You Can't Outsource Leadership!

Yet that seems to be what many managers attempt to do when they engage a coach... Let me give you an example:

A senior employee is subject of a complaint and found to have engaged in bullying behaviour - a breach of the organisation's policy, a disciplinary matter. A discipline warning is placed on the employee's file and the employee is directed to attend coaching.   

That's it. No monitoring, no follow up.  

After a lull, employees complain that, once again, they are being bullied, and ask, How can this be happening? Isn't the coach monitoring this and reporting to management that coaching isn't working?'

When managers hear that there are new complaints, they call for a report from the coach on whether or not the employee, 

• wants to change 

• is committed to changing 

• can change

• will change and/or 

• is changing. 

The coach reports that the employee is making good use of coaching and even suggests that the employee may be a victim of others' bad behaviour or poor management.  

Despite the fact that everyone expects that the coach will change the employee's behaviour... nothing changes. Everyone is frustrated. The costs mount. People continue to be injured . 

I believe this outcome is predictable and will be ongoing as long as the coach enables the manager to reneg on their responsibilities by outsourcing leadership to the coach... who, lets face it, has neither the authority, power nor opportunity to manage employee behaviour. 


Why isn't it the coach's job to change employe behaviour?
If you think about it, it soon becomes obvious that the coach cannot directly observe or monitor employee behaviour and cannot direct or build discipline around that behaviour. It is hardly likely that the bullying employee will admit to the coach any intention or commitment to inflicting psychological pain or injury. It is highly unlikely they will accurately report what they do and the impact of their actions - after all, can you honestly imagine a bully reporting, 

Well you know I am committed to subverting managerial control. I am committed to bullying anyone I can, whenever I can get away with it. And it's been a good week - I shredded the confidence and self-esteem of three employees, set up two people to fight each other, reduced a new kid to a dribbling mess by screaming at her for a minor and imaginary error, and made a colleague look like a complete idiot in front of the boss... and all without getting caught!

In more than 20 years of counselling and coaching, I've only ever had one person own up in any way like this!


Instead what you can predict is that all the actors will get caught up in a repetitive and damaging cycles through what Steve Karpman named the Drama Triangle....with everyone feeling like a Victim and everyone Persecuting and Rescuing each other!

It is however possible to avoid getting you caught up in the drama triangle. Here's how we do it at The Corporate Soul (www.corporatesoul.com.au)

Work only with volunteers – ie with employees who have

• negotiated a clear contract for change with their manager or
•  accepted  a directive from their manager to attend coaching
• accepted the offer of support from their manager after being directed to change their behaviour at work

Coach, to support effective working relationships

That means you must avoid undermining effective working relationships - specifically, do not take over

•  any aspect of the manager’s role or responsibilities
• any responsibilities of the person being coached

Clarify roles with all parties: Who is responsible for what?

The contract for change is a behaviour or performance contract between the manager (representing the legitimate needs & interests of the business) and the person being coached. This contract is negotiated between the employee and their manager before, or as the first step in, the coaching process.

The coach can facilitate the negotiation of this contract between the manager and the employee if required - for example, by helping the manager 

• specify, articulate and communicate required behaviours 
• identify and articulate what is negotiable and what is not
• anticipate and handle objections.

The coach cannot and should not decide, nor communicate behavioural (or performance) requirements to the employee. This is the responsibility of the manager.

It is also the manager’s role & responsibility to

• set clear expectations about the behaviour or performance required, and when and how that behaviour/performance will be monitored and evaluated
• inform the person of the consequences of change/no change, and to check whether or not the person is ‘up for it’ – ie willing to make a commitment to changing behaviour in line with the reasonable requirements of the business, or to developing his or her knowledge, skill or behaviour to the required or desired level
• decide what they are prepared to offer, under what conditions, to support the person’s commitment – this support might include external training, coaching, mentoring  (and/or other resources). The manager may even direct the person to attend training or coaching to ensure that the person is supported in their efforts to meet their employment requirements. 

So, in regard to coaching, the manager – not the coach - should decide 

• how many sessions are offered over what period of time 
• if, when and how often the employee should report back on what she/he is learning from coaching and how s/he is applying this on the job. 

Who is responsible for changing workplace behaviour?

Regardless of the choice they make, to accept or decline coaching… regardless of the use they make of that coaching or training… the employee remains 100% responsible for his or her work-related behaviour. 

It is the manager’s role to communicate this clearly to the person when the offer of coaching or training is made.

If the manager has doubts about the employee’s ability to manage his or her behaviour, appropriate 'fitness for work' assessment should be organised to resolve these doubts and/or to design appropriate work & support where disability is identified.

The manager can, and should, communicate

•  the coaching or training budget available over & the time frame for use
•  the degree of choice the person has in regard to providers of coaching or training
• whether the person is expected or required to attend a defined number of coaching / training sessions, and if so, the learning or change goals they are expected to pursue in those sessions, and the potential consequences of not attending/changing
• whether or not the person is expect to report back on the coaching, and if so:
•  to whom & how (eg meeting or in writing);
• when & how often they are to report back;
• what they are to report on,
• how the report/s will be used and the potential consequences of the report/s or the decision not to report;  and finally, 
• whether continued access to coaching depends on specified conditions eg on reports on and/or observed changes in behaviour or performance in the workplace, continued employment in a certain role etc. 

It is up to the individual whether or not s/he decides to take up this offer, and to make arrangements for sessions directly with the coach. Right from the start, the employee should be expected to take responsibility for taking action, rather than subtly shifting this responsibility to the coach or the manager.

What if the employee refuses coaching?

If the employee is directed to attend coaching, there are clearly consequences to refusal, so their decision should be informed by clear advice from the manager about these consequences. The manager should follow through on these consequences if the employee does not take up the coaching.

The offer of training or coaching is an indication to the employee that their manager values them and believes that they have the potential to develop, behave and perform as needed. This offer communicates that the manager is willing to make a substantial investment to assist them in developing and sustaining the required behaviour and performance. 

Either way, it is the employee’s right and responsibility to decide whether or not to utilise the coaching or training offered.

Whether or not the individual takes up the offer of coaching, the employee remains 100% responsible for changing, developing and maintaining their behaviour or performance, and their manager remains responsible for

• monitoring and tracking their progress and behaviour in the workplace,
•  evaluating & providing feedback to them on their behaviour and performance, and
•  holding them accountable for their behaviour and performance
• making and communicating all decisions relating to their behaviour and performance.

Is the coach neutral?No. The coach takes the side of the legitimate interests of the business and the health, safety & human rights of the employee being coached, that person’s manager and any others affected by the employee's decisions and actions.

Should the manager provide a briefing to the coach before coaching?

Yes. There should be transparency between the manager, coach and employee as to:

• the behaviour that precipitated disciplinary action
• the expectations that have been set with the employee regarding their behaviour, how it will be monitored, follow up and consequences of non-compliance
• what support has been offered or directed re coaching and any conditions  attached to this offer/directive

Should the coach provide a report or feedback to the employer about what happens in coaching sessions?

Since this would move the coach into Persecutor or Rescuer role, no.

The only report (verbal or email) the coach should provide is to both the manager and the employee, following the first session, and should cover the degree of clarity and alignment there seems to be between the employee, their manager and the coach, on the precipitating issues, what is expected of the employee, and why it matters (implications/consequences for the organisation and the employee). If there is ambiguity, a lack of clarity or disagreement, a joint session can then be recommended to ensure everyone is working from the same page. 

Other than this initial report, all coaching sessions should be private and confidential and focus on supporting the person to understand and make wise decisions around their work responsibilities and roles. 

How will the manager know what's happening in coaching?

While the coach should not report anything to anyone about the coaching sessions, the employee can, and probably should, be required to account directly to their manager on 

• how they are using the coaching and / or what they are learning and 
• how they are applying this at work to change and maintain required behaviours 

At the same time the manager should 

• monitor the employee's behaviour and performance at work to ensure they are meeting, fully and consistently, ALL the reasonable expectations of their role
• provide the employee with timely and specific feedback on this
• build employee self-management/discipline around this.

That's leadership and it cannot be outsourced.

The Skills Shortage: Retaining Valued Employees

I've just read an outline for an HR event with a focus on this issue... not surprisingly, the focus is on human resource solutions... system, process and policy design and alignment.

Given that research shows that, skills shortage or not, people quit their boss, rather than the company... it is surprising that strategies for developing, resourcing and supporting leaders and leadership at all levels isn't on the agenda.

That seems central to any serious response to retention challenges.

A New Year: Resolutions or Goals???

I've been wondering.... why do so many New Year's Resolutions - no matter how sincerely, well intended at the time they are made - amount in so many dismal failures, when research consistently shows goal-setting to be a reliable approach to motivating the behaviours & persistence that lead to achievement?


Maybe its the same reason so many performance management processes fail to produce motivated people and high performance.


Maybe it's because New Year's resolutions aren't goals - they are shoulds...agreed to in order to please or appease our conscience (or those dear others around us who have voluntarily assumed the role of our conscience!) 


In the same way, many 'goals' set by managers aren't 'goals'... they are shoulds... agreed to by anxious (and resentful) employees in order to please or appease 'the boss' (in whose hands we have placed our fate).


In a 2006 Fortune article, on What It Takes to be Great, Geoffrey Colvin highlights the difference between a good intention (I want to be a better golfer or I'm gonna improve my game) and regular, sustained and deliberate (ie goal-focussed) practice:

• Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don't get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day - that's deliberate practice.

In this example what I have to do (the task) is clear: Hit the ball 300 times. 

What I am trying to achieve while doing this (the goal) is equally clear and unambiguous:  leave the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time.

Are your New Year resolutions as clearly defined and unambiguous? AHow about the goals you set as work, for yourself or others?

Maybe this year is the year to practice setting defined and unambiguous goals in order to become an effective manager or leader... hmmm now, what would my goal be? How will I define success? 

Kiva: Become a Banker, Change A Life

Do you know about Kiva? Not a charity but a practical way to assist people who through no fault of their own are poor and unable to access bank loans - without microfinance banks such as Grameen and Kiva, they have no alternative but to use money lenders.

So for a small amount of money which you lend,  to a person you choose, you can help to change a life.. then another then another...

Which One Is The Leader?

On the way to the beach for an early morning swim and walk today, we passed a gaggle of runners... one woman was out in front, one chap off to the side of the main group, and a couple of stragglers.

Was the leader the one out front?

Nope...

He was initially indistinguishable... but listening in, it became clear that he was right in the middle of the main bunch.... encouraging, keeping spirits up, giving a preview of the hill ahead and getting everyone psyched up and ready for the extra effort and the feeling of success they'd feel at the top.

Seemed to me to be a pretty good lesson in leadership for the workplace...  

Oops your atitude is showing!!

If you're a manager, supervisor or team leader, the attitude you display has a BIGGGGGGG impact on the people around you.

Here are some winners and losers when it comes to the attitudes you display thorough your facial expressions, choice of words, posture, gestures, tone of voice, pace & pitch...

ATTITUDES THAT KILL MOTIVATION, ENGAGEMENT &; COMMITMENT

(you don't have to SAY these things... you just oooooze them)

1. I’d rather be somewhere else
2. Do I look like I care?
3. Sorry, can’t do
4. Not my job, Not my responsibility
5. Not you again
6. The brush-off (Can't you see I'm busy?!)
7. It’s us against them
8. Near enough’s good enough
9. It’ll never work
10. I know it all
11. I’ve got a chip on my shoulder
12. I’m OK, you’re nothing
13. Health & Safety second & third, profit first.

ATTITUDES THAT WIN MOTIVATION, ENGAGEMENT & COMMITMENT

1. I love it here.
2. I’m keen - I care.
3. Yes we CAN!
4. It’s my job: I’ll take responsibility.
5. You’ve got my full attention.
6. We’re all on the same team.
7. We can do better than this
8. I’m open to new ideas
9. I don’t know it all
10. Safety is profitable & smart: Safety matters!

What attitude are you showing?

Read My Mind

You know...

You know what I mean...

Do I have to explain it...

I shouldn't have to spell it out...

You shouldn't have to be told...

It's obvious to anyone with half a brain...

Why do I have to explain it to you...

Maybe some of these statements have merit in an established, long-term working relationship when you've invested plenty of time and thought in articulating, setting, clarifying, and negotiating expectations, building a common language and common mental models...working together.... exchanging two way, timely and helpful feedback....

On the other hand, if you're using these phrases in the first 6 months or first 3 or 4 work assignments with a new employee, vendor, supplier or contractor (no matter how experienced they are), having spent as little time as possible together, having engaged in mostly one-way communication and critical, even offensive, feedback... then you're expecting them to read your mind!

And that, will, predictably, set you both up for failure, raise your blood pressure and their defences, their stress and frustrate the heck out of both of you!

Productive Workers Are Happy Workers

Have you ever

• had a day where you worked hard all day - sweated blood - but achieved nothing? 
• worked really hard to finish a job, then had to undo it all or do it again because the boss or client wasn’t clear about what they wanted? 
• put everything into finishing a job only to be told that it didn’t have to be that good 
• put everything into finishing a job only to be told 'it’s STILL not good enough'? 

Then you know how demoralising and demotivating that can be!

Your first priority as a supervisor, manager, team leader is to get organised and talk to your people so that they can get on with the job with everything they need to get it done right, safely, first time, every time.

‘Everything’ includes all the information they need to be sure that they understand:

• what specifically they have to do, 
• how it fits with other priorities,
• when they need to have it done, 
• how to do it safely, and 
• how to tell when they’ve ‘finished’ or done ‘good enough’ 
• what to do if they strike a problem or get stuck. 

After all, if you're a supervisor, team leader or manager... 
It’s Your Job to Set Them Up for Success

4 Word poem

In between a heap of work (long days and nights to get through it all) I've had a great time following a '6 word poems' thread on the Australasian Facilitators Network discussion ... at the end my mind felt like you do when your tummy hurts from laughter ... I wanted to post a two word poem: Enough. Already

.... but thought it might not convey what I was after.

Now it's the end of the week...so here's my four word contribution to poetry:

Long week. Playing now.

The Manager's Dashboard

Seth Grodin wrote a blog today on Dashboards and got me thinking...

What if every employee could click a button to let you know when you had:

1. Made a deposit in their goodwill bank account.

2. Made a withdrawal from their goodwill bank account.

3. Did something that improved their skills

4. Robbed 'em of the chance to develop a skill by taking over, doing it for them, overwhelming them with feelings of fear or humiliation.

5. Helped 'em understand what they were there for, what they needed to produce or do and why it matters (how it links in to the bigger picture, how it makes a difference)

6. Made 'em feel like they were wasting their time, shouldn't bother.

7. Helped them gain an Aha!! - helped them see into something they hadn't known, realised or understood before.

8. Helped them find a way forward, clear or overcome an obstacle or resource a shared goal.

9. Achieved something important yourself.

10 Wasted your time.

Would you use it? Would it make a difference to how you manage?

Would it make a difference to the way you talked, walked and interacted???

If not... what would?

And since you probably don't have such a dashboard... how DO you tell how you're doing, when and how you need to change...?