EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
Avoid these coaching errors
You have a talented staffer who needs help developing a new skill. As you coach him, heed this advice from the baseball diamond:
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Don’t bring players up from the minor leagues until they’re ready. Make sure your staffers master the skills you teach them. Impatient coached will often stop teaching before their employees achieve proficiency. You can’t rely on your students to know when they’ve mastered a new skill.
Example: Don’t ask “Do you understand how to use the spreadsheet program now?” Instead, say “I’d like you to create a spreadsheet using last month’s sales figures.” Don’t give players too many “signs” when they bat. Don’t bombard people with too much information at once. Let employees master one step of the new task before moving on to the next.
Example: “Let’s make sure you’re comfortable with formatting, then I’ll show you how to import figures from other reports.” Don’t let players catch with one hand. If employees practice a skill the wrong way, they’ll get stuck doing it that way. Good coached give feedback when an employee is making a mistake. That doesn’t mean you have to jump on a person the first time he does something wrong, but don’t let incorrect behavior persist.
Example: “I noticed you’re not saving your work regularly as we discussed. You can lose a lot of valuable work that way. Start saving after you enter each new column of figures.” Adapted from Getting a Project Done on Time, Paul B. Williamson, AMACOM, (800)2629699. LISTENING Learn to FACE your staff Are you a good listener? Most people think they are, and most people think they are, and most people are wrong. In the workplace, poor listening skills contribute to misunderstandings and time-wasting errors. The inability to really hear what others are saying leads to lower productivity, lost profits, higher costs, lower morale and increased turnover. So, how do you increase your listening skills? Face your employees and connect: Focus on the listener. Serious listening means tuning out noise, distractions and other priorities. Make an appointment if necessary. To help yourself focus, take notes. Acknowledge your listener by nodding, smiling forward and adding comments such as “ Yes, go on” and “I see.” Most important, hold eye contact.
Clarify. Active listening requires that you understand not only the content of the information, but the intent. Example: “You say you want to be taken off of the Jensen account. Are you too busy to handle it, or is there some other problem?”
Empathize. Many of us want to be problem solvers. When people vent, we offer suggestions, when what they really want is someone to hear them out. Instead of immediately offering a solution, spend some time listening. You’ll often find that most people know how to resolve their problems, they just need to hash it out for themselves.
Adapted from “Bottom Line Listening,” Wicke Chambers and Spring Asher, Innovative Leader, http://www.winstonbrill.com/ . Make yourself more promotable You were in line for a promotion, but it went to someone else. What’s your next move? When you lose out on a promotion, you naturally feel disappointed—even angry. But don’t let negativity prevent you from taking an honest look at the situation. First, assess your promotability. Can you see why your boss tapped someone else rather than you? Ask yourself: “Does he have some expertise that I don’t?” “ Do I work as many hours as he does?” “Is he better than I am a cultivating relationships within the department?” After you’ve asked yourself the hard questions, start a self-improvement regime. Your goal is to make yourself more valuable to the organization. Find a task that your boss values and become an expert at it. Read industry publications and funnel news of important developments to your boss. If your expertise makes him look good, you’ll have a powerful ally the next time a better position opens up. Help staffers make the grade Criticizing is easy. But helping a staff member correct his behavior takes energy and skill. Use these guidelines: Recognize that correction is part of communication. Effective feedback means telling employees what they’re doing well and when their performance needs improving. Encourage the employee to improve. No one knows why the person is faling better than he does, so invite his input by asking: “ What happened?” “What can you do to prevent it from happening again?” or “What can you do to remedy the situation?” Let it go. Don’t hold grudges. Concentrate on moving forward instead of rehashing old mistakes. Doing otherwise wastes your time and energy and can destroy the staffer’s self-esteem. Adapted from Goal Setting, Susan B.Wilson, AMACOM, (800)262-9699. RESOLVING CONFLICTS Keep your cool in a crisis When a crisis hits, managers often feel the urge to step in and take control of the situation. While this approach might bring short-term success, it’s best to enlist the help of your staff. Involving your employees in crisis management is the best way to head off the next crisis. Here’s how: Overcommunicate to keep employees informed and to silence the rumor mill. Implement “5/3 status briefings”- five-minute updates at the beginning, middle and end of each day.
Monitor your own behavior. Staff members are taking their cues from you. If you act flustered, angry or impatient, they’ll assume you’re ill-prepared to handle the situation and will lose confidence in your leadership. But if you’re controlled, calm and easy-going, they’’’ emulate that behavior- making life easier for everyone.
Wrap it up in style. Conclude each crisis with a postmortem assessment of the situation. Review what happened, identify key lessons and celebrate the team’s success in getting through it together.
Adapted from 144 Ways to Walk the Talk, Eric Harvey, Walk the Talk Co., (888)822-9255. Rebound from a verbal attack How do you react when your boss unfairly singles you out for a reprimand? Being chastised in front of others is rough under circumstances, but it’s even worse when you believe that you haven’t done anything wrong. Rely on these strategies: Keep your voice low and your delivery slow. Your moderate tones will help you come across as professional and levelheaded.
Ask for a private conversation. Don’t involve your co-workers any more than they’re already involved. Instead, schedule a private session to discuss the matter with your manager. Tell your boss “If you need to talk to me about something like that, let’s do it in your office.”
Document the confrontation. Keep a record with a brief description of what you said and when, and what your boss’s response was. If your boss repeatedly blows up at you, the paper trail will come in handy when you have to take your complaint to the next level. Attempting to solve the problem before taking it to anyone else shows that you’re not just a complainer.
Adapted from “Beware of Bad Boss,” Chris Ott, Career Recruitment Media, Inc., http://www.graduatingengineer.com/ Don’t say "No" Sometimes, saying “No” simply isn’t an option. When you have to say “Yes,” use these techniques to gain an edge: Explain that you can agree to the request this time. Then ask how the two of you might plan better for the next time.
Ask for something in return. After you say “Yes,” remind the person that you consider this a favor, and explain that you feel that you are owed one in exchange. Then ask for some accommodation that will ease your workload.
Limit your involvement. Say “Yes,” but retain control of your time by setting the timetable. For example, you might say “I can do that for you by the end of the week.”
Put a condition on your agreement. You needn’t offer unconditional or open-ended assistance. Don’t offer to do more than you’re comfortable with. Tell the person: “If as you say, it will take only an hour, I’ll be able to help. But I can’t give you more than that until next week."
Adapted from How to Say No,” Pace Productivity, http://www.getmoredone.com/ Tips of the month Gain an edge when you’re up against a large competitor by emphasizing your organization’s flexibility. Remind customers that while your giant competitor may be well-known in the field, its managers may be unwilling to abandon established protocols to provide the agile service customers need.
Adapted from “How to Compete With a Larger Company,” S&MM’s Management Advisor, http://www.salesandmarketing.com/ Increase your confidence during networking events by volunteering to serve at the registration desk. At the event, you will feel more comfortable talking with people because you will have met them already. And because people will recognize you from the desk, they’re more likely to approach you.
Adapted from “9 ways to develop Confidence in New Situations,” Maria Marsala, http://www.coachmaria.com/ Eliminate time wastes by asking this question before you take on a assignment or resume work on a routine task: “What am I giving up so that I may do this?” Once you recognize the activity’s true cost, you may decide that it is now how you really want to spend your time.
Adapted from “Five Questions That Help You Make the Most of Your Time,” Rodger Constandse, The Phantom Writers, http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ Reduce the time you waste in meetings, by establishing this policy: Before they can schedule a meeting staffers must apply in writing for permission to hold it. When they’re forced to justify the time in advance, they may realize the meeting isn’t necessary.
Adapted from The Productivity Handbook, Donald E.Wetmore, Random House Reference, http://www.randomwords.com/
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