Critic or Coach?

In the past week I've had a great time.

I became an instant expert, a decisive judge / adjudicator for the Olympic diving events (3 - 10 metre platforms) prepared to award and deduct points with little hesitation and great confidence, and to argue vociferously with the international panel of judges as to whether a diver had earned a 7 or 6.5.... 

Suddenly, with no training or credentials, and precious little experience (does a belly flop from the 10m platform at age 10 count?), I was a critic!! 

It was terrific fun... and luckily for everyone involved I could exercise my criticism without harm or consequence to anyone, since I did it all from the privacy and comfort of my living room - well out of hearing of divers & judges! 

And just as well too because I was at times ruthless and scathing... and perhaps just a tad biased in favour of certain divers whose demeanour suggested a personality and attitude pleasing to me! (I absolutely refuse to accept my partner's suggestion that physical attractiveness played any role in my judging or criticism! I mean really! How shallow would that make me!)

Anway... somewhere on my walk tonight I began to reflect on my behaviour and various managers I've encountered over the past few months who seem to think that all that is required to develop high performance in their staff is to criticise and judge!

Thinking about the divers, it's clear that telling them what they're doing wrong or warning them about what can go wrong won't help... they need clear, correct instruction on how to do it safely and well, clear feedback on what they are doing correctly, and clear guidance and suggestions on actions, changes they can make to do better. It's equally clear that, if they could hear me, my criticism would have little credence since I have absolutely no expertise in diving (and in all truth, the slowmo replays often proved me wrong...oops!). 

They need a coach not a critic.

And the same is true for employees!  

When it comes to diving, I would NEVER be hired as a coach, since, despite my in-front-of-telly delusions of knowledgeability, the fact is that I have NO idea how to help any diver improve from a 6.5 to an 8... nor do I know how to teach them to dive off a 10metre platform for the first time ever and survive without injury! 

When it comes to the workplace, many managers would never be hired by their employees as coaches either - that means they will never be listened to - because, despite their ability and propensity to criticise, they have no idea how to help people improve their performance, nor do they know how to develop someone from scratch. 

They think that telling someone what to do (dive off that platform), warning them about doing badly (if you get it wrong you'll kill yourself), criticising their efforts (that's a belly-flop not a dive), and throwing in the occasional marshmallow (token) compliment (well not bad really,you actually hit the water rather than the side of the pool).... is coaching.

It's not!

Coaching involves a lot more skill and work than criticism - probably why many managers avoid it! 

The coach has to work out how to deconstruct success or performance, create manageable steps from wherever the protege IS to mastery, provide clear and helpful instruction, devise and develop training plans of strategically paced activities and challenges, and find ways to progressively build skill by offering timely, helpful tips and techniques to correct and improve.

The coach needs to build a history of achievement a sense of growing competence & confidence or efficacy, and to maintain and build motivation and commitment. The coach has to help the performer become an informed, searching, incisive and dispassionate analyst of his/her own performance, manage and learn from failures and setbacks, identify and manage their stinkin' thinkin', their self-talk and imagination, mentally rehearse & visualise success, and anticipate and manage the external environment to eliminate or minimise hazards, obstacles and distractions - even step in to protect or run interference so that the performer can develop... it's a fantastic job requiring insight, skill and commitment!

It can also be dead easy.

The simplest coaching technique I know can make a huge difference to motivation and performance on the job - it's what I ca the Did Well, Do Different technique. 

Identify specifically and fully what the person did well - even if it's just ONE thing, then replace your usual But...  with So... and describe one or two simple actions they can take to build on that....  

'Good line...nice an straight along the whole seam - now use the plane to remove the burrs so that it doesn't catch or cut anything rubbing against it.'

'Great - this is clear and concise - very easy to understand. Now go through this second part and underline every word ending in _ion. Rewrite the sentence containing that word, so that it ends in _ed or _ing. That will turn reduce the fog factor - it will turn it from passive voice into active voice, and make it engaging and easy for the reader to follow. How about we do one together so it's clear what I mean?'

'OK so, let's se... you're eye contact was good during the talk - you scanned and looked at each person in the audience using the one thought, one person technique we've been practising. Terrific work! So now, let's work with bringing your hands into the presentation to enhance the visual impact. How about this time you run through the first three minutes without allowing your hands to touch the podium or your body. Imagine you're the conductor of an orchestra...move them to accompany your words. It will be over the top, yes, because, for now, we want to fre up the movement and unlearn what you've been doing unconsciously... we'll move on to some other ways to use your hands once we master this.'

You may have been a critic up 'til now...how about starting to coach?

Give Did Well Do Different a shot.. or two...or three...and when you master it, add another coaching tip to your kit!

Who knows, before you know it, you'll have a high performance team and a heap of fun.

Smart Rules for Leaders Who Drink

Having recently attended a number of work-related social events I have realised the extent to which leaders and aspiring professionals can inadvertently undermine themselves and their effectiveness. I offer the following 'rules' for smart leaders...

1. Don't be the drunkest person in the room: EVER! 

Appoint a trusted minder to help you with this. 

2. Don't engage in harassment or vilification: EVER! 

Don't arm potential litigants with evidence of sexual, racial, religious or other prejudices, discrimination or harassment

3. Don't tell stories about past bosses or employees that show them in a bad light and you in a good light - it brings your ethics and loyalty into question as people wonder what you'll say about them in the future. 

4. Don't boast about YOU - Boost the team, give others centre stage and be a great audience - shhhh, applaud, cheer! 

5. Don't push alcohol onto people.

6. Don't encourage drunken revelations.

7. Don't dial drunk - take a different mobile with you when you drink. 

One that has only emergency and family numbers in it.

8. DO take the opportunity to prove yourself trustworthy - relax, yes, be friendly, yes, and remain professional, yes, yes, yes. 

9. When you want to let your hair down, DO so with friends with whom your primary relationship is family or social, rather than work or business.

10. At least once in your professional life, DO have a trusted advisor videotape you drunk in a professional setting.  I think you'll find it a whole heap easier to follow these rules after you watch the video!

Lessons on Power and How to Wield It

Never underestimate the power of one...

Mandela and Gandhi were once 'nobodys' in the world's eye... yet both overthrew powerful oppressors.

So there might be just one or two things we can pick up from the lessons on leadership Nelson Mandela offers us on his 90th birthday.

Pyramid Model: Managing & Developing A Sustainable Business

If people in leadership positions fail to manage and develop our business, chances are it will become uncompetitive and/or unsustainable even if we attend to the other four areas of the leadership pyramid.

This area is placed at the peak of the pyramid because it's from here that we need to look 

• over the big picture and the balance between the four points below; 
• ahead to the future and 
• out at the dynamic 21st century environment in which we are conducting our business 
• to ensure alignment rather than fragmentation or stagnation

When supervisors and managers ignore their responsibility for managing AND developing the business, the leadership team fragments and leaders start to focus on their personal agendas; silos and 'empires' develop; succession gaps emerge; communication gaps develop; ambitious staff become frustrated; competitive threats build; decision making becomes increasingly reactive and crisis management becomes the norm - the business starts to run the managers; to find, foster and develop future leaders;!

So the challenge here is to make time

• for strategic activities such as environmental scans, scenario planning, business reviews and long term/strategic planning; 
• build and maintain full and open communication and cooperative relationships with, and between, the members of the senior management team;  
• to find and develop new business; 
• to build and sustain effective working relationships with key external stakeholders (including the communities that give the business a 'social license' to operate); 
• to hold managers and leaders accountable to the business and their people;
• to keep the leadership pipeline flowing by identifying, fostering and developing future leaders and by creating opportunities for them to grow and lead;
• to attract, recruit, leverage and retain talent;
• to ensure that the intellectual capital of the business is retained, leveraged and developed;
• to secure supply sources...and more.  
  

A Post for A Winter Monday Morning

To help get your week off to a wonderful start...

One Buttock Leadership

A different approach to leadership from Ben Zander...what's it got to do with leadership? What's one-buttock leadership? Where do you put emphasis? What must a leader believe?

What should a leader think about while implementing the plan?

Watch and learn, wonder and enjoy....

Not Everyone Who Has A Problem, Wants a Solution

This is one of the hardest things for us to understand.  But, in reality, we've all been there. 

So why do they tell us if they don't want to find a solution? 

Well, because sometimes...

1. We want to tell you... and her... and him... and them.... and to milk it for every bit of attention possible... and if YOU solve it.... you spoil our fun.

2. We don't want to solve it - we want YOU to adopt our problem, take it off our hands!  

3. We want you to join us in the blame game. Some of us find fault like there's a reward for it... or so it seems, but maybe we just want to divert attention from our faults by telling true, but slightly twisted (in-our-favour) tales, that show up other people's faults and failings.

4. We are caught up in the drama and trying to convince you (and ourselves, and anyone else who will listen) that, in this part of our lives at least, we are helpless victims, incapable of solving our problems, persecuted by baddies and in need of rescue by goodies (and we're just giving you an audition for the role of goody in our little drama - if you fail, you're obviously another baddie!)

5. We're just passing time talking ABOUT our problems... we're not interested in action! I mean, gosh... that takes effort and energy, and talking about it is far more rewarding!

So what to do?

Well you might: 

• Listen for a short while... and let us know that you'll be really interested to hear back from us when we've sorted it out... or that when we've got a plan on how to solve it, to let us know if we can help....  set limits to how long or how many times you will  listen... move on... look for opportunities to give us your full and positive attention when we are solving problems, when we're actively engaged in productive or healthy activities. 
• Give us some feedback to the effect that although we you're sure we are unhappy about the situation, we don't sound like we we're taking responsibility for solving it.
• Offer 3 suggestions, and if they all get knocked back, say something like, 'Well, that's strike 3 for me. I'm out. Let me know when you get it sorted.'
• Offer us a deal: If we agree to give you our best 3 suggestions for a problem you're facing, you promise that you will say, 'Thankyou, I'll give that some honest thought and use or adapt it to get this sorted. No buts, No argument' ... then, as long as we agree to say only 'Thankyou, I'll give that some honest thought and use or adapt it to get this sorted. No buts, No argument'.... you will give us your best 3 suggestions for our problem.

Pyramid Model: Manage the Work Processes

When supervisors and managers ignore their responsibility for managing AND developing the way work is done, waste increases, competitiveness decreases and knowledge workers - who can see better ways of doing things and opportunities to do things better, faster, easier - lose motivation and commitment.

So the challenge here is to make time to map, improve and radically change processes, in order to maintain alignment with the demands of the business, and the business environment. 

Given that most managers are Digital Immigrants and most technical professionals are Net Gen-ers and Digital Natives, the manager has to learn to let go and share leadership in this area of the pyramid, probably more than any other. 

  

How DO You Manage AND Develop Individuals?

Here's the Deal... Are you up for it?

1. Set clear, mutual, expectations

• on roles, goals and standards of and attendance, behaviour & performance 
  
• on what they can – and should - expect from you
  
• make it clear that, while you can and will help, they are responsible for meeting expectations fully and consistently 

2. Check that they're willing to deliver on expectations

• Make it clear they are in the driver’s seat – it’s their choice

3. RESOURCE the expectations

• If you're not willing or able to provide the resources necessary for success, your expectations are unrealistic and you're setting them up to fail
  

HOW CAN I HELP?

3. Create an environment for success: 

• Build transparency, trust, action, accountability & appreciation
• Talk straight, walk your talk & keep your commitments
• Listen, show respect & loyalty - to their faces & behind their backs
• Make decisions based on evidence, ethics & empathy
• Make assessments based on explicit, valid & fair measures
• Tackle unethical, unfair behaviour & poor performance
• Don’t harass, discriminate, bully or victimise

GREAT JOB! THANKS!

4. Work your guts out to make sure they can and want to perform:

• CAN PERFORM 
• Make sure they get what they need, when they need it, so they can do the job right, first time, every time

 instruction, training and coaching
 equipment & materials
 real-time factual feedback/metrics on how they’re doing
 practical help to solve problems, deal with obstacles & interference

• WANT TO PERFORM 
  

 Select carefully & fairly, discipline carefully & fairly 

 Deliver on your end of the deal: keep a public scorecard on YOUR attendance, behaviour & performance as well as theirs

 Get to you know your people: find out 

*what they’re trying to achieve

*what interests & excites them – help them get that

  *what they’re thinking and feeling about work   

 Make sure they get a fair deal & act on the things that drain,  

    frustrate & demotivate them
 Show that you notice, consider & appreciate them & their performance 
• say thanks, nice job, well done, great effort!
• let your bosses know who’s doing a great job
 Find ways to make work & performance rewarding & worth their while

 Make sure rewards & promotions go to real leaders & performers

I'VE GOT A PROBLEM & I NEED YOUR HELP TO SOLVE IT

5. Turn Problems into Action

Coach when people do badly

Hold people to account: by using

• fair, valid and explicit measures
• reminders rather than reprimands
• decision-making leave rather than leave without pay
• courageous action to do right and right wrongs rather than covering your own behind! 

Why don't they do what they're s'posed to do...?

Individuals!

We come in every shape and size; we have our own histories, our own unique mix of family, cultural and generational influences; we like and dislike different things; we have our little quirks and foibles; we're motivated by different things; we each respond to a unique mix of managing & developing.... and your job is to manage AND develop us - whether we like it or not!

That's a tough gig! 

Somehow, though you're no doubt busy and juggling multiple demands from various sources, you need to make time for us. 

We ARE your job - we're not an interruption! We need you to make time for us... talk to us... set clear expectations about our attendance, behaviour and performance - and equally, be clear with us about what we can - and should - expect of you.  Get organised to ensure that we have what we need, when we need it, to do the job right, first time... we'd like you to get to know us...how we tick, what we enjoy and what drains, frustrates, bores, blocks and demotivates us - we'd like you act on that information, and enable us do work we're proud of, work that's appreciated, work that makes a difference, work that's no more difficult or tedious or dangerous than it has to be... that's what will motivate us.

We'd like you, every now and then, to ask us, how you can be a better manager - listen, take some notes, say 'thanks' when we answer (don't argue!!) ...just think about what we say and try to do something - just ONE thing - about it. Then follow up to let us know what you've been doing about it, to find out if you've made a difference.... and to ask if there's anything else you can help with. 

Occasionally, you may need to remind us about what we're expected to do, what we're paid to do, where the boundaries are...  if you've done all the stuff above, we'll take it... just as long as you do it without getting all parental, preachy or teachy.... please! 

If you don't do all this strategically, consistently and well... we lose focus, motivation and commitment, or we start to pick & choose what we do to suit ourselves instead of the business, we feel neglected, or resentful or confused, we develop bad habits, we start to think we're better - or worse - than we are, or we lose trust in you, we... well you know what we do! 

Check out the post on Managing AND Developing Individuals for one model on how to do all this... it's coming in the next few days

(I'd like to acknowledge the influence on my thinking of Eric Berne, Thomas Gordon, Linda Adams, John Powell, Jean Illsley-Clarke & Marshall Goldsmith)