Experiences of Management Coaching (Part 2)

In our experience, we have found that there are several reasons managers fail to get employees to see and acknowledge that they have a problem.

They assume. Many managers bypass the step of getting agreement because they assume that an employee views the problem in the same way that they do. However, that is often not the case, especially when the performance problem is a pattern of behavior rather than a single event. People generally do things that they perceive to be in their own best interest. So, employees who realize that a particular work behavior isn't in their best interest are more likely to change.

In a typical management coaching situation ? especially one involving a behavior pattern ? an employee is likely to perceive mostly positive reasons for continuing his or her behavior. Take an employee whose pattern is being late for work. Let us assume that the employee knows what the work hours are and has received feedback from his boss about being late. So, why does the employee continue to be tardy? He or she probably sees fewer negative consequences for being late than positive ones ? such as avoiding rush-hour traffic, having a leisurely breakfast, sleeping late, or feeling autonomous.

They avoid. Another reason managers fail to get agreement is that they avoid management coaching situations because they feel uncomfortable confronting employees. They hope that employees will discover the error of their ways. But that is not likely because employees tend to see mostly positive reasons for continuing their behavior.

They generalize. Many managers talk only generally about an employee's performance problem instead of citing specifics. In such cases, an employee is not likely to see that his performance is different from what is expected or from other's behavior ? particularly regarding such issues as turning in late reports, taking extra time for lunch, leaving work early, and socializing too much. Unless a manager can point specifically to what an employee has done over what length of time and how that compares to an agreed-to expectation or other employees' performance during the same period, the employee is not likely to think his behavior is a problem.

Right string, wrong yo-yo. Many managers seek agreement on the wrong issue. They strive to get an employee to agree on the events leading up to a management coaching meeting but miss the larger, more important issue ? that a performance problem occurs each time the event happens. The manager might try to get an employee to agree that he submitted two late reports rather than agree that turning in late reports is a problem. The key is what managers actually says to an employee.

Not this: "Jim, twice this past month you turned in late reports. You know that my expectation is that all reports will be completed by deadline. Do you realize that you turned in two late reports?"

This: "Jim, twice this past month you turned in late reports. You know that my expectation is that all reports will be completed by deadline. Do you agree that there's a problem here that needs attention?"

To get the employee to agree that a problem exists, a manager must do two things. First, he or she has to paint a mental picture for an employee that there is a difference between what is expected and what the employee is doing. To paint that picture clearly, a manager must juxtapose two pieces of information for an employee to visualize:

• a description of what the employee has done, using whatever numbers or facts can be gathered about the employee's performance
• a clarification of the manager's expectations of the employee in the performance area under discussion.

Positioning those two pieces of information together, using specifics, enables an employee to see the difference between his performance and what is expected or what others are doing.

Imagine that an employee has been late to several team meetings in a row. Although you did not single out the employee, you made it clear at the last meeting that you expected everyone to be on time. In this case, you might say something like: "I wonder if you are aware that you've been late to four team meetings in a row. I thought I clarified at the last meeting that I expect everyone to be on time."

Second, the manager must help the employee understand the negative affects associated with his behavior. Imagine that the employee's performance is a balance scale. Before a management coaching meeting, the scale is tilted towards the side stacked with all of the reasons an employee might see for continuing his behavior. A manager's task is to tilt the scale in the other direction so that an employee can see more negatives than positives associated with the behavior. Then, the manager will be able to get an employee to agree that a problem exists.

The Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness (CMOE) seeks to improve individual leadership and team member skills within organizations.

For professional information on management coaching, visit CMOE.

---

Google News Updated : Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:38:53 GMT Bloomberg Called Ready to Announce Third-Term Bid - New York Times New York Times Bloomberg Called Ready to Announce Third-Term Bid New York Times - 47 minutes ago By MICHAEL BARBARO and DAVID W. CHEN After months of speculation about his political future, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg plans to announce on Thursday morning that he will seek a third term as mayor, according to three people who have been told of his ... NY mayor Bloomberg to seek third term: report Reuters NY Times: Bloomberg To Announce Third Term Run NY1 TIME - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - Gothamist - New York Daily News all 281 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:51:03 GMT Gallardo ready for Game 1 pressure - MLB.com Washington Post Gallardo ready for Game 1 pressure MLB.com - 33 minutes ago By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com PHILADELPHIA -- For a 22-year-old who appeared in just four games this season, Brewers right-hander Yovani Gallardo certainly endured a great deal. NL Division Series Breakdown - Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia Sports Network Brewers Will Open With 22-Year-Old Starter New York Times Bleacher Report - FanHouse - AHN - SportingNews.com all 506 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:05:12 GMT Sentiment against the rich, Wall Street, CEOs still a major hurdle ... - Bizjournals.com BBC News Sentiment against the rich, Wall Street, CEOs still a major hurdle ... Bizjournals.com - 1 hour ago Underlying public distrust of the wealthy -- along with Wall Street and Washington -- and the perception the $700 billion mortgage bailout will help big banks and rich CEOs continues to be the main stumbling block and minefield for passage of a rescue ... Michigan Rep. Miller demands that certain accounting practices be ... Detroit Free Press Reporter's Notebook: Meltdown FOXNews Washington Post - New York Times - Politicker Maine - Los Angeles Times all 2,883 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:32:24 GMT Obama, McCain seek political gain in credit crisis - The Associated Press Seattle Post Intelligencer Obama, McCain seek political gain in credit crisis The Associated Press - 1 hour ago DES MOINES (AP) - White House rivals John McCain and Barack Obama combined televised attack ads with statesmanlike appeals for bipartisanship on Tuesday as they vied for political gain in the shadow of the worst economic crisis since the Great ... Video: McCain Faults Obama, Allies for Partisanship AssociatedPress McCain takes hit from bailout collapse CNN Reuters - ABC News - AFP - CNN Political Ticker all 2,630 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:12:18 GMT Depression risk high for heart patients - San Francisco Chronicle Calgary Herald Depression risk high for heart patients San Francisco Chronicle - 13 hours ago (09-29) 17:20 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Patients with heart disease should be screened and treated for depression because it can adversely affect their health outlook and quality of life, according to a new report by the American Heart Association. Heart Problems And Depression eFluxMedia Guidelines alert heart patients to depression risk Reuters WebMD - Bloomberg - The Associated Press - InjuryBoard.com all 438 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:10:58 GMT So much for those knee supplements -- probably - Los Angeles Times Chatter Shmatter So much for those knee supplements -- probably Los Angeles Times - 2 hours ago Don't go stocking up on glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate just yet. The supplements, often taken by people suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee, don't appear to slow cartilage loss. X-Ray Evidence Shows Popular Supplements Fail to Slow Knee ... MedPage Today Glucosamine and chondroitin don't slow arthritis Reuters USA Today - eFluxMedia - InjuryBoard.com - Austin American-Statesman all 53 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:58:39 GMT China Detains 22 in Tainted-Milk Case - New York Times China Detains 22 in Tainted-Milk Case New York Times - 3 hours ago By DAVID BARBOZA SHANGHAI - China said Monday that it had detained 22 people suspected of operating an underground network that intentionally adulterated milk with an industrial chemical, melamine. Hong Kong says Cadbury melamine levels acceptable The Associated Press Manufacturing giant recalls melamine tainted tea CNN International AFP - Wall Street Journal - Reuters - GMA news.tv all 2,775 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:50:50 GMT RSS feeds More Web Site Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Are you NICE or do you CARE?

Are you NICE or do you CARE? ... Read More

Two Critical Success Factors in an ITIL Implementation

Any IT manager who wants to pursue the IT Service... Read More

Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions

Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people... Read More

Character: Is It Necessary In Leadership? (Part Two)

In the first part of this two part article, I... Read More

Entitlement Programs Kill Productivity

In articles I've written over the years, I have used... Read More

Effective Email Communication

Email, when used properly, can generate additional direct sales and... Read More

Inventory Management 101

Inventory management may seem complicated to some, but if one... Read More

Rethinking the CEO-Chairman Split

Traditionally, in American businesses, the same person occupies the role... Read More

Is Your Business A Dysfunctional Family?

The other day I brought my mother into an appliance... Read More

What are Your Best Practices?

Best Practices StudiesThese studies can be defined as inquiries into... Read More

Does Your Management Style Remind People Of Something They Read In Dilbert?

With thanks to Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian who does the... Read More

Do Customers Like the Feel of Your Organization?

In two recent articles "Some Evidence of How We Are... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Measure the Right Things.

Measure the right things. It's not enough just to measure-you... Read More

Sarbanes Oxley 404 Compliance - How Nov. 15, 2004 Deadline Affects You

Fast Relief for Sarbanes Oxley Section 404 ComplianceSection 404 of... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: The Role of Character in Leadership

This article relates to the Senior /Top Level Management competency,... Read More

Well-Defined Processes ? How to Create

Interested in learning how to reduce development time, save money... Read More

Get Down With OCP: Evaluating DBA Job Applicants in an OCP World

Not long ago, weeding through DBA applicants with a tech... Read More

Know Your Business! - 7 Key Questions You Must Ask

You need to know all that is going on around... Read More

Managing Yo-Yo Style

Does being managed by others smack more of "Survivor" than... Read More

Influencing Change - A Guide for Sellers, Coaches, and Supervisors

When people or groups make a decision to purchase something,... Read More

Shrinkage Control

What has been your store's shrinkage experience for the last... Read More

When Change Is In the Wind...Heads Up!

In these days of takeovers and mergers, of downsizings and... Read More

Give Yourself a Boss? Day Gift

Become a better boss and reap the benefitsAnother interesting study... Read More

Setting a Pitiful Example: Twenty-six Warnings to Heed *

TO: All Parents [and Employers and Managers]From: Your Child and/or... Read More

Innovation Management ? forced into it!

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More