The Successful Coaching Conversation

By Chris Sliz, RGS Organizational Development Advisor

The term “coaching” means different things to different people. For the purposes of this article we’re keeping it simple and describing coaching as working with an employee to improve performance and develop work-related skills. Individual styles may differ, but at the end of the day the goal is to help the employee succeed.

The successful coaching conversation includes:

• Staying focused.
• Striking the right balance between telling the employee what to do and asking his/her thoughts.
• Making sure the next steps and expectations are clear.
• Giving feedback.

The following tools will help ensure your success

1. Clarify the goal – Former UCLA coach John Wooden said “never mistake activity for achievement.” Without a clear goal you will kick up a lot of dust – but what you actually accomplish is questionable. The first and most important step is to be clear on the goal. What are you coaching the person on? What, specifically, is supposed to happen as a result of the coaching session that isn’t happening now? What’s the best possible outcome of this coaching session? Both of you need to be clear on this first step.

2. Ask questions first – A sports coach has the ability to watch their players on the field. You may have some work-related observations as a coach – but rarely do you understand the depth of knowledge held by an employee. It’s way too easy to fall into the trap of over-coaching.

To gain an understanding of the employee’s knowledge/skill about a task ask “how” and “why” questions. They’re a bit different than the typical “what questions do you have?” query that’s often used in work-related coaching sessions.

For example, let’s assume you are coaching an employee on how to conduct a contentious public meeting. You might ask:

• “What issues do you think will be brought forward by the public? Help me understand why you believe that.”
• “What are the most important things that need to be accomplished in the time you have? What is your rationale for including those items?”
• “What City staff do you think should attend? How did you determine stakeholders?”
• “How would you structure the meeting? Tell me about your rationale for that structure?”

Asking “how” questions helps you understand what the person knows. Asking “why” questions helps you understand how the person thinks. “Why” questions give you information about their problem solving process and awareness of the bigger picture.

Most importantly, if at any point the employee responds to your questions with “I don’t know” or gives an answer that’s so far out of the playing field it qualifies as a foul ball—give them direction. It’s okay to “tell” during a coaching session—just make sure you use it appropriately.

3. Assign a level of initiative for next steps – When the goal of a coaching session is to help a person with an immediate task talk about what happens next and your expectations of the employee.

Years ago in an article for Harvard Business Review titled “Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?” Bill Onken described five levels of initiative:

• Level one – wait to be told what to do
• Level two – ask what to do
• Level three – make a recommendation on the next step, then act
• Level four – act and then advise at once
• Level five – act and routinely report what was done

Using the example above regarding the contentious meeting, assignment of initiative might simply look like this:

• “If anyone from the press contacts you prior to the meeting let me know so I can tell you what I want to happen with the response.” (Level 2)
• “Before you publish the agenda, please forward it to me for a final okay (Level 3)
• “The Council may have questions about this meeting, if they contact you directly with the questions, please respond by email to the full Council and copy me.” (Level 4)
• “If members of the public contact you, please respond as appropriate. We can discuss what you are hearing at our next staff meeting” (Level 5)

Assigning a level of initiative makes the aftermath of coaching more predictable for both you and the employee. It is a technique that can be used in a number of situations—not just coaching.

4. Give honest feedback – Management consultant Ken Blanchard coined the phrase “Feedback is the breakfast of Champions.” And, as you know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is the most important and most overlooked coaching tool available. Remember, you are coaching because you have expertise to share. Giving feedback is an integral way to share that expertise.

Before giving your opinion ask more questions. Ask the person “How do you think it went?” “What did you like about your approach?” “What would you do differently?”   Then be prepared to share your feedback with regard to those three questions.

Staying focused on the goal, having a balanced conversation that includes honest direct feedback and being clear on your expectations regarding initiative will add value to the time you spend coaching your employees. It’s amazing what can happen with that small investment of time. Pete Carroll, coach of the Seattle Seahawks, said “Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out. Sometimes they just need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching and the greatest things can happen.”

With effective coaching your employees can make great things happen.