When you’re reading news in any format, what’s the first thing that jumps out at you? The thing that hooks you into reading more? The Headline!
Without a catchy and relevant headline, it’s hard to get anyone interested in the rest of the story. The same applies to your Catalytic Coaching.
When a Coach is filling out that Blue Coaching Worksheet, having a good headline will help engage their team members and make the Coaching conversation easier. They become the highlights of the script used to guide the meeting. Those Focus Area headlines also get pulled over into the Green Development Plan and become the basis for the current Coaching cycle. Give those employees headlines they can connect to and work with.
Here are three tips for creating stellar headlines:
1. Get personal. We don’t include clickable lists of generic headlines in the Catalytic Coaching Online software for a reason. It would be too easy for managers to just click one and then shoehorning the employee to fit it.
These headlines should really mean something for that particular employee. Sure, there are plenty of broad categories that could fit. For example, “Attention to Detail” or “Improve Customer Base” could be applied to many.
You don’t get extra points for creativity, but the direct report will certainly notice and appreciate it. If the headline is “Delegation,” then you can consider something with a little pop like “It takes a village.” Relevant and personalized are the keys to success.
2. Keep it Future Focused. Coaching isn’t about finger wagging at the past. It’s about creating a path forward to success. Sure, there will be some Focus Areas that bring attention to things an employee must improve to do their job well. Sometimes those Focus Areas may even be Job Threatening if improvement isn’t made quick enough. It’s vital we don’t fall into the weakness trap and, instead, use that space to paint a picture of success.
For example, instead of saying “You’re always late” or “You never meet deadlines,” you can say “Work on Punctuality” or “Time Management.” This lets them know that their behavior isn’t acceptable and must change, but you want to give them the opportunity to show they can do better.
3. Write the whole story. A headline is nothing without the rest of the story. In Catalytic Coaching, each headline comes with a clarification statement and supporting examples. “Time Management” lacks it’s punch without including “Work on meeting deadlines and effectively using your work day” as clarification. Then add examples that specifically apply to that employee. A general “didn’t turn in work” doesn’t make a strong case for change. “Production was delayed on the Big Project LLC job costing us $10,000 in March” is a distinct case supporting the main headline.
While this may feel like falling into the weakness trap or finger wagging at the past, you can still paint that picture of success. That conversation can go something like this:
“Your first focus area is Time Management. What I mean by that is I’d like to see you effectively use your work day and meet deadlines. For example, back in March we had a delay with that job for Big Project Inc that ended up costing our company $10,000 and could have lost the customer. Do you think you can find strategies to prevent that from happening again?” *Note this is a very simplified and abbreviated example*
Creating excellent and useful Headlines comes with good training, support, and practice. If your managers are struggling, have your company’s Coach2 be available to review sheets and guide them. The Coach2 acts as a Coach of Coaches. They can be counted on to keep your Catalytic Coaching on track and elevate everyone’s efforts.
You don’t have a Coach2? Or maybe you do, but they’re super busy and you really need another one? You have one more opportunity this year to get a Coach2 trained and certified!
We’ll be hosting the last Catalytic Coaching Mastery Program of 2020 beginning November 2nd. For more information and registration, visit the Mastery Program web page.
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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