November 18, 2009

Letter from the Editor

As many of you know, I’m making the speaking circuit, presenting at a variety of local, national, and international conferences on the topic of coaching for talent development and employee engagement. Many of the conferences – like Training 2010 and ISPI – attract an audience that is fairly heterogeneous, spanning the entire gamut of industries. Other conferences attract a very specific niche, such as HR managers working in governmental agencies or partners at accounting firms.

While the challenges are typically similar – getting more from employees; developing talent with scarce resources; engaging employees in a tumultuous economy – the circumstances surrounding the challenges are often unique to the industry.

In this month’s issue of Coaching for TD&EE, I’m going to deal with a couple of the challenges common to both groups. These are questions that often come up during my presentation or immediately following the presentation:

1. What do I do when my employee doesn’t want to be coached?

2. How do I make sure my employee accurately self-assesses?

3. How can I fit in coaching when I have so much else to do?

I hope you find this newsletter useful. If you do, please share it with your friends and colleagues and encourage them to sign up!

Terry

Coaching Overview Available on YouTube

Last month I had the pleasure of presenting to a group of 75 ASTD members and guests on the benefits of coaching to develop talent and engage employees. The entire session was captured on video and an overview compiled. The coaching video – featuring your s truly – is available on YouTube. 

Check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7yRjdf6ZLc

I’m hoping that it goes viral, like the wedding procession or that talking dog….

If you’re considering a coaching initiative in your company, write us for the free coaching handout we provide at these presentations. If you’d like Terry or one of Entelechy’s other staff to present to your company or your organization, please contact us and let us know your plans. Terry can be reached at ttraut@unlockit.com or 603-424-1237.

Don’t Try to Teach a Pig to Sing

Coaching Challenge #1: What do I do when my employee doesn’t want to be coached?

I’m from Minnesota and we have a saying that goes: “Never try to teach a pig to sing. It’s frustrating, and it seems to annoy the pig.”

Coaching is a technique that I suggest reserving for your high-potential employees. So, my answer to the first challenge/question: “What do I do when my employee doesn’t want to be coached?” is “Don’t coach that employee!” Seriously! It’s frustrating and it seems to annoy the employee!

When I present, I show the graphic on the right and explain:

In any giving group of employees, you have a bell-shaped curve (the blue line) of folks:

• You’ll likely have 10% who won’t make it, regardless of what you do; they’re misplaced, incorrectly hired, or whatever. 

• You’ll likely have 10% who will succeed no matter what a lousy boss you are; they’re THAT good.

• And you’ll have 80% in the middle – call them the reachable majority.

Most managers tend to find themselves spending a disproportionate amount of time (the dotted red line in the graphic) with the 10% who won’t make it, counseling, encouraging, doing corrective action, worrying, etc.

And when they’re not fighting the good fight, managers tend to spend the remaining time with those employees who are hassle-free, independent, and EASY.

That leaves the reachable majority – those with high potential – receiving virtually no time from their managers. It’s this group who we suggest you target with your coaching initiative.

Coaching Challenge #2: How do I make sure my employee accurately self-assesses?

Another challenge/question that is frequently asked is, “How do I make sure my employee accurately self-assesses?” In my estimation, most employees accurately self-assess 95% of the time; they identify the strengths and priority areas for development that I would have picked out myself. When they don’t accurately self-assess, it’s usually because they:

1. Didn’t see what I saw – they didn’t see the audience dozing off; they didn’t hear the customer’s mood shift; they didn’t hear the whispered questions during the meeting.
   
   or
   
   

2. They don’t interpret what I saw the way I interpreted it – the audience was not dozing, they were introspective and contemplative; the customer didn’t become more defensive, he became more engaged; the whispers were words of admiration, not questions.

As a coach, you use questions to find out first if the coachee saw what you saw, and second if the coachee would interpret the situation the way you interpreted it. “Bob, did you notice the audience becoming especially quiet?” “Yes? I wonder what might have caused that?” “I think you’re right – you did have a spell of talking there for a while. How might you avoid that in the future?”

Coaching Challenge #3: How can I fit in coaching when I have so much else to do?

The final challenge/question – “How can I fit in coaching when I have so much else to do?” – is one that I can’t answer quite so readily. I CAN state that:

• Because much of the “work” that’s required for coaching is done by the employee, you (the manager) don’t need to devote hours for preparation or follow up.

• Because of my earlier suggestion – DON’T COACH EVERYONE! – you can effectively reduce the number of coachees, and the accompanying time demand.

• A typical coaching session takes from 5-15 minutes. Scheduled once every couple of weeks, that’s about six hours per year per employee. Coach four employees and that’s 24 hours per year. I bet you spend more time on A SINGLE employee in the 10% Won’t Make It category. I wonder which investment in time is going to 1) be more satisfying/enjoyable, and 2) result in greater performance and engagement for your team….

The fact is coaching does take some time. But Entelechy’s coaching model is easy; in fact, we developed it to address the challenges/questions that managers have in developing the talent of their employees and engaging them!

Coaching for TD&EE: Three Solution Packages

Entelechy’s new coaching website (www.coachyouremployees.com) features our Coaching Solution Packages, three versions of Entelechy’s comprehensive coaching program designed to meet your specific organization’s needs:

Gold Solution (Cultural Change) — designed for the company looking to realize the benefits of implementing a coaching culture throughout the organization.

Silver Solution (Competency Development) — designed for the company looking to develop coaching as a management competency throughout the organization.

Bronze Solution (Skill Enhancement) — designed for the company looking to initiate coaching into the managerial skillset.

We created three versions of the Coaching for Talent Development and Employee Engagement solution because our clients asked for them. Some clients simply want to enhance the skills of their managers and supervisors (the Bronze Solution) whereas other clients wish to make coaching a key cultural element (Gold Solution). Still other clients wanted something in the middle.

You can review case studies of other organizations that have initiated coaching programs to learn of their challenges and how they used coaching – and Entelechy – to address them by visiting http://www.coachyouremployees.com/coaching/casestudies.htm. 

We’ll continue adding features and tools that will help you, the manager and supervisor (and those who support them) develop and engage your employees.

Now is the time to equip your front-line managers with the tools they need to succeed – and help your organization survive today’s economic challenges. Contact Entelechy at 603-424-1237 or info@unlockit.com for more information on Coaching for Talent Development and Employee Engagement and give your managers the tools they need to pull your organization through today’s tumultuous times.