I am frequently asked to describe what differentiates a successful employee development program from a less successful one. In a word, my answer is “coachability.” If I could do only one thing to maximize the chance that a supervisor’s performance improvement advice would be followed by a direct report, I’d focus on helping the direct report understand WHY a positive predisposition toward change might be in the best interest of the direct report, her supervisor and the organization. Fertile soil makes growth much easier.
I recently had an opportunity to observe a company owner give her General Manager four improvement areas on which to concentrate in the coming year. One of those areas for growth was to stand up and take a more visible leadership role in organization-wide meetings. The recommendation was conveyed as part of a coaching session that concluded at 2:00 in the afternoon. At 3:00 there was a holiday meeting with all employees present. The company owner stood up to lead the meeting, as usual, when the GM asked if he could say a few words to the assembly. Speaking from freshly prepared notes, he proceeded to recap the current year, forecast the next and publicly committed to conducting more of these meetings in the coming year. I cannot think of a more commanding way in which to communicate to the owner “Message received!” Now that is what I call coachability.
Here’s a second example. The Operations Manager of a large services organization stated in her Catalytic Coaching Employee Input Session that she was interested in being considered for the CEO position in the five year or later time horizon. She made this statement wearing a blue jeans and a faded polo shirt with a vendor logo featured prominently. The person she was presenting the information to was wearing a suit and tie. As you never knew when an important client or benefactor might drop by, this is how he came to work every day.
As part of the coach’s effort to “say to the employee what you would say more comfortably about her to someone else,” the CEO coach established the theme of “Image Management” as her fourth Area for Improvement. As she later described it, “He actually talked about the giant white elephant in the room.” She knew that her personal dress habits were lax but the internal focus of her operations position did not require anything more formal. As part of his counsel, he described to her the need to help the Board of Directors see in her what he already saw -- a legitimate candidate for succession. The casual clothing was a potential distraction and created an image of her not in keeping with the position she coveted.
Despite her knowledge of the wardrobe delta, hearing it articulated out loud was a bit challenging. The next morning, however, she came to work in a newly purchased pant suit. She decided to “run for office” and to start doing things in keeping with the role she wanted instead of the role she currently occupied. Message sent. Message received. Another great example of coachability.
Bottom line, if you want to make rapid and significant behavioral change in your direct reports, take the time to insure that the groundwork has been laid for positive reception to your suggested areas for improvement. Teach them WHY it’s in everyone’s best interest for them to make changes and you, too, will create an atmosphere of coachability.
So, what can you do to enhance the coachability of those who work for you?
Seek First to Understand. Give them a formal assignment of discussing career aspirations with you before you attempt to provide them with developmental counsel. Your coaching IQ will skyrocket if you couch change requests in a message that recognizes and respects their interests and goals.
Promote Self-Discovery. The most common heartfelt and honest answer to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is “I don’t know.” While that may be truthful, it’s not helpful. Help those in doubt begin to answer this question with more directionality, recognizing that it might take a few months or even years to do this with insight and integrity.
Separate Wheat from the Chaff. Not everyone wants your job. Some employees actually want to live normal lives and view work as a means to an end vs. an end itself. Frankly, you need both kinds of players on your team and you’ll always get more role players than stars. The most effective coaches treat each individual differently using both interest and ability to help tailor both feedback and developmental challenges.
Raise the Bar. Contract with those with high aspirations to be tougher on them than their more complacent counterparts. Rather than giving top performers the most flattering feedback and the best grades to justify salary treatment and promotability, do the best you can for them financially but get them to ask you to compare their performance to the job they want vs. the one they hold currently. (Special Note: It really helps if you’ve replaced performance appraisals with something like Catalytic Coaching when you do this. Grades and labels undermine coaching.
Garold (Gary) Markle is the creator of Catalytic Coaching and author of Catalytic Coaching: The End of the Performance Review. He brings real world experience from 17 years in HR leadership, over 23 years in Senior Leadership, and over 20 years of teaching organizations how to cultivate their leadership and ditch their detrimental performance reviews for a proven Coaching process.
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