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Letter from the Editor
This is a short issue of The Key. It’s not because I couldn’t find anything to talk about. That’s a problem I don’t have. The fact is, I have TOO much to talk about and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are only two things that are most important today.
Both things relate to coaching, specifically developmental coaching – helping employees improve their job performance.
 The ultimate responsibility for job performance lies with the manager or supervisor. Even more than the employee! At the end of the day, the manager is held accountable by the organization for the completion of the work and the achievement of objectives. The employee – at the very cold heart of the matter – is an instrument to completing the work. Granted, the employee may suffer consequences for poor performance – including termination – but it’s ultimately the manager’s job to ensure that the required performance is achieved.
Therefore, I find it utterly baffling that more managers and supervisors leave the performance of their employees up to chance, with perchance a yearly forced intervention – known as the annual review – that tends to demotivate both employee and supervisor!
Get involved. Coach!
Terry
Entelechy Conducts Roundtable on Coaching at ISPI
 Entelechy presented a roundtable at the ISPI international conference last week in San Francisco. A roundtable is an opportunity for like-minded individuals to discuss a common topic; the topic for my 25-minute roundtable was
So You Want to Use Coaching to Develop Your Employees. I expected 10-15 participants and had over 50. If you were one of those who didn’t receive the handout (or even if you didn’t come to the conference and wish a handout), email me.
The most important take-aways from this session included:
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Start where you are. Coaching is like dieting or exercise or being more affectionate to your spouse – it feels weird to start because there
is so much history that is holding us back. Just begin where you’re at. If you’ve never had a discussion with an employee, start there. If you talk regularly with employees, but not about job performance, start there. If you talk about performance but only when it’s negative performance, start talking about positive performance. If you provide tons of recognition for positive performance, but don’t touch areas for development, start there. Just START!
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Tie coaching to performance metrics. Developmental coaching isn’t about making employees better people, it’s about helping them excel at their jobs. Developmental coaching – as opposed to life coaching or career coaching or counseling – isn’t squishy if it’s tied to job performance.
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Separate coaching from performance management.
Coaching is designed to help people get better at what they’re already doing well. It’s turning C or B performance into A+ performance. If an employee is performing below what’s required for the job, it’s likely that corrective action – not coaching – is required. Keeping coaching conversations separate from corrective action conversations is key.
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Define YOUR coaching model and process. While I believe that Entelechy’s coaching model and process is the best in the world, the reality is that different models and processes work for different people and different situations. Coaching after each sales call may work for some sales managers, whereas others find holding a coaching session every two weeks or two months works for them and their employees. The key is predictability and commitment; employees need to
know your level of interest and involvement in their development.
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Start with those who want; build to those who need. Face it, it’s easier to pick the apples from the lower branches than risking life and limb (pun intended) pursuing apples at the top of the tree. Coaching is easier – especially if you’re starting off – when the coachee is eager. Hone your coaching skills on those who want to be coached.
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Make it valuable (articulate the benefits). How will the coachee benefit from coaching? What’s in it for the coachee? If the benefits aren’t apparent to you, then figure that piece out BEFORE coaching. Equally important is to figure out why coaching is valuable to YOU, the coach. Without a constant reminder of the value of coaching, it’s easy to push off the task of coaching.
There’s more information in the handout that I distributed – that you can receive by emailing me at
ttraut@unlockit.com.
This information comes from Coaching for Performance, a module in Entelechy’s
High Performance Management training. Check out this module as well as our 40 other modules, training tools, and eGuides at
www.unlockit.com.
WHY Don’t Managers and Supervisors Coach?
 Caution: No answers ahead. I NEED your input!!! (I will collect your thoughts and stories and publish them in a special coaching issue of
The Key – and perhaps in my upcoming book on developmental coaching.)
In previous issues of The Key, I explained how to analyze and respond to performance problems as an integral part of coaching. And in issues before the most recent one, I explained HOW to coach.
As I prepare to write a book on developmental coaching, one constant nagging question haunts me: WHY won’t supervisors and managers coach?
According to a variety of studies, many employees – good employees – don’t feel that they receive the coaching they need to improve performance. After surveying 2,600 US workers, New York-based Mercer Human Resource Consulting (April 2003) found that:
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Only one-fourth of employees indicated that their managers coach them to improve performance.
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Forty-two percent say that their manager gives them regular feedback on their performance.
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Just 29% say that they are rewarded when they do a good job.
Towers Perrin, another New York-based consulting firm, concluded from surveying 35,000 U.S. workers that only one-fifth of workers are highly engaged in their jobs. While an equal amount of surveyed workers are disengaged in their work, Towers Perrin suggests that the middle three-fifths – “the massive middle” – offers the best opportunity for managers and supervisors. “Strengthening this group’s level of engagement may be the most critical task virtually every employer faces today.”
Despite the overwhelming evidence that points to the value of coaching as a way to develop talent, encourage growth, engender loyalty, generate commitment, and demonstrate leadership, many people in coaching roles don’t coach. Why?
I’ve posted this question on BlogSpot at http://coachingforperformance.blogspot.com/. Please share with me your thoughts and specific examples and read what others have to say. (If you prefer, you can also email your ideas to me at
ttraut@unlockit.com.) Stimulate. Be stimulated! Invite your colleagues and bosses to join the discussion by pasting the following into an email:
Despite the overwhelming evidence that points to the value of workplace coaching as a way to develop talent, encourage growth, engender loyalty, generate commitment, and demonstrate leadership, many people in coaching roles don’t coach. Why? I KNOW you have an opinion. Share it with the rest of us on BlogSpot at
http://coachingforperformance.blogspot.com/.
This information comes from Coaching for Performance, a module in Entelechy’s High Performance Management program. If you’d like to learn how coaching and performance management can help your company, please contact us at
info@unlockit.com.
And Now, Something Completely Different
Customer Service Ratings
Who’s got the worst customer service ratings? MSN Money asked the question of their readers and then conducted a random poll to come up with the answers. Check out
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/...paniesWereRanked.aspx
for a few surprises!
Elastic Baby
Then, for a complete waste of time (and a bit of a stress reliever), go play with an online baby at
http://joe-ks.com/archives_may2005/Elastic_Baby.htm. See how hard you can make the baby laugh!
Mailing and Privacy Information
You have received this email because you are in Entelechy's database of people that we've interacted with directly or indirectly or you've signed up for
The Key. If you've received this email in error, please click on
http://unlockit.com/newsletter.htm
to be removed immediately from our mailing database with our apologies. (If you have trouble with the optout link, please reply to this email directly and I'll personally remove your name.)
Send this email to your friends and colleagues who may be involved in training and the performance of others and could benefit from FREE performance tips, tools, and techniques.
Entelechy will not sell, rent, or otherwise provide anyone else your membership information for any reason. Period.
Terence Traut, President of Entelechy "unlocking potential"
ttraut@unlockit.com
phone: 603-424-1237
fax: 603-424-6361
http://www.unlockit.com
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