Chapter 1
The Goals of Good Coaching

Morale in the desktop publishing group is low. Some of the employees seem to work furiously every day, but Molly seems to have time to kill. No deadlines have been missed, but the hard-working group seems resentful of the slacker, and she distracts others when she wanders around the office chatting or sits at her computer playing solitaire. You have been getting complaints about Molly, and it’s your responsibility to address this issue. What’s your first move?

We’ll return to this situation after you learn about the goals of good coaching and how management with coaching will help you get the information you need to work toward a solution.

Why Should a Manager Be a Coach?

Coaching is a relatively new field of development (see Chapter 2 for definitions and distinctions of what coaching is). It’s quickly growing in popularity, both as a stand-alone profession and as a tool set for business leaders. Coaching in the workplace can create a positive environment in which employees are empowered, engaged, and valued. In teams, coaching can foster better communication, synergistic thinking, and productivity. For individuals, good coaching can lead to career development, increased resourcefulness, personal empowerment, sustainable change and improvement, and bigger thinking.

Managers and supervisors are often expected to be role models, mentors, leaders, and now coaches. Adding coaching to your skill set not only improves your value in the workplace, it creates new opportunities for your employees and the organization as a whole.

Are You Tapping Your Most Valuable Resource?

Employees offer an enormous source of only partially tapped potential. Each person in a workplace has a specific job, but people are rarely limited to a narrow category. There is much that each employee can offer, in terms of his or her own job performance, creative ideas, skills, and strengths to put to use for the organization, and personal growth and learning. Are you tapping this valuable resource? Connecting with your employees through coaching can open up far more possibilities than you might imagine!

Research by Gallup (Harter, Schmidt, Killham, and Agrawal, Q¹² Meta-Analysis, August 2009) studying the link between employee engagement and performance indicated that highly engaged business/work teams basically doubled their odds of success! Employee engagement is a strategic foundation, not just lip service from human resources. Gallup has shown that engaged workers are more productive, profitable, loyal, and customer focused. In addition, their research discovered that consistently, an employee’s immediate manager had the most profound impact on his or her retention and satisfaction.

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Accessibility

Your Accessibility quotient is your openness to input from your staff. (It also gives some insight into how engaged employees are.) How would your workers respond to the following statements? Answer “yes” or “no” as you think they would really respond, not as you’d like them to.

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My boss:

1. asks for my opinion frequently.

2. listens to my suggestions.

3. takes my ideas seriously.

4. values my opinion.

5. checks with me before making a decision that affects my work.

6. would defend me in a meeting of supervisors.

7. explains goals clearly when giving me a new project.

8. welcomes my questions about an ongoing project.

9. gives me latitude in deciding how to carry out a project.

10. saves criticism for one-on-one sessions.

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Your Responses and Your Management Style

Did you rack up seven or more positive responses in the Accessibility quiz? If so, you already exhibit many of the attributes of a good coach. One of the main goals of management by coaching is to create an atmosphere in which employees are willing and able to share their ideas with a superior. When employees feel heard and valued, they are more invested in their work and the organization.

Getting fewer than seven positive responses doesn’t mean you’re a failure. A low score means you have some work to do. (A lower score may also indicate that you’re more honest and self-critical than most managers.)

Let’s look at each statement and what it indicates about your working relationship with your employees.

1. My boss asks for my opinion frequently. The people who work with you already know you don’t have all the answers. When you ask for an employee’s input, three good things happen, before you even get a response: (1) you show respect for the employee, (2) you show that you don’t think you have a corner on wisdom, and (3) you open yourself to an opportunity to get valuable information. “How do you think we should handle it?” can be one of the best things you ever ask an employee.

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2. My boss listens to my suggestions. Asking is only half the process. Listening is the other half (see Chapter 6 for more on listening skills). Give employees your full attention. Indicate by word and gesture that you’re taking in what they say. Ask questions. Respond honestly.

3. My boss takes my ideas seriously. You say, “Uh huh. That’s … interesting.” The employee hears, “Thanks for nothing. Now we’ll do it my way.” You won’t necessarily agree with employees’ perspectives, and you may not act on their suggestions. But if they offer the input sincerely, you should take it seriously. If you think an idea has merit, say so. If you think it’s flawed, explain why. Discuss ideas, not personalities. Don’t allow the discussion to become a battle between “your idea” and “their idea” or a contest with a winner and a loser.

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4. My boss values my opinion. You show that you value an opinion by listening to it, taking it seriously, and rewarding it. Most businesses reward results—jobs successfully completed, goals reached, bottom lines enriched—if they reward employee performance at all. Appreciation should begin much earlier in the process, when you’re looking for hard work, cooperation, and creative input.

It takes courage and initiative for an employee to speak up. Reward that courage through your words and deeds. Questions and suggested alternatives are positive contributions, not threats.

5. My boss checks with me before making a decision that affects my work. You’re the boss, and you make the decisions. When a decision affects working conditions, you should talk it over with employees and get their input first—not only to show that you respect them, but also to help you make the best decision.

6. My boss would defend me in a meeting of supervisors. Are you willing to go to bat for your employees, fight for them, defend them from unjust attacks, and take your share of the blame when something goes wrong?

Would your workers say that you’re a “stand-up boss”? There’s no higher praise they can give you.

7. My boss explains goals clearly when giving me a new project. Employees are no better at reading your mind than you are at reading theirs. When you assign a task, do you take the time to outline in clear, simple terms exactly what should be accomplished? An employee who understands the overall purpose of her work will do a better job and feel better about doing it. And you’ll prevent costly mistakes down the line.

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8. My boss welcomes my questions about an ongoing project. “Do you understand?” When most folks ask that question, they expect a quick “yes” (the same way most of us expect a perfunctory “Fine, thanks” when we ask, “How are you?”).

Employees’ questions will seem like interruptions and irritations—unless you train yourself to expect and welcome them. Questions are often the only way you really know what an employee has heard and understood. Employees willing to ask you a question now—knowing that they won’t be penalized for showing “ignorance”—will do a better job.

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9. My boss gives me latitude in deciding how to carry out a project. Explain goals clearly and precisely. Answer all questions. But don’t always spell out exactly how those goals should be reached. Whenever possible, leave room for creativity and initiative.

10. My boss saves criticism for one-on-one sessions. Praise in public, criticize in private—not so that people will think you’re a nice person but because it works. Public criticism engenders defensiveness and anger—in the employee criticized and in everybody else within earshot. Criticism in private, delivered decisively but respectfully, has a much better chance of getting you what you want—improved performance.

The Benefits of Good Coaching

Effective coaching moves an employee from WIIFM (what’s in it for me?) to WIIFU (what’s in it for us?)—essentially, creating a higher level of engagement. It enables you, as the coach, to reap specific benefits from your efforts. Let’s look at the advantages you can derive from being a successful coach.

Develop Employees’ Competence

Watch a loving parent initiate a child into the mysteries of riding a bicycle. First the parent instructs the child and then shows how it is done. But at some point the kid has to climb on that bicycle and ride it alone.

Now imagine that you’re the loving parent, running beside the wobbling bike, shouting encouragement, your hand first tightly clutching the handle bars and then gradually loosening your grip until finally, your heart in your throat, you let go, launching your child into the world.

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Now imagine that you’re the child on the bike. You’re terrified and exhilarated, concentrating on keeping the pedals pumping and the bike from falling over. But at some point—hours, days, or maybe even weeks later—you realize that the balancing act, at first seemingly impossible, has become second nature. You don’t have to think about riding the bike; you can just do it—and enjoy it.

Coaching is similar. A good coach helps workers “learn to fly” without regular coaching. And that’s the point. Good coaches create situations where they’re no longer needed.

Diagnose the Roots of Performance Problems

If employees aren’t performing at peak efficiency, you have to figure out the reasons behind it. Too often, getting input from the people closest to the job, the employees themselves, is overlooked.

A good coach asks for employee input and then listens carefully to it. By doing so, you’re more likely to make an accurate assessment, discover the deepest roots of the issue, and get cooperation and investment in arriving at a solution. If employees feel empowered to solve the problem, they’ll solve it.

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Change Unsatisfactory or Unacceptable Performance

Once you have found the source of a problem or unacceptable performance, you can decide how to go about creating a change. Here again, don’t overlook a rich potential source of solutions—the employees themselves. Brainstorm with a group of employees and let them help you evaluate potential actions. When workers are asked about their thoughts and potential solutions, they become more invested in the process. They might get more excited about making a change, and they will feel valued because they were heard. Creating a change with a group, instead of handing down a decision without input, gets buy-in from the start.

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Address a Behavioral Issue

Behavioral problems are sticky territory in the workplace. Performance is at least somewhat objective. You can count outputs and actions taken, and you can compare today’s performance with yesterday’s and mine with yours. But evaluating employees’ behavior is often a matter of assessing attitude and demeanor.

You may think that some employees spend too much time chatting about personal matters when they should be tending to business. But how much time is “too much”? Others may view your workplace and comment on the friendliness and apparent cooperation among staff members. You’re on safer ground when you confine employee evaluations to measurable outputs. If chatty employees are getting their work done, that work is satisfactory, and their conversation isn’t bothering anyone else, the “problem” may be nothing more than your own irritation.

Behavioral guidelines are often vague, but the stakes can be staggeringly high—in lawsuits and grievances alleging discrimination, for example.

Using the basic principles of good coaching is important in these situations. Involve relevant employees in defining the situation and in determining whether behaviors are getting in the way of performance. Check to make sure the “problem” isn’t irritation on your part. Keep an open mind, and keep your assumptions to yourself. Be willing to explain any decisions you may make to address the issues, along with options for appeal to a higher level.

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For example, imagine that three of the four members of your office staff are chatting happily; the fourth is seething. Patti finds this distracting and annoying, she tells you, especially when she’s on the phone with a potential client. She feels that her own job performance is suffering. She also lets you know, without saying so directly, that she doesn’t see how the others could possibly be getting their work done with all that conversation. She wants permission to listen to her MP3 player so that she can use music to screen out the noise.

There’s more than one way forward here: huddle up with all the players and talk it through. You’ll learn how to conduct these sessions, step by step, in later chapters. You’ll get the results you want—and you’ll save time. Plus, you’ll have group buy-in, awareness, and investment in change.

Foster Productive Working Relationships

“Works well with others.” When we were growing up, teachers let parents know on report cards how we were getting along with the other kids. We went to school to learn social skills (take turns, share the crayons, no kicking, and so on) as well as academic subjects.

In an office setting, people are not graded on their social skills—at least not in so many words. Companies set performance objectives but still talk about intangibles like “attitude” and whether an employee is a “team player.” They still want people to work well with others; they just call it something else.

As you apply the techniques of coaching in the workplace, you’ll notice better performance from your employees and also employees helping each other. When you set the example, people take the hint and start coaching each other to higher levels of performance. You can’t order them to do it, but it can happen without your saying a thing.

Create Opportunities for Conveying Appreciation

Many of us have a hard time saying “Thank you” or “Good job.” We lack formal occasions and established patterns for giving praise, and we find it difficult to ad lib.

Coaching provides natural opportunities to praise good work and strong effort.

Foster Self-Coaching Behaviors

As you become an effective coach, you’ll find that employees will become more competent. When you coach an employee through a challenge, you teach him or her to figure out how to deal with similar problems in the future and tap inner personal resources.

Remember: Your role goes beyond getting specific tasks completed. It’s about creating more competent and committed employees who have the ability to add ever-higher levels of value to the organization.

Improve Employee Performance, Engagement, and Morale

Call it morale, self-esteem, or whatever you want. How your staff members feel about themselves and their roles in the workplace makes a big difference in their performances.

Coaching employees with respect does a lot to improve morale and engagement. It also affects their performance. By allowing employees to take responsibility and initiative for their work, you’ll empower them, and thus improve their morale in ways no seminar, pep talk, or self-help book ever could.

This final point, then, is the culmination of all those already listed. As you increase performance through coaching, you also improve morale and engagement. Your ability to coach effectively communicates to employees that you care about them and are committed to helping them improve. This can translate into commitment and excitement about their work. And this naturally leads to higher performance and higher morale. In other words, all these actions go together, and coaching is the method that makes it happen.

Meanwhile, Back at the Publishing Group

Let’s go back to the story at the beginning of this chapter. Along with complaints from the other desktop publishers, you hear from the writers and project managers that Molly distracts them when she constantly “pops in” to their offices to say hello. You’ve noticed that she seems distracted, bored, and disengaged. What are your options?

1. Send the entire publishing department to a team-building event. Maybe that will improve morale and get Molly back to work.

2. Warn Molly about the problem, give her three months to shape up, and put a note in her personnel file. She needs to shape up or get out.

3. Send Molly to a training workshop on the software she uses. She’s probably trying to do a good job, maybe she just doesn’t know how to use the software correctly.

4. Rearrange the work flow system. You may be able to fix the problem without upsetting anyone.

5. Do nothing. The situation might work itself out when things simmer down. Besides, Molly has made no secret about being unhappy with her job. Maybe she’ll leave soon.

What’s your call, coach?

None of the above. At this stage, you don’t know enough about the problem to create a solution. You need more information—and one of the best sources for it is sitting in her cubicle right now, playing another game of solitaire because she’s so bored.

In later chapters, we discuss the best ways to get that information. For now, let’s imagine a conversation that will give you a good sense of how a skillful coach might handle the situation.

You: I’d like to take a look at the way we handle work flow. Can you give me a few minutes to explain the system to me?

Molly: Sure. (She explains how the desktop publishers work in teams with the writers and project managers, so that one person might be deluged with new projects all at once, whereas another might only have clean-up work, revisions, or be waiting for new assignments.)

You: So in that case, the whole team has to wait for their specific publisher to get around to their project?

Molly: Yep. They try to schedule the projects so they don’t end up down here all at once, but we all know how well that works [rolls her eyes]. Nothing really stays on schedule; it usually runs long or sometimes short, so the schedules are more like wishful thinking.

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You: It sounds like a single publisher can get really overloaded and another might not have much to do.

Molly: You got that right. I know everyone is really busy these past few months, but I haven’t had as much to do, and I know they resent me for it. I see them glaring at me, and sometimes I hear them talking behind my back.

You: Do you have any ideas as to why you haven’t seemed as busy as the others?

Molly: Oh, several. For one thing, I work pretty fast, so I can finish my work on a particular book a little faster than someone else might. I’m only on two teams right now, and most of the others are on at least three. Both of my teams seem to be at “in-between” stages, waiting on some graphics or material before coming to me, so I’m in a holding pattern. I was on a third team, but with that round of layoffs a few months ago, that team was let go and their work reassigned.

You: Do the others ever ask you to help them out if they are behind?

Molly: Sometimes. I’m happy to help them. But when the team structure was rolled out, the brass seemed interested in keeping things consistent with just one publisher on each project, without spreading the workload out, so we’ve all been leery of asking for help.

You: I get the sense that you don’t want to be bored.

Molly: Oh heck no! I would rather be busy than bored. It’s frustrating.

You: Well, what could you do if you don’t have any assigned work on your schedule?

Molly: I’m not sure. With the team structure as it is, I don’t think the others will let me help with their projects. We tend to get territorial about them.

You: OK, if you’re not helping on a specific project, what else might you do?

Molly: Hmm. I’ve noticed that we don’t seem to have a set procedure for how raw documents are typeset and how revisions are handled. I’ve made up some of my own checklists and flow charts, because I like having them. Tim saw them and wanted to use them, too, so he has copies. Maybe I could use those to create some forms for the whole department.

You: Wow, that sounds really helpful! I’d like to see them, too.

Molly: Okay, I can start that today.

You: Great! What else could you do?

Molly: Well, I’ve noticed that sometimes the writers get bogged down in checking the revisions, which can really delay a project. I used to do some proofreading at my last job, and I could do that here. Maybe I could do a quick review of a revision, flag any errors that need to be fixed, and then either send it back to the writers or give it back to the publishers to fix.

You: That sounds like it might be helpful. Would that work in the team structure?

Molly: I think so, because it would be a new role, instead of taking over for someone already doing it. Plus, having a fresh set of eyes on a piece can be helpful. If you’ve seen a particular piece a number of times, it gets harder to spot the errors. I learned that working for a magazine.

You: I think I can support you there. Let’s try it out with one team for a week or two, and if it works well, then I’ll alert the other writers to do the same.

Molly: Sounds good.

You: Thanks for your insights, Molly. Let me know how your procedural forms go, and how the proofreading works out.

Molly: Will do!

That’s how the dialog might go. However it proceeds, you can expect the interchange to be productive when employees trust you enough to express themselves freely with the expectation that you’re there to help. It’s likely that you’ll make progress toward a solution even if you don’t solve the problem outright.

That’s what this book is all about—helping you achieve peak employee performance and engagement through good coaching. Read on.

The Coach’s Checklist for Chapter 1

If you’re not developing your people, you’re wasting your most valuable resource.

How accessible are you, and how engaged are your employees? If you didn’t take the accessibility quiz, go back and do it now.

Coaching is good for employees, and it’s good for managers as well. Coaching builds relationships that result in continuously improved performance for you and your employees.