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Coaching - The New Word in Management
The Old Way – Command and Control Although workplaces and management styles have come a long way in the last decade, the command and control style of management behaviour remains common practice in many companies. This management approach basically...
How To Set Goals Like Bill Gates
I just got back from a seminar I spoke at in Texas this weekend and I want to share with you a 'theme' I heard from
3 coaching clients I was able to get together with there.
What was so interesting to me is that ALL 3 of them said the EXACT ...
Monday Morning Mindfulness
Learn more about these topics by subscribing to "Monday Morning Mindfulness" at http://www.schrift.com/monday.htm Sandra's ezine 'Monday Morning Mindfulness' Sandra Schrift will help you grow and enlighten your soul with her bi-weekly ezine...
ROI on the 8-Step Coaching Model
Every training program should be examined for cost
effectiveness; that is, the value of the program to the cost of
implementing that program. The 8-Step Coaching
Model taught by CMOE is no exception. The following
story is an example of how...
The Goals of Leadership Coaching and Partnerships
Webster’s Dictionary describes a “partner” as an ally or an association built around common interests and goals.
A partnership denotes a joint venture, a relationship built on equal status (rather than inequality). Mutual consent and...
THE “SEVEN Cs”: PARTNERSHIP DANGER SIGNS - The 4th C: CUMULATIVE MONEY PROBLEMS
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble. The 4th C: CUMULATIVE MONEY PROBLEMS Conflicts over money are very high on the list of reasons that 70% of business partnerships fail....
Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Joining a Professional Association
I'll be the first to admit that I went a little nuts when I moved I moved recently in terms of going all-out to participate in a variety of professional associations. I had some experience with most of the groups that I visited in other places I had...
Top Ten Online Choices to Get Clients to Choose you Again and Again - Part 1
Did you know that 95% of coaching businesses fail because their owners don't pay enough attention to sales copy? Whether you are a professional speaker, coach, or entrepreneur, every business wants more clients. Even more, they want to entice...
What I would include in a Coaching Book
A coach is an essential figure in providing direction and leadership to his/her team. In sports, coaches are sometimes evaluated on the number of wins they can produce. In a business setting, coaches are evaluated on how efficient they are in...
What is a Lead Worth?
Lately, I have been happily attracting leads for my Internet marketing products and services from a wide range of sources including search engine advertising, online classified ads and even an eBay campaign. But am I spending too much? What is a...
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The ACHILLES’ HEEL OF MANAGEMENT COACHING
While heading home at day’s end, you begin reflecting on a coaching meeting you had earlier that day with an employee, Chris. You hope that, this time, you finally succeeded in getting her to understand the importance of spending less time in disruptive socializing in the office and more time elevating her performance. If not, you feel that your only remaining alternatives are to give her a poor performance evaluation or demotion or may even fire her. You’re reluctant to do either of the first two things because you know these would disrupt the positive work relationship you’ve had with Chris. And you don’t really want to fire her. On the other hand, you’re running out of patience; this is the fourth time you’ve said something to Chris about the situation. Admittedly, the first few times, your comments may have missed the mark because you gave her only some casual feedback. But about a month ago, you held a formal coaching meeting with Chris, in which you discussed the situation in depth and came away thinking that she understood the need to change her behavior. In fact, she did change. But after a week or so, she was back to her old behavior.
Sound familiar? The most critical step in the management coaching process – getting an employee to agree there’s a need for improvement – is usually not well understood or well executed. Without that, there’s little likelihood of any permanent change.
Not a chewing out
As the use of coaching rises, so does the confusion over what it is and isn’t. I define management coaching as an interpersonal process between a manager and an employee in which the manager helps the employee redirect his or her performance while maintaining mutual trust. Coaching differs from feedback, although feedback is part of the management coaching process. Feedback is given by a manager or supervisor in response to a specific event or situation; coaching focuses on a pattern of behavior along with strategies for growth and development. Coaching is all about the art of turning situations and events into learning and growing experiences. Examples include missing several deadlines in a short period despite being reminded that meeting deadlines is important, continuing to arrive late for work after being told tardiness is not acceptable, and continuing to interrupt others in
spite of receiving feedback that such behavior isn’t appropriate. Management Coaching is not “chewing out”, taking to task, or threatening employees to try to improve their performance. Those tactics can work, but the results may be worse than the original problem. Such approaches tend to make employees passive-aggressive. They will walk the line and do nothing more or less than what is asked.
In general, a management coaching meeting should take place only after an employee understands clearly what’s expected and has received feedback at least once that his or her performance is not what it could or should be. However, in some cases, certain significant events may be the focus of a coaching meeting, before they develop into a pattern of behavior. For example, a manufacturer decided that any safety violation – no matter how minor – would be addressed in a coaching discussion and, if significant, could lead to formal discipline.
Coaching involves these critical elements:
- A two-way dialogue
- A series of interdependent steps or objectives
- Specific coaching skills and strategies
- Courage and conviction
- A personal sense of humor
The management coaching process has two primary areas of focus: helping an employee recognize the need to improve his or her performance and developing an employee’s commitment to taking steps to improve performance permanently.
While all of the steps in the C.M.O.E coaching model are important, the most critical one is often not understood or carried out effectively – getting an employee to recognize and agree that there is a need to improve his performance. That step is equally important whether an employee has a specific performance problem or an employee is an average performer who could do better. Without a felt need for change and greater self awareness, there’s little likelihood that any improvement will occur or that it will be permanent.
About the Author
The Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness (CMOE) seeks to improve individual leadership and team member skills within organizations.
For professional information on management coaching, visit CMOE.
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