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In my last article, I talked about coaching techniques you can use with your employees.
Sometimes you’ll find that your coaching approach just isn’t working.
Then the challenge becomes, “What do I do now?”
The answer is what kids hate to hear: “It all depends.” That answer isn’t being evasive. It’s a reflection of how different situations call for different approaches.
Let’s take a look at some possible scenarios:
Mary Beth:
Mary Beth is a fairly new employee. She was hired as an administrative assistant because she is young, energetic, enthusiastic and eager to learn.
She worked really well for the first three months. She seemed to pick up things quickly and was well-liked by her colleagues and customers when she fielded calls for her boss.
Then, she missed work on a Monday. She called in saying she had food poisoning. She was back the next day, ready to work.
The next month, she missed two more Mondays. One day, she called in explaining her dog was sick and had to go to the vet. The other, she said her flight back to Cleveland had been cancelled on Sunday, and she wouldn’t be back in town until 4:00 that afternoon. Mary Beth made up the hours she had missed.
The next month, her attendance improved. However, her boss noticed that she seemed kind of out of it on Mondays.
She wasn’t as well-organized as she had been and was making more mistakes. For example, she neglected to give her boss an important message until two days after the message was taken. She was apologetic and really seemed eager to make it up to her boss.
About two weeks later, she was very irritable on Monday and Tuesday - with her boss, her office mate and even with people who called. By Wednesday, she was cheerful, pleasant and busy.
By this time, her boss was quite confused. She just wasn’t doing the job part of the time, and was terrific the rest of the time.
He had tried coaching her – asking gently what was going on, making suggestions, meeting regularly – all the things he learned to do from my last article. She was very quiet during their conversations and just promised that she would do better.
At first, she seemed to be really taking in his suggestions, but the very good/unreliable pattern re-emerged.
David:
David is a long-time employee, a salesperson whose productivity was always high. He was enthusiastic, a back-slapper and good-humored guy, passionate about Monday night football with great relationships with customers.
Over time, his productivity started to drop. Even more noticeable, his personality seemed to change. He was much quieter, seemed to be having trouble finding the energy to make his calls, keep up with his paperwork. He complained a lot about poor sleep, and just didn’t look well. He seemed to be dragging himself into work.
The manager was concerned, not only because David’s performance had changed. As David’s friend, the manager was worried about him personally.
The sales manager had done a good job of coaching him, making concrete suggestions, following up and maintaining a supportive style. While David was grateful for the manager’s help, he did not identify any particular problems. His sales results continued to gradually decline.
What to Do:
In each of these situations, the managers had a real dilemma.
Mary Beth:
The station manager identified the following alternatives:
- Putting her on notice that she had 6 weeks to “shape up or ship out.” Since she was a new hire, she might just be more trouble than she was worth.
- Mary Beth’s attendance problem occurred on Monday mornings. The manager knew that pattern of absenteeism could signal a drinking problem or some other difficulty Mary Beth had on certain weekends.
- Replacing her. It had taken two months to find Mary Beth. How much time and how long would it take to find someone else?
- Patience. How long could he tolerate her “hit or miss” performance?
- Using other resources. How could he get her to see a professional to evaluate what was going on?
The manager decided he wanted to try to salvage the situation.
After clearing the memo with the Legal Department, he decided to put things in writing, as follows:
Mary Beth:
I hired you because I think you have great potential in radio. Initially, your performance confirmed my thoughts about you. Now, I’m concerned about what’s going on with you. You often do a really good job – you’re efficient, pleasant, well-organized and take initiative. At other times, there are real problems.
As we’ve discussed, your performance in the past two months has been very uneven – sometimes you do a fine job, at other times you’re disorganized and cranky.
Your poor attendance on five Mondays in the past three months is particularly worrisome.
I know Monday morning absences can be a clue to problems that seem to occur on weekends. I can’t know what the issue is and it’s not my job to diagnose the problem. However, we both know something is going on that is putting your job in jeopardy.
I strongly suggest you see a professional trained to evaluate these kinds of difficulties.
If you do not know where to go for an evaluation, I can get you some names to contact.
NOTE: The manager has asked his doctor for some names of counselors that he can give to Mary Beth if needed.
The decision to get an evaluation is entirely yours. If you choose to do so, that process will be entirely confidential.
I want you understand that I will continue to monitor your attendance and performance.
I hope that you do follow up on this situation. You are a high potential employee. I would be sorry to see you leave the station.
David:
David’s manager suspects that David may be depressed. There may also be a medical reason for the change in his performance. The manager doesn’t want to be intrusive, yet he wants David to be checked out by a physician.
Because he and David have worked together for a long time and are friends, the manager can be more informal about his recommendation.
He tells David about his concerns in a meeting in the manager’s office. They do not discuss the situation at lunch, since the manager wants to be very clear that this is a business conversation.
The manager says:
“I want to talk to you today as your manager, not as your friend. As we’ve discussed, your productivity has dropped recently.”
NOTE: The manager should be very specific about the timing and details associated with the decline in David’s performance. General impressions can be debated if David reacts defensively. Facts and figures are a solid foundation for further conversation.
“Something is different. As your boss, I’m concerned about the impact of whatever is happening on your business results.
I’m really worried about your well-being and health. The changes in your behavior and performance appear to be in the behavioral health area. It’s not my job to assess or diagnose these things, but my guess is that you need to see a doctor or counselor.
We can talk about a medical leave if you need some time off to get this sorted out. We want you to come back well and back to your old self.”
The boss offers to give David the name of a doctor or counselor if David does not have one to call.
He asks David to let him know what the doctor has to say, if David feels comfortable doing so.
NOTE: David has the right to keep any medical information confidential. He cannot be required to inform his manager about his conversations with a doctor or counselor.
They agree to talk again next week to discuss David’s what’s happening.
In Summary
Performance improvement benefits the business!
In these two situations, having your personal radar set on High will enable you to sense trouble and get ahead of the curve.
Outside resources seem to be needed to assess and address what’s going on. Having names to which the employee can be referred is important since individuals in trouble may not know where to turn.
The conversations are delicate and need to be thought through carefully. Make sure you have the facts to back up what you say. Talking about attitude, interest and commitment assumes that the boss knows what the employee is thinking and what the employee’s motivation is.
Even very talented managers cannot read the minds of their employees!
So, decide if you think the situation is worth salvaging, gather concrete performance information, plan what you want to say, have the names of appropriate resources available. Then have a heart-to-heart talk.
Next month: When to use an executive coach.
The "How to Coach" series from Barbara Feinberg is for educational and informational purposes only and does not represent a legal opinion.
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