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COACHING
FROM THE INSIDE OUT
By
ERNIE LEBEL
VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCE SERVICES
As a Human Resources
professional one of the great challenges is to know when outside
help may be the only answer to specific personnel issues. One of
the most difficult decisions is when to seek an outside coach for
one of your people. The decision is easy when the person who needs
coaching is the top executive or a top level manager. These individuals
usually are very willingly to spend time with a coach because they
are motivated by a concerned board of directors or are driven by
career issues. Also at this level typically the chief executive
is driven to improve this individual’s performance and understands
that investing in coaching is a win-win situation.
The questions at other levels in the organization are always who
do you send and when do you send them.
Who: Generally the population that benefits the
most from coaching are supervisors and managers who are challenged
with managing others or are working closely with peers. The skills
that help move people into supervision or management roles are rarely
instinctive people management talent. The promotion usually occurs
for those people who are the best salesperson, best operator, effective
as a number two person or some capacity short of hands on management.
So what happens to these individuals when the promotion is announced?
Is there a management fairy that appears in the night like the tooth
fairy and passes on all skills needed to successfully manage others?
Obviously not – soon after the promotion the fact that this
person needs better management skills soon becomes apparent. The
skills that make the candidate so successful prior to the promotion
do not help him/her succeed as a Manager. Soon the new manager struggles
in managing subordinates or in meeting with resistance from peers.
Coach can provide a broad understanding about the basic skills needed
to be effective at managing people, developing collaborating efforts
and working effectively with peers.
The other likely candidates for coaching are those who show tremendous
potential and are destined for great things. Coaching services are
offered to these individuals in order to make sure they succeed
at the next level. These type of performers are also motivated by
the attention they receive when a coach is offered and the services
are utilized.
I was recently asked to coach a new 27-year-old supervisor in a
manufacturing plant. This was an extremely nice young man with tremendous
people instincts. But, the corporation was concerned that his “nice
person” style may not necessarily work for him in the role
of supervisor on a night shift with long-term employees. They felt
a coach could help this young supervisor with specific situations
he was sure to face, help him learn more about his natural style
and teach him how to deal with entrenched senior employees. The
success of the coaching was in large part due to the timing of when
the coaching was initiated. Waiting until someone is in trouble
sometimes may be waiting too long.
Another example
of executive coaching was when as a VP of Human Resources I recruited
and helped develop a great young candidate who was extremely successful
with his assignments in the field. However when his field successes
resulted in his being promoted to an internal position the problems
began. His style annoyed his peers and colleagues and they resisted
his ideas until their resistance made it impossible for him to perform
effectively. An outside coach was able to address the issues of
his personal style directly without fear of stifling his talents
and de-motivating this talented high potential employee. The coaching
and counseling from an outside source was effective in helping the
candidate assess his own shortcomings without attributing his difficulties
to other forces within the company.
When should a coach be utilized? In athletics we
coach at all skill levels on an on-going basis. In business we give
feedback annually or when someone is in trouble, but rarely do we
make coaching a common activity. We do know of one successful company
who automatically assigns coaches to all individuals who reach a
certain level in the organization. That is not always possible for
most companies but coaches can be most effective when they are involved
early and certainly before any damage may have been done to relationships,
or most importantly, to the individual. A typical coaching program
is not expensive and offers tremendous return in damage control,
personal development and enhanced self-esteemed. In business most
investments take time for the value to be established, but the positive
value of coaching is immediately apparent. Better performance, enhanced
self-esteem, and confidence are all by-products of effective coaching.
Coaching may also contribute to the improved morale and development
of individuals who are not involved in the coaching but enjoy the
improved management skills displayed by the newly coached manager.
Internal coaches have a lot of biases associated with their work.
There is always concern on the part of the individual being coached
about confidentiality, future ramifications, institutional pressure
(“that’s just the way we do it around here”),
and tolerance for peer victimizations (“you are just going
to have to learn to work with Karen”). An external coach helps
the individual deal with their own personal style, different skill
levels of the employees they supervise and indicate areas they might
change. Trying to diagnose the difficulties others create does nothing
to help the candidate be successful.
As a long time Human Resource professional, the biggest mistake
I have made in contract coaching is not contracting soon enough.
In addition the same coach does not work for all situations. Picking
the right coach for each candidate and each situation makes a huge
difference in the success of the coaching experience.
If you have questions about coaching you can contact Ernie Lebel
at elebel@dimihr.com or you
can call him at 207-772-2823
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