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On a recent conference call,
a division president and
vice-president were considering
whether coaching would help a
senior employee named Martin who
repeatedly mangled his internal
and external relationships.
Because Martin had significant
revenue generating
responsibilities, they were
heavily invested in his success.
For twenty minutes the
executives related the various
strategies they’d used to try to
improve Martin’s performance.
After each anecdote they’d add a
comment like, “But he just
doesn’t get it” or “He’s heard
this a thousand times” or “It
doesn’t seem to matter what we
do, he never changes.”
After a while I asked, “If he’s
gotten all this help and
pressure and feedback and still
hasn’t changed, what makes you
think coaching is going to get
the results you want?”
The president answered, “Well,
we were hoping that since you’re
an expert in growth and
development you might be able to
accomplish what we haven’t.”
“That’s flattering,” I said,
“but it’s not really about me
and my expertise. It’s about him
and whether he’s a good coaching
candidate. And from what you’ve
been describing, he’s not.”
The VP, Martin’s boss, chimed
in. “But it’s really important
that he succeed.”
“I understand,” I said. “But he
may not be able to.”
“If you met him, how long would
it take you to figure out
whether coaching would do any
good?” asked the president.
“We might be able to figure it
out right now on the phone,” I
replied.
“Really?” said the president.
“Do you have some sort of
formula?”
“Not exactly,” I said. I
explained that many years ago I
was part of a consortium of
coaches brought together by Dr.
Lois Frankel to found a unique
coaching firm called Corporate
Coaching International. In our
formative stage, we defined
eight criteria that we felt were
essential for every coaching
candidate. No individual would
ever have all eight attributes,
but, we agreed, if an employee
didn’t have at least two or
three of them, we would decline
the engagement because the
coaching most likely wouldn’t
succeed.
In my subsequent sixteen years
of coaching, these eight factors
have continued to be a reliable
gauge of success. If you’re
thinking about giving coaching
to one of your people, look for
some combination of these
qualities before investing your
resources.
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Desire
Does the employee want
to do the work that’s
involved in creating and
maintaining new
behavior? Being “sent”
for coaching may or may
not influence desire.
Probe diligently. I
regularly ask my
coaching clients this:
“Why do you want to
change? Creating change
is hard work for us
grown ups. Why on earth
would you want to do
this?” Their answers are
a good indicator of
their desire.
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2 |
Insight
Good coaching demands
good feedback. Is the
employee able to process
feedback about herself
in a reasonable way? Is
she capable of examining
her part in the results
she’s getting? Is she
able to understand that
people’s perceptions of
her are valid?
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3 |
Candor
Is the employee willing
to report about himself
in a way that is
balanced with strengths
and development areas?
Is the employee able to
objectively discuss his
behaviors without
constant defensiveness?
Can he report his
interactions with others
fairly accurately? Too
self-condemning can be
as inhibiting to growth
as too self-infatuated.
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4 |
Openness
What new thoughts has
this person had in the
past year? Is the
employee able and
willing to shift her
view of the world?
Coaching often demands
big changes in
attitudes, beliefs and
thoughts. Can this
person shoulder those
demands?
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5 |
Willingness to Risk
Throughout the coaching
process, the employee
will be asked to do
things in new and
different ways. The
unfamiliarity will
create discomfort. Can
the employee tolerate
feeling uncomfortable
and persist even though
the new behavior feels
risky?
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6 |
A Learning Attitude
Is the employee a
life-long learner? Aside
from any immediate,
practical application,
does he enjoy learning
for learning’s sake?
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7 |
Humility
Look for a belief in the
employee that says
everyone is human with
room to grow. The
employee will need to
accept the ways she
falls short of her
imagined ideal self.
She’ll need to be able
to forgive herself, too.
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8 |
Emotional Health
The employee must be
able to manage himself.
Coaching is not therapy.
(This important
distinction will be
addressed in a later
Coaching Tip.) The
employee must also be
free from—or in
treatment for—addictive
behaviors or chemical
imbalances. |
On the conference call, there
was consensus that, no, Martin
did not display any of these
attributes. But their desire to
save him was so strong they
decided to proceed with a
six-month coaching engagement.
After just four meetings with
Martin, I spoke again with the
division president and told him
I felt they were wasting their
money. We jointly agreed to stop
the coaching.
Developing your people is a
crucial part of your job as a
leader. Whether you plan to
coach an employee yourself or
engage a professional, assessing
the presence or absence of these
attributes can help you set
realistic expectations. You can
even use these factors to
determine how easily you’ll
achieve the growth goals you’ve
set for yourself!
Read a related Tip:
Coaching Versus Therapy |
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