terminating him. Let me describe why termination is a near possibility, because after we understand why, we can learn from his mistakes.
The district manager and the store employees have a very different opinion of this manager. instead of a charismatic leader, they see a person who procrastinates, doesn’t follow-through on assignments, gets lost in the trees and can’t see the forest, is a poor delegator, and either avoids confrontation at all cost, or is overly dictatorial and sometimes even abusive.
Now remember; this store manager is clearly aware that his continued employment is in serious jeopardy; he has been told by his district manager that if specific issues don’t immediately improve that he could lose his job. So if you were in this manager’s position, what would you do? How would you behave? What would you do to save your job? Those are questions I think I would ask myself, if I were in that position. Wouldn’t you?
Nonetheless, in a recent coaching session I conducted with the district manager, I watched this store manager say anything he could to please his boss. Rather than taking notes on what he needs to do differently, he spent his time trying to say whatever he could to merely get through the meeting and leave the room. It seemed to me that the prudent thing for him to do would have been to make a list of specific action items that needed to be accomplished in order to improve his job situation; instead, he nodded agreement to everything he heard and did whatever he could to shorten the meeting. Although he had a note pad and pen in front of him, he didn’t use them. When asked for a deadline to complete an assignment, his response was, “I’ll have to get back to you on that.” His nervousness was apparent and lie was obviously uncomfortable with the two of us trying to pin him down on specifics. At one point I observed him rocking back and forth in his chair—a clear indication of profound agitation. After the manager left the room the district manager turned to me and said, “He doesn’t get it. And I didn’t get any impression that anything will be different tomorrow than it was yesterday. I’m locked into a course of action that I don’t want to do.”
Why? Why did the manager behave this way? What could be motivating him to be so self-destructive? Before I give my interpretation of the answer, let me describe the second person. She has 35 employees and is the manager of an important department in a manufacturing company. With a master’s degree in engineering and almost 27 years of experience, she commands an impressive salary and position in her company.
Her problem is that she behaves like she is seven feet tall and bulletproof! She is openly defiant of her boss’s instructions and on occasion says things that approach insubordination. For example, her boss told her a few months ago that she needed to attend an important planning meeting in Mexico. When she concocted an excuse why she couldn’t attend on a specific date, her boss changed the date of the meeting to be more convenient for her schedule. So out of a dozen people to attend the meeting eleven adjusted their calendars to agree with this woman’s wishes.
Then, believe it or not, a week before the meeting in Mexico this massager announced to her boss, “The Mexico meeting is unnecessary and stupid. I’m not going!” Let me repeat the same questions I asked about my first example: Why? Why did she behave this way? What could be motivating her to be so self-destructive?
After her announcement I had an unfortunate conversation with this second manager’s boss. He said that he is fed up with her lack of cooperation and unprofessional behavior. He concluded by adding, “If you can’t get her back on track, I only have one final option, and she’s not going to like it.”
So why? Why do some people choose to behave in such indescribable ways? What could cause a person with a great job, including future career possibilities, to either fail to act (as in my first example) or openly rebel against all reason (as in my second example)? What do you think? Have you experienced someone similar to either of these managers?
Put yourself in my position for a minute, what would you do if you were coaching either of these managers? How would you approach the situation to effect change? What techniques or tactics might work better than another? Or, what about this question: is either of these managers salvageable? Are they worth saving? Is it best for all parties to merely terminate the person and start over again with a replacement? Think about these answers and in Part No I’ll describe what actually happened.
Read Part 2 >>
Tags: Coaching, performance, Performance Coaching
Posted in character, coaching skills | No Comments »
Monday, January 31st, 2011
 “I hope business is slow today” is a constant theme that is present in many organizations. This theme is about individuals, employee, and managers who do not understand or fully realize the importance and value they provide the organization and work they do. These are the people that come into work today, do their job, and collect a pay check. These are the people that truly hope business is slow today through a misunderstood notation that being slow benefits them. Yet the irony of the situation is if business were slow every day, it is likely the organization who provides their paycheck would cease to exist.
If you pay attention to the world of work, you will observe that this them is quite prevalent. It is likely it exists among employees in your own organization (if you haven’t seen it already). It is likely present with your clients, the vendors who serve you, and even at your favorite lunch spot. You don’t have to look hard or far to find those people who truly hope that business is slow today.
Generally speaking, these people aren’t bad people, free loaders, or poor hires. The fact is many of them fail to see or have not been given the full picture of how they help the organization and why they matter. Leaders and managers must be on the look-out for people who hope business is slow, and make an effort to help motivate these individuals and help them understand how important they are to the organization. Couple this with frequent coaching (formal and informal) and a creating a culture of feedback, and you’ll soon find your employee are engage to have a productive day at work with a focus on the bottom line.
Tags: Coaching, corporate coaching, Employee Coaching, motivating employees, motivation, motivation in the workplace, motivation to increase performance
Posted in accountability, bottom line performance, bottom line results, motivation | No Comments »
Monday, October 5th, 2009
Whenever I watch a business show on television, I am amazed at the number of times the word “expectation” is used to describe the performance of a company’s perceived value and stock price. It seems that investor “expectations” often drive stock prices in the market. When a company exceeds expectations, the stock price skyrockets and when a company does not meet or is below investor expectations, then prices plummet reflecting the dissatisfaction of investors in the performance of a company.
This same drama plays out on a much smaller scale with leaders and their individual team members. Expectations play a big part of an effective relationship. The only problem is that all too frequently expectations in the mind of the leader versus expectations in the mind of the follower are unclear, confusing, and ambiguous. Yet, everyone wants to know what is expected of them. We want to be clear about our obligations and duties. We want to be able to anticipate the outcomes and requirements necessary to be a good performer and add value to an organization.
Expectations bind us together; they are the fabric that forms a relationship. Expectations play a key role in building trust and confidence as we anticipate the probability of someone executing necessary duties. When trust is high, we value and leverage our relationships more. When expectations are not achieved our trust bank account is depleted.
Expectations are a key driver in the motivation and engagement levels of people. When people understand expectations and buy in to them, they work harder to fulfill those expectations just like a company does in the financial market. People want to know what is expected of them so they are then able to make decisions about the intensity and discretionary performance they are willing to give towards a task or job. When coaches create a two-way agreement with their team members about expectations, they set the stage for the extraordinary performance necessary in a highly competitive world
CMOE is an advocate of a simple process that we call “the alignment meeting” as a tool to define and clarify expectations. The alignment meeting or discussion should occur periodically with any team to maintain a clear picture of everyone’s expectations. These alignment meetings only take one or two hours with a typical team. They should occur more often for teams that are in a state of change or are in conflict, and less often for stable and harmonious teams. Every time CMOE associates have facilitated an alignment meeting, the topic of feedback coaching and mentoring always surfaces. People have a thirst to know how they are doing, where they stand, and where they are going. They don’t want to be a non-performing asset in the enterprises portfolio of resources. Most people want to be productive contributors, but in order to do that, they need information, feedback, and guidance from a coach. This dynamic creates a “perfect storm” for the leader. If the leader is able to capitalize on the need people have for feedback on their performance, and solidify an “expectation’s agreement,” the leader will then be in a position where people seek out and expect coaching and feedback. This creates a legitimate reason to coach people on key factors that will drive performance for the team and the individual. Coaching then becomes one of the central expectations of the team’s culture. When a leader needs to courageously engage anyone on the team about an important topic or situation, they have an expectation platform or a “license” to operate from. The leader has an understanding that it is their duty and obligation to share information, direction, and feedback. It becomes the normal thing to do; no one feels singled out or targeted. In turn, when feedback is lacking, people on the team are more likely to ask for it and hold the leader more accountable to perform coaching tasks.
The license to coach makes it easier to give and receive coaching. It becomes a natural process. Everyone buys into it because everyone understands that to run a business, you need to be able to talk to people about their performance. When leaders create a license to coach by bringing sound skills to the process, people will excel and even exceed your wildest expectations.
Tags: Coaching, Employee Coaching, Leadership Training, Meeting Expectations, performance, Performance Coaching, Productive contributors, receive and give coaching
Posted in coaching skills, management | No Comments »
Monday, July 6th, 2009
The helm or steering mechanism of a ship adjusts the angle of the rudder, and in turn, changes the direction of the ship. In the 18th century as technology increased ships began to increase in size. While this growth was advantageous, at the same time the ships became increasingly difficult to control. Thus a ship master needed an invention to foster technical growth but at the same time keep the ship on course. Today’s steering wheel was designed to connect to the tiller of the boat, with a block and tackle. This addition provided a considerable increase in the ship’s mechanical capabilities and resulted in smoother operations with less effort.
I relate this story of the steering wheel because the world economy is going through some stormy waters. Although the changes going on may turn out to be good in the long run, it is still difficult to stay the course in the middle of these “troubled waters”. More than ever we need strong leaders to step up and take the “helm”, provide guidance, and “steer” their teams in the right direction.
A strong leader will effectively partner with each employee and provide direction, guidance, and coaching. He or she can help team member adjust their personal courses and move into “smooth water”.
Providing constant support takes a lot of effort but it will be worth it in the long run. Consider the following points when helping your team stay afloat:
Communicating frequently with each team member
-Will reduce or eliminate fear of the unknown
-Encourages confidence in individual performance
Building understanding within your team
-Instills ownership in the tasks to ensure success
-Keeps each person focused on the goal
Encouraging respect between members
-Promotes synergy
-Supports a relaxed and engaging environment
Maintaining your integrity
-Retains trust in you and the organization high
-Inspires integrity from team members
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required.”
-Winston Churchill
Tags: Coaching, leadership skills, qualities of leadership, team building
Posted in communication, leadership, qualities of leadership, team development | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
The benefits to building an effective team within the workplace cannot be understated. Yet, after you laid the groundwork for a great team, maintenance is the most important factor.
No one doubts the importance of team building in an organization, but the necessity to maintain the team and continually foster an environment where it can grow is sometimes overlooked. Just like any engine in a car, in order for all the pieces to function perfectly and reliably, the integral parts must be serviced regularly. Effective coaching for your team may mean the difference between significant long-term productivity and a slow decline into obsolesce.
Effective Communication
 The most significant factor in any team is the ability to communicate skillfully. As a leader it is extremely important for you to be honest in evaluating the team’s communication skill. Every system naturally has a tendency to break down. This isn’t just my opinion; it is the way of all human interaction. Without consistent lubrication and preventive maintenance to keep your people performing at their best, your team will digress into a meaningless machine. The key is to think creatively when renewing team purpose and commitment.
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
Remember, no matter what kind of problem your team may be facing, chances are someone else that someone has already dealt with a similar issue and has a unique way to approach it. Seek these people out with a passion; they will inspire both you and your team to excel. Standing on the shoulders of others is a critical key to transformation and forward progress of your team. You may be able to apply the previously developed method rather than the spending your valuable time on your own trial and error.
Check in Regularly
Good communication means just that – going the extra step to assure progress. Checking in with your team members means more than making sure their productivity is staying high. A teammate who is at the end of his rope when it comes to workload may seem productive; right up to the moment that he ‘breaks.’ When this happens, the personnel gap may cost you more money than if you had checked in frequently with the team member and discovered the issues before they became problems.
This post was contributed by Alisa Johnson, a guest writer, who writes about the top online business school. She welcomes your feedback at Alisa.Johnson1982 at gmail.com
Tags: Coaching, communicate effectively, communication, skillful communciation, team building
Posted in communication, sustainability, teamwork | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 20th, 2009
I’ve been fortunate enough to be exposed to some of the world’s foremost authorities on coaching others for business success. I’ve been able to see firsthand the results effective coaching has in organizations from all over the world. Despite this, when I think back to my first management position at a world-renown advertising agency, I realize that I wasn’t as effective coach and leader as I should have been. At the time, I was young, inexperienced, and most importantly, without any advice from senior leadership on how to be a great leader. My promotion to a manager was based on being technically skilled at the job. I had many shortcomings leading and coaching others for success and I know now my leadership deficiency likely caused some problems with my co-workers and team. If I could go back in time, I would do some things differently.
 Just a few weeks ago, I recognized one of those major deficiencies while standing in the checkout line at a home improvement store. The store wasn’t too busy, but I was eager to give my money away and get home to my project list. I watched the three people in line ahead of me with great anticipation. The woman at the front of the line was purchasing various plants and other outdoor home improvement goods. The first problem occurred when the bar codes on the plants didn’t scan correctly. Then, the cash register system started malfunctioning. The checker, who must have been a relatively new employee, quickly became frazzled. Because he didn’t know how to solve the problem on his own, he called for his manager. The manager, looking saintly and important, strolled over to the register and gently nudged the checker out of the way. He pushed a few keys on the register to fix the issue and everything was as good as new. The manager then quietly exited without saying a word. The checker gave a polite thank you and the manager, without turning around, gave a wave of acknowledgment. The checker finished with the first customer and moved to the next man in line. He experienced the same problem with this customer. Sure enough, the register started malfunctioning, and the checker had to call his manager to solve the problem. This time when the manager strolled back, he pushed a few buttons, turned the key on and off, and said “that should solve it.” I watched the manager closely as he went on his merry way. He seemed satisfied with the speed of his performance.
A couple of hours later, I was back at the home improvement store to purchase a few items that I forgot earlier in the day. I happened to return to the same checkout line and checker and so I asked the checker if his boss had shown him how to troubleshoot the register. He laughed and said “I was told to call my manager over if I have a problem, and it is his job to solve problems how he best sees fit.”
The gap of coaching in this organization became clear. When the manager failed to share his basic knowledge of the register and help the checker troubleshoot problems when they arose, he created dependency. The checker was not empowered to learn, nor did he want to solve any problem on his own. It was painful to realize that I used to be that kind of manager. It was clear that it created trouble for me and my entire team. Whenever something went wrong, I would swoop in to save the day. I used my knowledge and problem solving skills to become an expert and increase my reputation as a “go-to” person. However, I missed many coaching opportunities to share my knowledge with my team. After a while, I was just solving problem; not leading the team and coaching its members to excellence.
I have noticed that the best coaches in the workplace do more than just help or fix problems. They constantly provide guidance, look for opportunities to collaborate, and offer timely advice and assistance for developing others. When a coach looks to enhance growth and performance, promotes individual responsibility, and encourages accountability, you see true magic take place. The great thing about coaching is anyone can learn to do it.
One tip I would recommend to managers and leaders is to get to know your people. Take an interest and have a personal stake in their development. Find ways to encourage learning and communicate your desires to your people on a regular basis. For additional tips check our blog on a regular basis or give us a call to speak with us in person.
Tags: Coaching, coaching skills, effective management, Employee Coaching, Executive Coaching, managers coaching
Posted in Leadership Development, coaching skills, leadership | No Comments »
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
In a previous a previous post, Developing Leaders for Tought Times – Part 1, I wrote about an article on a study conducted by Development Dimensions International. It was so intriguing to me that I tracked down the entire study and have been looking at it in greater detail. Naturally, I have a particular interest in the topic of leadership as I have built a career on it. I have discovered over the years that not everyone agrees with me about the importance of developing today’s and tomorrow’s leaders. But the evidence in this study is compelling: 37% of leaders fail (42% in Asia and 28% in Western Europe) and if you look further into the sources of a leader’s downfall, Leadership/Interpersonal Skills and Strategic (or Visionary) Skills are at the top of the list of reasons.
From my perspective, this is good news because these are leadership competencies that can be developed through sustained training and development initiatives such as coaching, teamwork, strategic thinking, change management, and fundamental leadership qualities. Despite the economic constraints facing many organizations, my hope is that more businesses begin to recognize that a greater number of leaders can be successful and contribute to a company’s bottom line performance when they have well-developed, and sustained interpersonal and strategic skills.
Tags: Coaching, Strategic Thinking, teamwork
Posted in bottom line performance, bottom line results, profitability | 1 Comment »
Monday, February 16th, 2009
Leaders and team members need to be perfectly clear when communicating with each other. We cannot assume that the other person will always understand our meaning, and very often we will have to clarify ourselves to be sure that both the message and received message is the same. This lack of common language can be very frustrating when coaching someone on a very sensitive issue.
While my instance didn’t have a dreadful outcome, difference in understanding caused a leader inconveniences, if not major problems. One of the employees at the department store where I previously worked as a manager was a good clerk, but often caused an issue because of the way she dressed. While the elderly gentlemen at the retirement center across the street adored her and would wait in line just to have her talk to them, our women customers (particularly mothers) and the other clerks often complained about her dressing habits. The way she dressed was more conducive to a bar or pub rather than a department store.
It fell to me to discuss the issue with this clerk. Knowing what I know now, my conversation would have been much easier if I had the 8 Step Coaching Model to help me through. In Step 2, Dr. Stowell explains how a coach should Define the Topic and Needs and in Step 3 Establish Impact, always in a supportive way. Unfortunately, when I talked with this clerk, I immediately went to Step 3 – Establishing Impact. “The way you dress is inappropriate, tone it down a bit. Okay?” She showed up the next day in her uniform top still too tight and still too immodest.
 When I questioned her why she still dressed the same way, despite our conversation, she looked at me defiantly and said, “I didn’t even wear any makeup!” She then proceeded to complain vehemently how no one else was told to quit wearing makeup. My communication has been totally misinterpreted. “Toning it down” had nothing to do with her makeup in my interpretation, but that was the way she understood it. I should have taken the time to explain that the “topic” was the provocative fit of her clothes, not her cosmetics. Step 2 of the Coaching Model is to create a mutually understood picture of what is happening.
Something I might have said was, “I can see that you are sincere in doing the best job you can. I am concerned of the representation of our organization through the way you wear your clothing.” After she thought about it, we could talk about why her dress style could affect the organization. She needed to understand how the way she dressed impacts the organization and her team members.
Or maybe I could have said, “Our customers shop here because we serve family needs. So our dress code requires clerks present a family friendly appearance. You are very important to that image because you are one of the last and first people our customers see. What do you think you can do to present an image our customers would be more comfortable with?” This would have given both of us an opportunity to clarify exactly how we could reach the most appropriate result.
When you address an issue, do you slow down to make sure the recipient understands or do you assume you are always understood? Coaching requires that both parties are on the same page before proceeding to “Establishing the Impact.”
Tags: Coaching, communication
Posted in coaching skills, communication, relationships, sales coaching | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
Earlier this year one of my friends was trying to convince me to compete in a triathlon. I began to think to myself that I need to try something different and to challenge myself. My friend has done several triathlons and is currently training to compete in an Ironman triathlon. With his encouragement, I decided to go ahead and give it a try. Once I told him I was going to do it, he told me that I needed to sign up or I wouldn’t follow through. I put off signing up for about two weeks because of my busy schedule and I was traveling for work. Upon my return, my friend again asked me if I had signed up yet. My response was “No, not yet.” He commented that if I didn’t sign up soon, it wouldn’t happen. So the next day, I finally made the commitment and I signed up for the event.
 I was already in good enough physical condition to go out and complete in the bike and run portion without much training. However, the swim portion had me a little nervous. About three weeks before the triathlon, I met with my friend so he could coach me on swimming techniques and advise me on his best practices from his past experience. His guidance helped tremendously. Not only did he give me some pointers, but he also swam with me to show me how it was done. He also took time to practice an open-water swim with me before the competition so I could experience it prior to the event. If you have never done an open-water, long-distance swim, it can be intimidating and overwhelming. This wasn’t about physical conditioning for the race, it was about mental conditioning.
On August 23rd, I competed in my very first triathlon. It was a “Sprint” level of competition which required that I swim ½ mile, bike 12 miles, and run 3 miles. The help I received from my friend and coach was huge for me. When the race results came in, I didn’t finish first in my age group, but I did finish in 9th place with a time of 1 hour and 33 minutes. A pretty good result for a first time participant and considering there were 33 people in my age group that competed.
As I look back on the experience, I was able to carry out the personal conditioning and accomplish my goal. The most valuable part of the preparation was my friend and coach. He provided me with much mental help in preparation, he offered a road bike to use during the race, all while he trained for the “Olympic” level of the same event. He was highly supportive; he helped push me to enter the race and motivated me to do something new in my life. He made this event easy! This is one role a coach can serve. A coach can provide experience, motivation, verbal and tangible support. Most importantly, a coach helps people figure out how to do things, and empowers individuals. A good coach will let go of control and let individuals learn, execute, and do things on their own. Hopefully we all have a coach like this in our lives and at our workplaces. With a little effort and energy, a coach can take a good team member and push them into a higher performing team member. Then it can become contagious. After my triathlon, my wife, with two of my sons, competed in a mini-triathlon only 1 week later. Coaching can really inspire people to do new things and to set goals that will raise personal worth and development and enhance the results of any organization.
Tags: business coaching, Coaching
Posted in coaching skills, goals & goal setting, motivation | 1 Comment »
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