08/ 25/ 2006
by Charles R. McConnell
A wise individual once said: People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be--not what you nag them to be. That simple sentence summarizes the primary purpose of employee coaching.
Coaching is the ongoing process of helping people fulfill their responsibilities and achieve results. As such, it is an inseparable part of day-to-day, face-to-face leadership. Coaching goes well beyond straightforward instruction. While it does address task outcomes and how to achieve them, it also deals with attitudes, discipline, morale, ethics and sometimes career development. The effective coach is instructor, cheerleader, counselor, disciplinarian, evaluator, resource person and troubleshooter.
An effective coach is one who: shows workers how to get the job done; keeps them informed, letting them know what's going on not only with their jobs but with the company overall; helps individuals who experience job- or company-related problems; listens--really listens--to employees; are quick to praise and give credit when it's due; and always directs negative feedback at performance and results, never people. The effective coach also sets a good example by modeling appropriate behavior, provides encouragement and psychological support and pitches in and helps with routine work during emergencies, and when there aren't enough hands to get the work done.
There are a number of commonly encountered reasons behind substandard employee performance. Here are some of the more frequent reasons, along with the appropriate coaching responses.
- Employees don't know all that's expected of them. All people working at all levels must know fully what's expected of them to be able to perform capably and completely. Coaches tell them, remind them and clarify the company's expectations of them.
- Employees don't always know how to do what they're expected to do. Coaches show them how, instructing and demonstrating and generally helping them learn.
- Occasionally employees don't know their performance is not up to standard. Coaches show them how their performance is lagging and how to achieve standard performance.
- For the employees who could do better if they tried harder, coaches show them how to become motivated to improve, and they also encourage them and cheer them on.
- When employees encounter obstacles that hinder performance, coaches remove the obstacles and show the employees how to overcome barriers encountered in the future.
- When employees become discouraged, coaches support and encourage them.
- When employees feel their work goes unnoticed or unappreciated, coaches are the first to praise and make sure that others are made aware of work well done.
Coaching is an integral part of the daily activity of every first-line manager. Coaching begins with orientation and training, and from then on, the manager should coach every time someone asks for advice or help, requires assistance or steps out of line. The more time one spends listening to the employees and observing what they're doing, the more apparent opportunities to coach will become. This suggests as well that the most effective coaches--and thus the most effective managers--don't spend more of their time in their offices, meetings, departments or areas. Rather, the effective coaches spend most of their time where people work, remaining visible to the employees and readily available to them. In doing so, however, don't "hover" and become a seemingly constant--and, for some, stifling--presence. Take the time to learn which people seem to need help the most often and which ones can safely be left to their devices for longer periods.
The principal hazard in active coaching is overdoing the helping-hand role, allowing employees to take advantage of your assistance when they should be developing self-sufficiency. If the manager takes on every little problem that arises, an employee will learn little or nothing and thus won't grow in capability. On the other hand, if all of the problems are left to the employee's discretion, the employee will likely be overwhelmed and thus become a substandard performer, if not a short-term turnover statistic.
A critical aspect of coaching resides in the desirability of teaching employees the concept of completed staff work. Instead of allowing an employee to say, in effect, "I've got this problem, boss--what should I do?" encourage the employee to bring you the problem, along with a potential solution or two and a recommendation, saying, in effect, "I've got this problem. Here's what I think might solve it. What do you think?"
Coaching should enjoy a significant position in every first-line manager's collection of skills. Effective coaching helps employees develop their capabilities. It also reduces the need for problem-related counseling and, thus, reduces the incidence of corrective processes such as disciplinary action.
