Performance management Systems Chapter IV

Performance Coaching, Monitoring & Counseling Objectives: Concept appreciation, the Process and conditions for effectiveness, aims & objectives of monitoring, role of counseling in organization. Contents: 1. Coaching-objectives, conditions for effective coaching, process, phases, making coaching effective, 2. Mentoring- objectives, distinction between coaching & mentoring, 3. Counseling- effective counseling, guidelines on counseling. 4.1 Coaching: An effective instrument in helping people to integrate with involvement & satisfaction. Coaching enables learning & development and improved performance. Coach requires knowledge and understanding of process, styles, skills and techniques of the subject of coaching. 4.2 Objectives of coaching: 1. help in realising potential 2. Help understanding strengths and weaknesses 3. Provide opportunity to get insight in own behavior and dynamics of it. 4. Better understanding of environment. 5. Increase personal & interpersonal effectiveness through feedback and analysis. 6. Motivate to set goals. 7. Encourage to generate alternatives. 8. Provide environment to discuss problems, tensions, conflicts & concerns. 9. Help to develop action plans. 10. Help review. 11. Strengthen relationship with boss. 4.3 Conditions for effective coaching: 1. General climate of openness & mutuality 2. General helpful & empathic attitude of Management. 3. Uninhibated participation by the subordinates in review process. 4. Dialogic relationship in goal setting & performance review. 5. Focus on work-oriented behavior 6. Focus on work-related problems and difficulties. 7. Avoidance of discussion on salary & other rewards. 4.4 Process of Coaching: Coach is senior in competence, knowledge, & psychological expertise. Coaching influences employee, which enables them to exercise more autonomy, provides positive reinforcement and creates conditions in which he is able to learn from behavior of coach. There are three main processes in coaching viz. communicating, influencing and helping. Communicating: It is the basis of coaching and review. It is influenced by how two persons conversing perceive problems and issues. Communication is verbal and non verbal, like gestures. First step in communication is listening. Listening to various messages sent by other person, to feelings and concerns is important. Second step is asking questions and responding. This helps in getting information, establishing mutuality, clarifying matters and stimulating thinking. Some questions do not help. They are; a) critical questions create a gap. Choice of words is important. b) Testing questions, where person asking them takes superior attitude like cross examination. c) Resenting questions. d) Leading questions almost seduce the other person to go along the line of thinking of the one asking them. Some questions are helpful: a0 Trusting questions. b) Clarifying questions to collect facts, more information and figures.

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c) Empathic questions about feelings of a person. d) Open questions stimulating reflection and thinking. e) Responding to questions from employees is equally important. Coach has to ensure that they have positive result and effect. Conditions for effective feedback: 1. descriptive, not evaluative. 2. Focused on behavior and not on person himself. 3. Data based, specific. Not impressionistic. 4. Reinforces new positive behavior. 5. Suggestive, not prescriptive. 6. Continuous. 7. Mostly person with example of self. 8. Need based and solicited. 9. Intended to help. 10. Focused in modifiable behavior. 11. Satisfying need of receiver and giver of feedback. 12. Checked and verified. 13. Well timed. 14. Contributing to mutuality and building up of relationship. Defensive behavior that does not help use of feedback: 1. denying feedback as against owning up responsibility for behavior. 2. Rationalisation as against self analysis of causes for behavior. 3. Projection as against empathy. 4. Displacement as opposed to exploration. 5. Quick acceptance as against collecting more information & data to understand the behavior. 6. Aggression towards person giving feedback as against seeking his help in understanding the feedback. 7. Humour and wit as against concern for improvement. 8. Rejecting authority as against listening carefully to person giving feedback. 9. Cynicism as opposed to positive critical attitude to accept some feedback and question some. 10. Generalisation as opposed to experimenting. Influencing: It means making impact on person in relationship. It involves following aspects in coaching: a) Increasing autonomy of a person. Direct mode influence restricts the freedom of the other person. Indirect mode of influence increases the freedom of other person. b) Positive Reinforcement: Change in behavior can be brought about only through positive reinforcement, providing encouragement and reinforcing success. c) Identification: Opportunity for employee to identify himself with individuals having more experience, skill and influence is a major influence helping hi,. Barriers in identification process are, lack of time, intolerance for mistakes, complete rejection of dependency needs, repression of rivalry and unexamined relationship. Helping: Three important processes in helping are: a) Manager’s concern and empathy he feels for his subordinate, reflected in questions asked and his tone. b) Mutuality of relationship: It is based on trust and the genuine perception that each person can contribute enough. Coach too continues to learn and receive help from the counselee. c) Identifying development needs: Coaching results in clear and systematic identification of needs and subsequent plans to fulfill them. Contract coaching is based on transactional analysis approach. Set of images essential for an effective helping process: 1.People are capable of making their own choices and decisions. 2. People are controlled by their environment, but their able to direct their lives more than they realise. 3. Behaviors are purposive and goal-directed. 4. People want to feel good about themselves and need positive confirmation of their own self-worth. 5. People are capable of learning new behavior and unlearning existing ones. 6. People’s personal problems may arise from unfinished business (unresolved conflicts) stemming from the past (concerning events and relationships). Most problems can be can be worked through by focusing on what choices

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the person has now. 7. Many problems are societal or systemic. People are capable of learning to effect choices or changes within the system. 4.5 Phases of coaching: Coaching helps to improve further on the strong points and overcome weaknesses. It helps to develop, by providing the proper emotional climate. Annual performance review provides formal opportunities for formal coaching. Four phases of coaching are- rapport building, exploration, action planning and supporting. a) Rapport building: Good coach attempts to establish a climate of acceptance, warmth, support, openness and mutuality by listening to the problems and communication his understanding, expressing his empathy and genuineness of interest in employee. Rapport building involves generating confidence in employees to open up and frankly share his perception, problems, concerns, and feelings. Attending: Opening rituals by coach, like offering chair, closing the door etc indicate his genuine concern. Listening: Physical posture and eye contact are indicators of listening. Acceptance: Employee must feel that he is wanted and that his coach is interested. b) Exploration: Coach should help the employee understand his own situation, strength, weaknesses, problems and needs. His skill is in making employee realise and discover his own weaknesses and problems. He may use open and exploring questions to generate information and narrow the focus. Exploration should lead to diagnosis of problems, which is the next step. Aim should be to generate several alternatives causes of problem. c) Action planning: Coaching interviews should end with specific plans of action for the development of the employee. Identifying training needs, job rotation, sponsoring for further training, increased responsibility, and role clarity are some likely outcomes of such action plans. Employee himself should be responsible for generating alternatives. Coach may help him in finalizing the plans for implementation. Supporting: Coach should communicate support and facilitate increasing the autonomy the employee and not his dependence on coach. A system for monitoring and follow up of action should be prepared. 4.6 Making coaching effective: Coaching interview may be organized as organisational requirement. However before coaching it must be ensured that employee is willing to learn from the interview. Coach must allow employee to make his own decisions but must not take decisions for him. Employee must understand the purpose of coaching. Arguments must be minimized. Coaching session should have follow up through informal exchanges. A good coach must have basic values of sensitivity, honesty and caring for co-workers. Coach must be willing to share his knowledge and be part of a team. He must be confident, strong and learn continuously. He helps the players focus on the goal and teaches the fundamentals for success. Coach remains responsible to help the team learn to increase its trust level with one another. A good coach should: 1. Communicate expectations. 2. Allow opportunity to develop. 3. Instruct for improvement. 4. Listen for adjustments. 5. Provide choices. 6. Reward results. A good coach has to: 1. Resolve political situations 2. Get people to be problem solvers. 3. Work with other executives. 4. Negotiate in the company and outside.5. Work with people who do not work for you. 6. See other points of view. 7. Handle conflict. 8. Motivate self & others. 9. Give credit to others. 10. Solve performance problems. 11. Communicate with your boss.

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4.7 Mentoring: Mentor provides support, training and guidance. He is an essential aid to staff development. Mentoring includes coaching, facilitating, counseling and networking. 4.8 Objectives of Mentoring: Mentoring involves 1. Establishing a relationship of trust. 2. Modeling behavioral norms for the young persons. 3. Listening to the personal & job concerns of the young. 4. Helping search alternative solutions. 5. Sharing own relevant experiences. 6. Responding to his emotional needs. 7. Developing long-lasting personal and informal relationship. Levinson’s concept of a mentor includes being a teacher, sponsor, counselor, developer of skills and intellect, host, guide, exemplar, and most importantly supporter and facilitator in the realization of the vision a young person has about the kind of life he wants as an adult. During dependence phase admiration for the mentor is followed by identification with him, followed by approval. 4.9 Distinction between coaching and mentoring: Coaching (the how) Specific development / education. Short term Development in attitude, behavior, presentation Direction Help to achieve goal Coach need not be an expert.

Coaching is training the new. Address specific issues. More frequent.

Mentoring (the why) Holistic Long term Larger development in broader way of thinking. Guidance How things work around here. Focus on relation & alignment, Organisation development, business performance. Mentoring is training improvement. Address broader issues. Less frequent.

4.10 Counseling: It is constructive listening. Purposes of counseling are: 1. making clear the areas and standards of performance. 2. Giving clear picture to employee of how he is doing, his strengths and weaknesses. 3. Discuss plans for improvement. 4. Build strong, personal relationships. 5. Eliminating or reducing anxiety, tension and uncertainty. Shortcomings of counseling: 1. person being counseled reacts badly. 2. Reveals complimentary contents of his counseling. 3. Executives don’t have time. 4. Lower level executives not skillful enough. Steps in appraising & counseling: 1. Schedule periodic appraisals. 2. Establish PA standards. 3. Prepare for appraisal and counseling session. 4. Make appraisal session cooperative. 5. Establish and maintain rapport. 6. Jointly explore alternative solutions. 7. Help subordinates to come to self-determined solutions. 8. Terminate the session gracefully. 9. Complete records of the session and decisions for future reference. 10. Carry out decisions and actions. 11. Follow up and evaluate.

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4.11 Effective counseling: Aims at- 1. Bring about constructive change in subordinates behavior. 2. Locating root cause of subordinate’s problems. 3. Reducing frustration by allowing subordinate to express his attitude about job. 4. Stimulating problem solving to solutions and achieve excellence in performance. 4.12 Counseling guidelines: 1. Avoid making subordinates’ decisions. 2. Never attack a person’s defense.3. Postpone action when necessary. 4. Be an active listener. 5. Try not to criticize. 6. Try to counsel often. 7. Use critical incidents. 8. Agree on standard of improvements. 9. Get your subordinates to talk. Change control-oriented confidential report to a development-oriented system, change culture. Counseling involves: Help employee realize his potential as a manager. 2. Help understand himself. 3. Provide opportunity to anlyse own behavior & dynamics of such behavior. 4. Help in better understand environment. 5. Increase his personal and interpersonal effectiveness through feedback. 6. Encourage goal setting for further improvement. 7. Encourage generating alternatives for problems & action plans. 8. Help review his progress in non-threatening way. 9. Provide empathic atmosphere to share & discuss tensions, conflicts, concerns and problems. THE END

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