21

Coaching a poor performer

Managing and coaching a poor performer is challenging for any leader or coach, and is made even more difficult if the coachee is not aware that they are underperforming. There are some important elements to take account of when coaching someone who is not performing to their full capacity. In this short chapter we will highlight these and offer some ideas that will help you to deal with any coaching situation where underperformance is an issue.

Key considerations

When you are coaching someone for poor performance who is being termed a ‘poor performer’ it is worth considering the following questions:

• Is the underperformance a one off?
  
• Is the underperformance ongoing and part of a bigger issue?
  
• Is the coachee aware that there is an issue and actively seeking to sort things out?
  
• Is the coachee unaware?
  
• Is the issue ability, attitude or motivation?
  
• Are you the coachee’s line manager?
  

The answers to these questions will tend to have an impact on the way you approach the coaching session. On the one hand, if you are coaching someone whose performance has suddenly slipped and he or she knows they have a problem, then you will be able to approach the issue openly and encourage the individual to explain what’s going wrong and then work with them to improve matters. On the other hand, if the individual is a habitual underperformer who appears to be totally unaware that there is an issue you will have a bigger challenge. Typically, in this situation you will be a line manager who must first work with the individual to help them to recognise and accept that a problem exists and to identify what the problem is.

Guidelines for coaching poor performers

When coaching in this type of situation you will have to draw on all your skills and capabilities as a coach. There are, however, several specific guidelines that you should follow:

• Plan your session carefully. More than in any other coaching situation it is imperative to have a plan of action. Make sure you have thought through how you will start the conversation. Make notes about the specifics of the poor performance issue with examples, and the significance of these to the individual, the team and the business. Having all your facts to hand will make it easier to get to the point, stick to the point and help you plot a course to a positive outcome.
  
• Make sure you have a private meeting space and sufficient time allocated. Dealing with poor performance requires your full attention, so ensuring you have a private space with no distractions is essential. There is always a possibility of the unexpected when talking about problem issues – you can never anticipate what is causing the poor performance so this sort of discussion can get quite emotional. Privacy and preparation will help you to deal with this.
  
• Be specific about the behaviour you have noticed, the implications of that behaviour and give examples. It is really important that you focus on behaviour the coachee can change and that you have actually experienced. So tell them what it is they have done and how this impacts on you and others. Don’t discount by adding disclaimers, for instance, ‘… and you are usually such a good member of the team’. Be clear about what you want to say, say it and then give the coachee an opportunity to respond. So, for instance, let’s say that you are dealing with someone who is in general a good performer but in the past few weeks you have noticed a change in their behaviour. You might say something like, ‘Over the past few weeks I have noticed that your time keeping has become erratic and that some of the projects you are working on are getting behind. This causes me some concern as these projects are all important parts of a larger process and we need to complete them on time. Can we please talk about this and explore ways of remedying the situation?’ You have been clear about the issue and you have given the coachee an opportunity to give their perspective.
  
• Don’t make assumptions. Poor performance can happen for many reasons – changes in attitude, lack of skill, something going on in the person’s private life, etc. It is important that when coaching you give the coachee an opportunity to explain what’s going on in their own words. You may be surprised and learn something about the coachee that you didn’t expect. Remember, your role is to start with a positive assumption and work in an empathetic way to help the coachee improve their performance. Communicating this to the coachee early in the conversation can make things easier.
  
• Adopt a businesslike and fair tone. Think about how you manage the conversation. How you start things off will often contribute to the process of the discussion. So, keep your own emotions in check, don’t make a big deal out of the issue, and be professional and businesslike.
  
• Involve the coachee in finding a solution. It is really important to involve the coachee in working the issue through and finding a solution. Once you have stated what the issue is you should quickly ask a question of the coachee and encourage them to share their views of the situation. Use the funnelling technique (see Chapter 6 on questioning) to ask an open-ended question, then follow it with a probe, then another, and another until you are satisfied that you have covered the issue in sufficient detail. The more the coachee is involved in developing ideas for improvement, the more committed they will be to the implementation plan.
  
• Agree a course of action with goals, targets and review steps. The main purpose of coaching a poor performer will be to reach an agreement together about an action plan for improvement. This should be stated very clearly together with plans for review and feedback along the way. At this stage it is worthwhile getting the coachee to summarise the action plan with detail about how they will implement the changes. It is also appropriate for you the coach to agree any resources or assistance for the coachee.
  
• Be clear about the consequences of not changing. It is only fair that you are clear about any consequences should the behaviour not change. These should be shared with the coachee.
  
• Ask the coachee to summarise what they plan to do in writing and let you have a copy. We find that asking our coachees to summarise in writing what we have agreed is good practice. First, it allows you to check that you both have a similar understanding of the situation; and second, once the coachees commit themselves in writing, it usually means they are more committed to the actions.
  

Coaching a poor performer is never easy but it can be incredibly rewarding to help someone to develop and improve their performance and to get back on track.

Tips for success

• Address the performance issue as quickly as possible before it becomes unmanageable.
  
• Start by inquiring openly about the situation rather than judging or blaming.
  
• Keep calm and businesslike and keep your emotions under control.
  
• Remember, it’s the performance that’s poor not the person.