Coaching/Teaching Providing timely coaching, guidance, and feedback to help others excel on the job and meet key accountabilities.
Key Actions •
Facilitates open communication—Reinforces the importance of open discussion; keeps discussions action-oriented; checks for agreement.
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Clarifies performance—Seeks information and opinions about performance issues; effectively presents or explains information on performance; shares timely, specific, and constructive feedback.
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Sets challenging performance expectations—Clearly communicates high expectations for performance and confidence in an individual’s ability to excel; checks for understanding of performance expectations; appropriately gains buy-in to performance goals; establishes means for follow-up.
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Evaluates—Monitors progress against expectations and addresses performance gaps; communicates any development needs and their importance.
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Provides support—Offers personal time; provides appropriate amount of guidance, instruction, positive models, and opportunities for observation to help others develop skills; provides ongoing feedback.
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Shows empathy––Listens and responds to the affect and content of concerns.
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Maintains self-esteem––Praises contributions, competencies, and potential.
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Continuously develops—Actively seeks ideas or suggestions for performance improvement; collaboratively develops alternatives; builds on good ideas and implements the ideas.
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Champions positive results—Looks for opportunities to reinforce, reward, and celebrate the accomplishments of individuals.
Skill Enhancers •
Maintain accurate files for each person, including performance goals, behaviors and dimensions, meeting notes, records of conversations, etc.
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Create an environment in which continuous improvement is the norm.
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Encourage staff members to work toward total quality with specific goals in mind; coach on how to follow a systematic improvement process.
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Provide resources and support so that quality can be built into systems.
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Evaluate performance on a regular basis against established quality standards in order to identify developmental needs.
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Provide awareness building and training to enhance and support continuous improvement efforts.
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Collaboratively develop a list of items or key processes that detail specific guideposts or goals. The goals should force individuals to work beyond their current areas of comfort (i.e., stretch goals).
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Create an environment in which feedback is expected and accepted.
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Provide timely, accurate, and continuous feedback from many sources.
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Create a reward system that differentiates between strong and poor performance.
Developmental Activities Self-Directed • Have a development plan in mind for each team member; note how the plan will be accomplished and when and how the plan will be reviewed. •
Hold your direct reports accountable for having development plans for their direct reports.
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Establish a specific baseline for measuring improvement.
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Ensure opportunities to observe and schedule conversations for feedback.
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Coach your direct reports on developing their staff members.
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Read books about performance management, goal setting, coaching, reinforcing, dimensions, etc. Include books by such authors as Peter Drucker, Robert Mager, William Byham, and Ken Blanchard.
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Read appropriate articles in personnel, management, training, and organizational development journals.
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Analyze team members on the following; list what you are doing to meet these criteria. To what extent do you think your direct reports are: − Involved in development planning? −
Involved in working on improvement teams?
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Encouraged to improve?
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Trained in developing and improving necessary job skills?
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Documenting their individual progress milestones?
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Recognized for continuous, consistent quality improvement?
Identify ways in which your team’s or department’s developmental goals support the business strategy. Identify goals that do not support this focus. Discuss the feasibility of modifying those goals or creating new goals to better support the strategic plan.
Partnerships • Ask your staff how they define developmental quality improvement; try to reach a common definition that they can adopt as their own. •
Identify a peer or leader recognized as a leader in providing developmental opportunities. Ask for advice about how to bring the same focus to your work.
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Brainstorm methods for monitoring and measuring progress and results.
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Before a project starts, discuss with all involved how to meet the organization’s standards and how their developmental plans can be incorporated into the plan; build into the project steps to check quality.
Targeted Assignments • Complete a simulation focusing on feedback and developmental training or developing organizational talent. •
Attend professional conferences, seminars, etc., in your area of expertise to increase or improve your knowledge of performance management, coaching, and reinforcing positive behaviors.
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Participate in a process improvement or developmental planning team in your department or organization.
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Attend a workshop on total quality management.
Developmental Resources Workshops Look for a workshop that addresses the following: • Preparing and maintaining the workplace for change and obtaining commitment to improvement efforts. •
Evaluating performance against quality standards and providing coaching and reinforcement.
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Developing performance goals that are observable, quantifiable, and measurable.
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Gaining direct reports’ commitment to action plans.
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Communicating performance goals clearly.
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Ensuring the skills and resources are in place to support developmental plans and opportunities.
Additional Learning Resources Books Bell, C.R. (2002). Managers as mentors: Building partnerships for learning (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Blanchard, K., Hybels, B., & Hodges, P. (1999). Leadership by the book: Tools to transform your workplace. New York: William Morrow. Coaching. (1997). Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Cook, M.J. (1998). Effective coaching. New York: McGraw-Hill. Crane, T.G., & Patrick, L. (2001). The heart of coaching: Using transformational coaching to create a high-performance culture (Rev. ed.). San Diego, CA: FTA Press. Dauten, D. (1999). The gifted boss: How to find, create, and keep great employees. New York: William Morrow. Dotlich, D.L., & Cairo, P.C. (1999). Action coaching: How to leverage individual performance for company success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Doyle, J.S. (1999). The business coach: A game plan for the new environment. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Flaherty, J. (1998). Coaching: Evoking excellence in others. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. Foster, B., & Seeker, K.R. (1999). Coaching for peak employee performance: A practical guide to supporting employee development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Fournies, F.F. (2000). Coaching for improved work performance (Rev. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Goldsmith, M., Lyons, L., & Freas, A., (Eds.). (2000). Coaching for leadership: How the world’s greatest coaches help leaders learn. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hargrove, R. (2000). Masterful coaching fieldbook: Grow your business, multiply your profits, win the talent war! San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Herbelin, S., & Guiney, P. (2000). Work team coaching: An interpersonal approach to high performance (Rev. ed.). Riverbank, CA: Riverbank Books.
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Holliday, M. (2001). Coaching, mentoring, and managing: A coach guidebook (Rev. ed.). Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press. Hudson, R.M. (1999). The handbook of coaching: A comprehensive resource guide for managers, executives, consultants, and human resource professionals. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Kinlaw, D.C. (1999). Coaching for commitment: Interpersonal strategies for obtaining superior performance from individuals and teams (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Logan, D.C., & King, J.P. (2001). The coaching revolution: How visionary managers are using coaching to empower people and unlock their full potential. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation. Murray, M. (2001). Beyond the myths and magic of mentoring: How to facilitate an effective mentoring process. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Nash, S. (1999). Turning team performance inside out: Team types and temperament for highimpact results. Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black. Stone, F.M. (1999). Coaching, counseling and mentoring: How to choose and use the right tool to boost employee performance. New York: AMACOM. Whitworth, L., House, H., Sandahl, P., & Kimsey-House, H. (1998). Co-active coaching: New skills for coaching people toward success in work and life. Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black. Zeus, P., & Skiffington, S. (2001). The complete guide to coaching at work. New York: McGrawHill. Articles Bielous, G.A. (1998, July). Effective coaching: Improving marginal performers. Supervision, 59(7), 5–17. Buhler, P.M. (1998, October). A new role for managers: The move from directing to coaching. Supervision, 59(19), 16–19. Eggers, J.H., & Clarke, D. (2000, September/October). Executive coaching that wins. Ivey Business Journal, 65(1), 66–70. Fletcher, W. (2000, January). Good listener, better manager. Management Today, 30. Grote, D. (2000, May). The secrets of performance appraisal. Across the Board, 37(5), 14–20. Hill, L. (1998, Spring). Developing the star performer. Leader to Leader, (8), 30–37. Marshall, L. (2000, March). Coaching for culture change. Executive Excellence, 17(3), 15. Mentoring & coaching help employees grow. (2001, September). HR Focus, 78(9), 1+. Mobley, S.A. (1999, July/August). Judge not: How coaches create healthy organizations. Journal for Quality & Participation, 22(4), 57–60.
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Nierenbury, A. (1999, December). Four tips for creating a genuine open door policy. HR Focus, 76(12), 13. Pelletier, R. (2001, October). Coaching vs. managing. Credit Union Management, 24(10), 8. Peterson, D.B., & Hicks, M.D. (1999, February). Strategic coaching: Five ways to get the most value. HR Focus, 76(2), S7–S8. Phillips, K.R. (1998, March). The Achilles’ heel of coaching. Training & Development, 52(3), 41–44. Rinke, W.J. (1998, June). Be a coach, not a cop. Executive Excellence, 15(6), 17. Salter, C. (2001, December). Attention, class!!! 16 ways to be a smarter teacher [Being a leader means being a good teacher]. Fast Company, (53), 114–126. Shelton, K. (2000, February). Coaching for performance. Executive Excellence, 17(2), 2. Simonsen, P. (1999, August). Do your managers have the right stuff? Workforce, 78(8), 47–52. Sussman, L., & Finnegan, R. (1998, March/April). Coaching the star: Rationale and strategies. Business Horizons, 41(2), 47+. Swap, W., Leonard, D., Shields, M., & Abrams, L. (2001, Summer). Using mentoring and storytelling to transfer knowledge in the workplace. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(1), 95+. Tyler, K. (1997, July). Prepare managers to become career coaches. HR Magazine, 42(6), 98–101. Waldroop, J., & Baker, T. (2000, September/October). Managing away bad habits. Harvard Business Review, 78(5), 89–98.
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