“This is going to be a difficult conversation.”
Dreaded words no employee wants to hear and no Coach wants to say.
We went to the job market looking for employees and people showed up. People with their own talents, passions, and idiosyncrasies. We’re all just people and people sometimes have problems. Sometimes we mess up. And sometimes we mess up too often.
Job Threatening can be a daunting prospect for anyone. Too often with traditional reviews, it was easier to check “meets expectations” and move along. It was just yearly paperwork. Who cares about trying to fix anything with it. With Catalytic Coaching, managers are given the tools to be Coaches and Coaches can tackle the problem head on by working toward a speedy and positive outcome.
What can a Coach do when a problem employee crosses into Job Threatening territory?
The simple answer is to Coach them back out. One way or another.
Start off by drafting a Blue Coaching Worksheet. If you’ve already had your Catalytic Coaching cycle this year, start a fresh Blue Sheet to focus on just the Job Threatening message. Within the Catalytic Coaching Online software powered by Energage, there is a feature that lets you begin an Off-Cycle Sheet to use for just this purpose.
Fill it out completely. When an employee has done something that is Job Threatening, often the Coach will be frustrated. They’ll want to get to those Focus Areas and skip the Strengths section entirely. Think of it this way: If the Coach can’t come up with three to four Strengths for this team member, then there’s no merit in keeping them. You may as well write the pink slip then and there.
Chances are that this person has three or four areas where they contribute, maybe even excel. When you do tackle that difficult conversation, it’s important that the employee hear that. The goal is to motivate them to take the initiative to do better. They won’t want to improve their Job Threatening Focus Areas if they feel like it’s a losing battle.
After that is drafted, the Coach needs to talk to their own Coach, HR, and tag in a Coach2 (Coach of Coaches). Job Threatening isn’t a light message. We want everyone to be aware of what’s happening, to double check the Blue Coaching Worksheet, and identify any resources that may be needed ahead of time.
Now the Coach is ready to actually talk to their team member. Don’t beat around the bush. Let them know in the beginning that “We are about to have a difficult conversation.” That there are some ongoing issues that need to be resolved for them to keep their job.
There are all kinds of reasons why someone may have entered into this unfortunate situation. No one wants to hear excuses, but be sure the employee has the opportunity to ask clarifying questions or let you know what may be going on. For example, inability to start work on time or frequent lack of energy may have a more concerning cause. Their home life may have been heavily impacted by family illness and they aren’t sleeping well or a drinking habit may have gotten the best of them.
The most important step is identifying the path forward. Lay out the resources available to that employee. Maybe that’s a flexible work schedule, retraining, additional tools, or counseling. Set a defined timeframe for improvement and have weekly check ins on progress. Frequent updating will keep everyone on the same page and speed the pace of change needed.
Difficult is not impossible and a good Coach can often save the unsavable. If your company needs some help navigating those Job Threatening cases, lean on your Coach 2 (Coach of Coaches).
Don’t have any Coach2s? Your Coach2 too busy and you need another one trained?
The final opportunity of 2020 to train a Coach2 is coming up sooner than you think. The next session of the Catalytic Coaching Mastery Program kicks off on November 2nd. This program is designed around interactive in-depth exercises and carefully crafted instruction led by Gary Markle. Classes meet virtually once per week for seven weeks. Even in a virtual world, class size is limited to give each attendee the opportunity to have one-on-one time with Gary and his expert team. For more details and to secure a seat (or two), visit catalyticcoaching.com/masteryprogram
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 in major corporations coupled with 20 years of teaching small and mid-sized organizations how to cultivate their leadership and ditch their detrimental performance reviews for a proven Coaching process.
Book Gary to speak to your audience about speeding your pace of significant change.
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