Why Doesn't Coaching Work?

Coaching works. Sure it does, if it's done correctly. So why is it that so many managers say that they coach their people, but it doesn't seem to improve their performance more than for a short time? It appears that we need to explore whether or not we're coaching correctly. This post isn't about the mechanics of coaching, although you can find info about that right here.

We all have deadlines, don't we? We're expected to be more efficient and effective than ever before...get more done with less. Along with all our own tasks and duties we, as managers, have to help our people be better, too. It's all about continuous improvement, right?

We're told we need to shadow and coach our folks. Our answer is "we teach and coach our people regularly...at LEAST twice a year...and since we only have to evaluate them once a year, that's twice as much as we're required to do." OKaaaaay. That's a problem. We often see coaching as an event instead of a process. We look at coaching as "See one, Do one, Teach one" and that leaves the CRITICAL component out: follow-up. Maybe we should modify that adage to "See one, Do one, Teach one, Follow-up regularly". I don't know. It just doesn't have a "ring" to it anymore.

It's true, however. Coaching often succeeds or fails based on our team members internalizing what we teach. One of the best ways to help our people integrate our teaching into their work habits is to make follow-up and feedback regular components of our group's schedule.

Yes, it in an investment on our part and we may have to realign priorities and scrutinize our task lists to ensure we're focusing on the right opportunities. I submit to you that regular coaching that includes follow-up and feedback are right opportunities.

Do you think coaching is all I've cracked it up to be? If so, how do you ensure it happens along with everything else you have to do?

Your people

Have you ever heard the phrase "falling on your sword?" In today's business, it typically means taking a strong position regarding an idea or value. It can also mean taking responsibility or blame for the actions of a person or group of people.

Earlier in my career I was tempted, at times, to fall on my sword for a cause or position on a certain idea. You know what? In business, there's no idea worth taking a sword for. As long as what you're told to do isn't illegal or immoral, you're bound to follow the directives you're given. Let's face it, it's only a job.

As far as I'm concerned, there's only one reason to ever fall on your sword: for your people. When you're a boss, part of your job is to keep the garbage off your people so they can focus on their duties and keep the organization operating. Sometimes your people mess up. Maybe it's because they were being stupid or maybe it was an honest mistake. The thing is, you know how people like to have someone to blame.

You have two choices:

• Step out of the way, point toward the offender or offenders on your team and say "there they are."
• Step between the attacker and your people. Take the charge straight on.

It's practically a solemn bond. If your team is being picked on or unfairly treated, it's your duty to protect them...to fall on your sword, if necessary. Perhaps your team member needs to be disciplined. That's OK. You'll take care of that yourself...inside the privacy of your team.

So, what do you think? When, if ever, is an appropriate setting to fall on your sword?

Are Leaders Born or Made? So What?

I was interviewing management candidates to run one of my company's offices in the Southeast. One of the questions I liked to ask was "Do you consider yourself a natural leader?"

That begs the question that's the title of this post: "are leaders born or made?" Maybe it would be better to ask "are most leaders born or made?"

One can argue that very few natural leaders have ever existed in the world, leaders who innately know how to inspire others to follow and hopefully accomplish feats and goals they never believed possible. On the other hand, could we not argue that all parents are natural leaders as soon as their children are born? If the definition of a leader is that others follow, then every parent is a leader for at least a little while. Maybe we should exclude parents from this discussion.

I've personally only known one or two people who I could consider "naturals" as leaders. All the rest had to learn it. For me, I just know that, in the adult, non-parenting world, I am not a natural leader. I think I'm a decent leader (of course, that's open to interpretation depending on who you ask and based on what time period we're talking about). Or rather, I'm a decent leader now and in the recent past. I spent a lot of time being schooled by the Army about how to be both a manager and a leader. That helped. What really helped me was failing at leadership over the years, recognizing my failures (either on my own or with help from others), and then caring enough to try and do better. It reminds me of an outstanding doctor who once told me, "you know why I'm head and shoulders above the other doctors around me? It's because I'm standing on a pile of bodies." Leadership is often like that, too.

Like I said, I was not born a leader. What about you? If you weren't born a leader, are you a decent leader now? How do you learn to be a leader?

I'll leave you with a comment I heard from a sergeant when I was in the Army. The comment was, "I wouldn't follow that man into battle." The meaning was, "I wouldn't trust that man with my life or the lives of my people." That man was the commander and, supposedly, the leader.

Would your people follow you into battle?

How are you contributing to your organization?

We're all busy, aren't we? There's so much on our calendars that it feels there's not enough time in the day, especially when we're asked to do more with less. We go into meetings and brainstorm ideas to improve processes, increase efficiencies, and enhance ways to help our customers. Then we scurry back to our teams, back to our offices, and focus on what we need to do to complete the mission.

When we're so busy and so focused on getting our own jobs done, we often miss out on opportunities to strengthen the organization we're trying to help. There's a good chance that during the meeting we just attended, there was an opportunity to work with others -- some kind of initiative or project that needs doing and people don't have the time to do. We may have even suggested the idea ourselves, but when the time came to "pony up" and lead or join the project, we stayed quiet and let others shoulder the burden.

If we "pass" on opportunities outside our normal jobs every time they come up, we may be shortsighted. What could we have harvested out of being part of a project team?

• We could have networked within the organization, learning more about others, building relationships, and possibly learning about opportunities that could help us move ahead in the future (just like networking on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Plaxo, as well as in person outside the company). The more people we know and work with, the stronger and richer our lives can be.

• We might have broadened our scope of knowledge. Knowledge helps us be better, more well-rounded individuals who can live more fulfilled lives because of our experiences.
• We could have used the opportunity to help the organization where we work...and where we hope to continue working. I don't think anyone would argue that we want to work at the most successful, robust organizations in the world.
• We could have showcased our talent and abilities. We could have made deposits in our "credibility" banks and received kudos from the executives for our contributions.
• We might have felt a sense of accomplishment that comes from working in concert with other talented individuals.

I don't think any bosses would expect we're on every work or project team that comes up. However, if we sit quietly every time there's an opportunity to contribute outside our own jobs, we may be missing the boat.

What do you think about membership on project or work teams? Do you think it's worth the extra effort?

Can you trust your people too much?

Wow!?! That's a loaded question. How is it possible to trust someone too much?

I think we might be talking about a couple of different types of trust:

• trust of intention
• trust of work, product, or presentation

I've been blessed to work with a number of individuals whose intentions I'm confident are pure. They constantly do their best for the organization and its customers, for their bosses, and for their teams. I've had no trouble trusting their intentions whatsoever.

The thing is, I have high standards. So do all the groups I mentioned above. The question about trust comes into play when we combine high standards along with imperfect humans. I made the mistake, one time, of trusting the work of a professional on my team. The presentation was due to executives and, because I trusted the intentions of my team member, I also trusted the output. I found out later, from my boss, that the work was substandard. It was very embarrassing. I didn't let this mistake happen again.

My advice would be that you never completely accept your people's work without:

• Thoroughly checking the output until you're confident of what your people produce.
• Periodically check on the people you know will represent you, your boss, and your team well, just to ensure the quality has remained strong. People meet and exceed standards that they are measured against.

Do you think you can trust your people too much? Is there ever a time when checking is no longer necessary, even periodically?

Listen to your gut

People talk about listening to their gut. What do you think they're referring to? For me, when I say I'm listening to my gut on an issue, it means I'm paying heed to my:

• Intuition
• Experience
• Awareness of the situation

Am I suggesting that we throw reason out the window? No, of course not. You need reason and facts to make an informed decision. It's just that, when you combine those elements with your gut, you often have a strong basis for doing or not doing something.

Once you're used to working with what your gut tells you, then you should be able to "listen" to what it has to share. I know from personal experience that when I don't listen to what my gut's telling me regarding a situation, I'm on shifting sand.

If your gut tells you to take an action, when the facts or reason don't, you may want to go back and recheck those facts or rethink that reason. If your gut tells you, "walk away quickly" from a situation, you need to think hard before you move ahead and go against what your experience is reminding you.

Intuition isn't the be all and end all, but if you listen properly, it can be a valuable component of your leadership toolkit.

What do you think about listening to your gut? When has it helped you out? When has it steered you wrong?

Handling Resistance

Handling Resistance? From whom?

Well, in life, it could mean dealing with resistance from anyone. In a business setting, it could be one of your team members. It could be your boss or a colleague.

If you are trying work down a specific path or build on a idea and you receive resistance, you have several options, don't you?

1. Give up. It is an option, but if you feel strongly or passionately about your cause, it might not be your first course of action.
2. Push back. When resistance is applied against you, you can apply and equal and opposite reaction. Wear the other party down. It may be effective at times, but not the wisest choice of action if you want any kind of buy-in from others.
3. Determine the cause. I like this one. When you are met with resistance regarding an idea or action, you can try to figure out why the resistance has appeared. One of the best ways to find out is by asking questions. Try to get to the root cause.

This reminds of me of a story; yes, another military story. When I was a young lieutenant, I had to take turns performing extra duties with the other junior officers: Duty officer, Pay officer, and Report of Survey officer, to name a few. My first time as a Report of Survey officer, I met with a lot of resistance. You see, a Report of Survey is completed when some equipment is destroyed, damaged, or lost and the Army is trying to figure out if someone is responsible. This way the Army can determine appropriate actions like remedial training, punishment, and/or reimbursement. In this particular case, a sergeant was "signed for" a gunner's quadrant, a tool used to determine the proper elevation that artillery would use when firing against a target. The quadrant was destroyed and no one knew how it happened. There were denials all around. Since the sergeant was signed for the equipment, and there was no evidence as to how the quadrant was destroyed, I determined that the sergeant should pay. The sergeant resisted me because he said he hadn't destroyed it...one of his people had done so accidentally. That was most likely true, but like I said, I couldn't prove it. What I could prove was that the sergeant had not kept proper control of the item. The proximate cause, or root cause, regarding his efforts to secure the equipment was the real issue.

In trying to overcome resistance, what's the root issue, the proximate cause, for it? Ask why the other person doesn't want to go along with your idea. Get specific. Ask what is good about your idea (what they like or, at least, can live with) and what is unacceptable. Keep peeling back that onion until you get to the proximate cause. You may find that it's just one little kernel of disagreement or it's something small that you can fix.

By determining the root cause,

1. You can properly address it with facts and information.
2. Help the other party feel better about the idea
3. Let the person know you value their thoughts and concerns (you may make an ally).
4. Move forward.

My last boss was an expert at determining the proximate cause of resistance, handling the real objections properly, and then moving forward with most everyone feeling good.

What have you done when you encountered resistance? What other ways do you think would be appropriate for overcoming the objections you experience?