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Coaching
What would you do?

Priya entered Carl's office in complete exasperation. She had been near to closing a few
deals, and then at the last minute the deals fell through. She wondered what she was doing
wrong. Carl suggested that she talk less during her sales calls, listen to the customers
more, and avoid overwhelming them with too much product information. He assured her
things would get better. A few weeks later, Priya was back in his office. She explained that
she had done exactly what he suggested but she was still getting the same lousy results.
Carl suspected he needed to take a different approach. But what else could he do to help
Priya improve her performance?

What would you do?

Carl might want to listen in on a few of Priya's sales calls to better understand how she is
interacting with her clients. Next, he might ask her some open-ended questions that
encourage her to think critically about the situation and encourage her to propose her own
solutions to the problem. Between the first-hand information he observes and the probing
questions he asks, Carl will probably uncover where she might have taken a wrong turn.
This will enable him to support Priya in finding a more productive path by offering her
more informed, relevant, and timely advice.

In this topic, you will learn how to assess your coachees' ongoing performance, adapt your
coaching style to their personalities, and help your coachees set goals and create action
plans that will allow them to achieve their potential.

Topic Objectives

This topic helps you:

 Recognize that coaching is an ongoing, two-way process that takes place as the need
or opportunity arises
 Implement a four-step process to prepare for and lead effective coaching sessions
 Conduct coaching sessions using a variety of coaching techniques

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 Provide ongoing support and follow-through for the person being coached
 Strengthen your coaching skills

About the Mentors

Interaction Associates, Inc.

Interaction Associates, Inc. is a performance-improvement company offering a powerful

suite of collaboration consulting and learning services. The company equips clients with
practical new strategies, skills, and mindsets so they can leverage the power of
collaborative action to solve problems and create opportunities. Since 1969, Interaction
Associates has helped global leaders, the Fortune 100, and government agencies to
overcome their most difficult challenges.

Linda A. Hill

From her more than 20 years of extensive field work, Professor Linda A. Hill has
helped managers create the conditions for effective management in today's
flatter and increasingly diverse organizations. She is a professor and chair of
the Leadership Initiative at Harvard Business School. She is also the author of the best-
selling Becoming a Manager (Harvard Business School Press), now out in paperback. Linda
served as the content expert for Coaching for Results and Managing Direct Reports, two
award-winning interactive programs from Harvard Business School Publishing. She has also
served as a mentor for many Harvard ManageMentor topics.

Coaching Overview

What is coaching?

Like any manager, you have a huge interest

in developing your employees' capabilities.
In most cases, this is accomplished through
coaching. Coaching is an ongoing, two-way
process in which a manager and direct
report share knowledge and experience to
maximize the direct report's potential and
help him or her achieve agreed-upon goals. Coaching relies on collaboration and requires a

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positive, supportive emotional bond between coach and coachee.

Many people use the words coaching and mentoring interchangeably, but the two functions
differ. Coaching focuses on immediate performance problems and learning opportunities,
while mentoring emphasizes long-term personal career development. Moreover, while a
coach is often the supervisor of the person being coached, a mentor is seldom the boss of
the person being mentored. Finally, a coach directs the learning and instruction during the
coaching process, while the mentored person takes charge of his or her own learning
during the mentoring process.

Why coach?

You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within
himself.
—Galileo Galilei

Coaching generates numerous benefits for you and your company.

It's useful for:

 Overcoming costly and time-consuming performance problems

 Strengthening employees' skills so you can delegate more tasks to them and devote
time to more important responsibilities—such as planning
 Boosting productivity by helping your employees work smarter
 Creating promotable direct reports who can step into your shoes as you advance up
the career ladder
 Improving retention, because employees are more loyal and motivated when their
boss takes time to help them improve their skills
 Fostering a positive work culture in the form of greater job satisfaction and higher
motivation
 Making more effective use of company resources, because coaching costs less than
formal training

Activity: How's your coaching?

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Evaluate your current effectiveness as a coach by answering Yes or No to the following

questions. As you go along, manually keep track of how many correct answers you
make.

Do you observe your direct reports' behavior?

Yes

Correct choice. You prepare to coach by observing, to identify

whether and how the employee's behavior negatively affects
others or interferes with the employee's ability to succeed.

No

Not the best choice. You prepare to coach by observing, to

identify whether and how the employee's behavior negatively
affects others or interferes with the employee's ability to
succeed.

Do you form and test hypotheses about your direct reports' behavior before acting on
them?

Yes

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Correct choice. From your observations, form a hypothesis

about the performance problem, such as skill gaps or lack of
knowledge, and its effect. Then test your hypothesis, perhaps
by confidentially asking another manager to observe a
situation, or by asking open-ended questions.

No

Not the best choice. From your observations, form a hypothesis

about the performance problem, such as skill gaps or lack of
knowledge, and its effect. Then test your hypothesis, perhaps
by confidentially asking another manager to observe a
situation, or by asking open-ended questions.

Do you use your own performance as a yardstick to measure others?

Yes

Not the best choice. Your own performance is not an

appropriate measure. Instead, evaluate the unique strengths
that individuals bring to a job.

No

Correct choice. Your own performance is not an appropriate

measure. Instead, evaluate the unique strengths that
individuals bring to a job.

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Do you prepare employees for coaching sessions in advance?

Yes

Correct choice. Coaching is a partnership, so it's important to

invite an employee to participate in the coaching process and
to help them understand how the process will unfold.

No

Not the best choice. Coaching is a partnership, so it's important

to invite an employee to participate in the coaching process
and to help them understand how the process will unfold.

Do you use open-ended questions to promote sharing of ideas and information?

Yes

Correct choice. Open-ended questions (those that don't require

merely a "yes" or "no" answer) encourage participation and
generate ideas for addressing a performance problem or skills
gap.

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No

Not the best choice. Open-ended questions (those that don't

require merely a "yes" or "no" answer) encourage participation
and generate ideas for addressing a performance problem or
skills gap.

Do you blend inquiry (asking questions) with advocacy (offering opinions and ideas)
during discussions with individuals you're coaching?

Yes

Correct choice. While coaching, you rely extensively on

inquiry—asking questions. But an over-reliance on inquiry can
make coachees feel like they're being interrogated.

No

Not the best choice. While coaching, you rely extensively on

inquiry—asking questions. But an over-reliance on inquiry can
make coachees feel like they're being interrogated.

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Do you decide what approach is needed to solve the employee's problem?

Yes

Not the best choice. Rather than mandate the solution, it's best
to determine collaboratively where help is needed and what
type of help would best address the performance problems or
skill gaps.

No

Correct choice. Rather than mandate the solution, it's best to

determine collaboratively where help is needed and what type
of help would best address the performance problems or skill
gaps.

Do you work with your direct reports to reach agreement on desired goals and
outcomes?

Yes

Correct choice. Successful coaching requires agreement on

goals.

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No

Not the best choice. Successful coaching requires agreement

on goals.

Do you give feedback that focuses on behavior and its consequences (rather than on
vague judgments)?

Yes

Correct choice. During the coaching process, provide feedback

regularly. The best feedback is specific. For example, you
might say, "I liked the way you used visuals to illustrate the
problem, and then invited people to comment on the
timetable," rather than, "Great presentation."

No

Not the best choice. During the coaching process, provide

feedback regularly. The best feedback is specific. For example,
you might say, "I liked the way you used visuals to illustrate the
problem, and then invited people to comment on the
timetable," rather than, "Great presentation."

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Do you follow up on coaching discussions to make sure progress is proceeding as

planned?

Yes

Correct choice. It's important to periodically check progress

and understanding with your direct report as the coaching
process unfolds.

No

Not the best choice. It's important to periodically check

progress and understanding with your direct report as the
coaching process unfolds.

How many of the previous assessment questions did you answer correctly?

0-3

Learning the fundamentals of coaching and practicing how to

apply them will help you improve your performance as a
manager. Review the suggestions for improvement beside each
answer.

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4-7

Your coaching skills can be improved by learning to follow a

coaching process. Review the suggestions for improvement
beside each answer.

8-10

You likely have most of the skills required to be an effective

coach, and may just need to brush up on the coaching process.
Review the suggestions for improvement beside each answer.

When should you coach?

Coaching is an ongoing process, taking

place as the need or opportunity arises.
Often, coaching occurs informally as you
discuss goals, challenges, and on-the-job
performance with employees while providing
helpful feedback during day-to-day
encounters.

At other times, the coaching process can be more focused and formal; you set up
structured meetings with a coachee to establish goals and review progress.

Coaching also has a direct link to performance appraisal. Often, a manager offers to
provide coaching for a direct report after a performance appraisal reveals a correctable
problem or the need to develop particular skills essential for advancement.

Whom should you coach?

Every situation in a manager's life presents

opportunities for coaching.

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Consider these examples:

 Herb is a talented market researcher but spends more of his time at his computer
than in meetings with market planners and new product developers. His valuable
findings aren't making their way into company plans, and his career is stalled.
 Claudia is a fast learner, works well with others, and understands the company's
goals. You'd like to promote her, but her reluctance to confront difficult,
argumentative people is holding her back.
 Tim is a smart and hardworking employee, and you'd like to delegate more
challenging tasks to him so you can devote more time to planning. But Tim needs to
acquire a few more skills to perform the tasks you'd like to delegate to him.
 Shirley, whom you recently promoted to supervisor, isn't delegating enough tasks to
her subordinates; she's trying to do everything herself. Moreover, when she leads
meetings with her team, the meetings end inconclusively and run overtime.

All of these situations are examples of employees who either have a performance problem
or skills gap—both of which are ideal targets for coaching.

As an experienced manager, you have plenty of knowledge to share with each of these
employees. But since you have limited time, it's best to invest it in coaching opportunities
that will deliver the highest return. As illustrated in the examples above, these arise when:

 A new subordinate needs direction

 A direct report is almost ready for new responsibilities and needs just a bit more help
 A problem performer can be brought up to an acceptable level of work if he or she
receives some guidance

But remember, because coaching is based on mutual agreement, it's not always the best
way to handle certain performance problems. You need to intervene more directly when a
staff member has clearly violated company policy or organizational values or performance
remains flat despite multiple coaching sessions.

Be a good mentor

Personal Insight

I was once very privileged to have working with me a very, very bright guy who had been in
strategic planning. He then came to me when I was the Chief Executive of the bank on a
two-year attachment. He was very talented, but also very diffident. He would come in to my
office and say: "what would you like me to do?" I'd say: "Well, this is the issue, what do you
think?" And he would not have any idea at all. He'd say: "Well, I'll do whatever you want." I

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would say: "No, no, why don't you go away and think about it and think what should we do
about this issue?" Gradually, he became more and more confident, more able to suggest
ways of tackling things, and he grew in stature. You could almost physically see that he'd
got a significantly more confident bearing. And that's terribly important. You must then
make sure that they don't become so confident that they become arrogant, because they're
working in a slightly controlled environment when you're acting as a mentor to them.

So the great thing to do is to give these people roots to grow and wings to fly, and ensure
that they maintain the fine balance between humility and arrogance.

Nurturing talent by growing people's confidence is both rewarding and beneficial to an

organization. However, a leader must ensure people don't get over-confident following this
investment in their development.

Peter Ellwood

Group Chairman, ICI

Peter Ellwood began his career at Barclays in 1961 and rose to become Chief Executive of
Barclaycard from 1985 until 1989. During this time he was also a Director of the Board of
Visa European Union. He was Chairman of the Board of Visa International from 1994–1999.

He joined TSB Bank as Chief Executive of Retail Banking in 1989 and became Group Chief
Executive in 1992. Following the merger with Lloyds Bank in 1995, Peter Ellwood became
Deputy Group CEO of Lloyds TSB.

He became Deputy Chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), one of the world's
largest producers of specialty products and paints, in June 2003 and now holds the
position of Chairman.

He was made a Commander of the British Empire for services to banking in 2001. He is also
Chairman of The Work Foundation, and Chairman of the Race Equality and Diversity Task
Force of the Institute for Public Policy Research.

The Coaching Process

Four steps

Key Idea

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The coaching process has four steps:

1. Preparation: You observe a potential coachee, test your hypotheses about his or her
skills or performance, listen for signals that your help is needed, estimate the
probability of improvement, and ask the employee to prepare for coaching.

2. Initial discussion of skills and performance: Share your observations with the potential
coachee, ask questions and listen actively to his or her responses, and explore
potential causes of the performance problem or the need for new skills. Next, agree
on goals and create an action plan that will best address performance problems or
close skill gaps.

3. Ongoing dialogue: Check your coachee's progress on the action plan, refine your
approach, blend inquiry with advocacy, and give feedback.

4. Follow up: You regularly discuss what's working well and what isn't, and make any
needed adjustments in the goals or the coaching process.

Preparation

Observe behavior

Key Idea

Observe your employee's behavior both informally (for example, during a meeting) and
formally (such as on joint sales calls). Learn what the person is doing well and not doing
well, or what skills he or she has or needs.

In the case of performance problems, assess the impact of the person's behavior on others
and on the employee's ability to achieve stated goals.

For example, during several team meetings, you notice that Priya repeatedly interrupts others.
You wonder whether her behavior prevents others from expressing their views.

As you continue observing, avoid forming premature judgments about the employee's
character. For example, instead of deciding that "Priya doesn't respect others," stick to the
facts: "Priya interrupted three participants in the first meeting and five participants during the
second meeting."

Discuss your observations with trusted colleagues, in confidence. If possible, ask them to

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observe the person in question.

For instance, invite a colleague to attend a meeting and observe Priya.

Test hypotheses

The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what
I thought, and attended to my answer.
—Henry David Thoreau

Based on your observations, form hypotheses (theories) about what's going on. For
instance, "Priya needs to learn when to speak up and when to listen to what others have to
say."

But, as you form theories, ask yourself if you've done anything to cause or enable the
problem behaviors you're observing. For example, consider these tendencies:

 Unrealistic expectations. Are you using your own performance as a yardstick to

measure others? Assuming that others' strengths are the same as yours is unrealistic
and unfair.
 Inferring feelings. Are you failing to identify with someone who's having a problem?
Your anger or frustration may communicate itself to the employee and affect
performance.
 Failing to listen. Have you missed signals that the person needs help? If you haven't
listened carefully in the past, you may have passed up chances to help earlier.
 Failing to praise. Have you failed to compliment the employee on something he or she
has done well? If so, the employee may lack the confidence or motivation to perform
well.
 Failing to model desirable behaviors. Have you practiced the skills and behaviors that
you expect of your employee? If not, the person may not realize how important certain
behaviors (such as listening) are.

Ask the colleague afterward to describe what he or she saw. These additional observations
can help confirm or refute your conclusions.

Activity: How not to coach

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Though Mindy has trouble closing sales, she is excellent at meeting prospective new
customers. Her contact list is full of executive-level prospects with whom she has a
positive working relationship. When Beverly meets with Mindy to coach her on her job
performance, she tries to be as helpful as possible. She focuses on Mindy's challenges
in closing sales, and says, "I realize this is hard for you. What are your thoughts about
the situation?" Mindy looks upset.

Which negative coaching tendency did Beverly exhibit?

Beverly did not show empathy.

Not the best choice. Beverly did show empathy, by saying, "I
realize this is hard for you."

Beverly failed to listen.

Not the best choice. Beverly did demonstrate a willingness to

listen, when she asked Mindy, "What are your thoughts about
the situation?"

Beverly failed to praise.

Correct choice. Beverly failed to recognize Mindy's strengths

and successes and to praise her for them. Remembering to
praise is an important part of coaching.

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Rafael works at a well-known bank. Before he was promoted to manager, he was a top
credit analyst. The bank rarely lost money on clients for which Rafael approved loans.
Now, as a manager, Rafael must coach Olivia, a former peer, who is demonstrating what
Rafael considers to be questionable performance as a credit analyst. During a coaching
session, Rafael expresses his appreciation for the areas where Olivia has progressed in
her job. Then, to reassure her, he says, "The kind of performance I'm after is possible.
When I was in your position, I could always spot the high-risk loan applicants." Olivia
becomes quiet for the rest of the session.

Which negative coaching tendency did Rafael exhibit?

Rafael had unrealistic expectations.

Correct choice. Rafael expected Olivia to have the same

strengths as he does (credit analysis). He therefore missed the
reasons behind her difficulty with the job, which may include a
need for training.

Rafael failed to model desirable behaviors.

Not the best choice. Rafael modeled high performance in this

job area when he was a credit analyst in the same group as
Olivia.

Rafael failed to praise.

Not the best choice. Rafael did offer praise when he expressed
appreciation for the areas where Olivia has progressed in her
job.

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Elise has been coaching her employee, Tran, to prepare him for a promotion. During a
recent coaching session, Tran expresses qualms about taking on the new job. Elise
says, "I understand that you're nervous. But I don't want you to think you have to deliver
perfect performance the first day on the new job. There's no need to be worried about
the new role."

Which negative coaching tendency did Elise exhibit?

Elise had unrealistic expectations.

Not the best choice. When Elise said, "I don't want you to think
you have to deliver perfect performance the first day on the
new job," she let Tran know that she has realistic expectations.

Elise failed to show empathy.

Not the best choice. Elise showed empathy when she said, "I
understand that you're nervous."

Elise failed to listen.

Correct choice. By saying "There's no need to be worried about

the new role," Elise made it clear that she hadn't really listened
to Tran's worries. When an employee expresses this sort of
concern, the manager needs to provide coaching centered on
building confidence or strengthening a particular skill.

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Listen for signals

Gather additional information by listening for signals indicating the kind of coaching that
may be needed. The table below provides examples.

Common Signals to Act On

If your employee says . . . He or she may need help . . .

"I can't finish the project on Managing time

time."

"Maybe Ed should do this Building confidence or

job." strengthening a particular skill

"About that new job . . . I'm Preparing to take on greater

not really interested." responsibilities

Evaluate potential success

There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves.
You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he be willing to climb himself.
—Andrew Carnegie

Based on your observations and hypotheses, consider:

 "Is the person willing and able to be helped?" Coaching works only when the coachee
willingly agrees to participate.
 "Is the performance problem solvable?" Some problems are so deeply ingrained that
no amount of coaching can help. How do you identify such problems? Unproductive
behavior—whether it's bossiness, competitiveness, or lack of self-confidence—that
manifests itself frequently and in a wide variety of situations most likely can't be
improved through coaching.

Prepare the employee

To prepare your direct report for coaching, have the person appraise his or her work
performance. Ask:

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 "To what extent have you achieved your goals?"

 "Which goals, if any, have you exceeded?"
 "Are there particular goals that you're currently struggling to achieve?"
 "What is preventing you from reaching your goals? Is it lack of training, resources, or
direction from me?"

If the purpose of the coaching is to prepare someone for a new job or a higher level of
responsibility, ask the person to compare his or her current competencies against those
required by the new position or responsibility, and to identify any gaps.

Implementing these forms of self-appraisal has the following benefits:

 The employee plays an active role in the coaching experience.

 A tone of partnership is established.
 The employee becomes more open to feedback from you.
 You gain a new perspective on the person's work and reduce the risk of misjudging
the situation.

Initial Discussion

Link observed behaviors to impact on others

Key Idea

When you meet with your employee to share what you've observed, discuss your
observations of the employee's actual behaviors, instead of suppositions about his or her
personal character or motives. Try to begin the coaching session with a positive
observation and then focus on any constructive feedback you have to deliver.

For example: "Priya, I want to compliment you on your participation in last Tuesday's meeting.
You clearly did your homework, as always. There's one area where your participation could be
even more effective. Specifically, I noticed that you interrupted Tony before he could express
his view. I've observed similar things in previous meetings."

Next, explain why the observed behavior is a problem. Cite its impact on group goals and
on coworkers:

For example: "Priya, we didn't get a chance to hear Tony's contributions because you
interrupted him. We need to hear from everyone to make the best decisions. And if one or two
people dominate meetings, our team spirit may suffer."

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Throughout this discussion, avoid stating supposed motives, such as "Your habit of
interrupting others indicates that you want to dominate people," or "This behavior tells me
you're not open to new ideas and that you don't like this type of work."

Ask open-ended and closed questions

During the discussion, ask open-ended

questions (those that don't require merely a
"yes" or "no" answer) to encourage
participation and generate ideas for
addressing a performance problem or skills
gap. Through this line of questioning you
may be able to uncover the other person's
views and deeper thoughts on the problem.
This, in turn, will help you formulate better advice. Examples of open-ended questions
include:

 "What would happen if ...?"

 "How do you feel about your progress to date?"
 "What are the major challenges with your on-the-job training?"
 "If you could replay that last sales presentation, what would you do differently?"
 "What do you think causes you not to share your views at team meetings?"

Ask closed questions (those requiring a "yes" or "no" response) to achieve the following:

 Focus the employee's response: "Are you satisfied with your progress?"
 Confirm what the person has said: "So, your big problem is scheduling your time?"
 Come to agreement: "Then we agree that your current skills will not take you to your
career goals?"

Be an active listener

As you're asking questions, use active

listening to remain tuned-in to the other
person. Active listening requires you to
show attentiveness by managing your verbal
and nonverbal behavior. Not only are you
actually listening, you look like you are.

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The hallmarks of active listening are:

 Maintaining eye contact

 Smiling at appropriate moments
 Avoiding distractions
 Taking notes when necessary
 Controlling fidgeting and other distracting body language
 Listening first and evaluating later
 Never interrupting except to ask for clarification
 Occasionally repeating what you've heard to confirm your understanding

Listen, question, and engage

Personal Insight

It's very easy when you go into situations to have some either explicit or just unwritten
assumptions in your head about what's going on in the situation. It's key that you don't let
those assumptions blind you, because people will very often do the obvious. They'll say:
"Oh yes, that's very interesting," and they don't mean it at all. You need to get beyond that
by asking questions. So, if somebody says to you that it's very interesting, say: "What is it
exactly you find interesting in that?" so that you're always probing beyond the superficial
response. When you're listening to somebody and you're really engaging with them, you
pick up loads of little signals about their body language and what they're really thinking.

You ask questions that probe more deeply rather than just the obvious. Very often people
say things and you know that there's actually a different conversation going on in their
head. You need to ask questions to get below the obvious answers.

Listening is a vital skill in the business world; it enables you to understand what another
person thinks and wants. Don't monopolize conversations by doing all the talking yourself.

Gill Rider

Director General, Leadership & People Strategy, Cabinet Office

Gill Rider started her career in the financial markets, healthcare and government industries.
She also worked in the customer service area examining industry best practices.

She joined Accenture in 1979 and became a Partner in 1990.

With operational responsibility for Accenture's Utilities practise in Europe and South Africa,

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she also served as Chairman of Accenture's United Kingdom and Ireland geographic unit.
She then headed the European and Latin American operations of Accenture's Resources
operating unit.

She became Accenture's Chief Leadership Officer when the position was created in March
2002.

She headed the company's Organization and Leadership Development group, and was
responsible for developing the leadership capabilities and professional skills of Accenture's
people and fostering a culture that encourages diversity and achievement.

Gill was appointed Director General, Leadership & People Strategy, at the Cabinet Office in
February 2006. In this role she will help drive strategic change within the Civil Service as it
undertakes programs of major reform. This will include providing leadership for the
Service's programs transforming the professional skills of civil servants, developing leaders
and promoting diversity.

She will also act as Head of Profession for HR professionals across government, thereby
building up the Service's HR capability.

Activity: Correct bad listening behavior

Carl, your manager, does not appear to be listening to your concerns. He tends to look
away, tap his pen, and check his email while speaking with you.

Which of the following will not improve Carl's listening behaviors?

Avoiding distractions

Not the best choice. You would want Carl remove distractions
to improve his listening skills.

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Maintaining eye contact

Not the best choice. You would want Carl to maintain eye
contact to improve his listening skills.

Restating each point made

Correct choice. Excessive restatement can seem insincere and

would not be the best choice to improve Carl's listening
behaviors.

Controlling fidgeting

Not the best choice. You would want Carl to control fidgeting
to improve his listening skills.

Discern emotions

While you question and listen actively, be alert to the emotions behind your employee's
words—such as discomfort with conflict, worry about being seen as incompetent, or fear of
failing. Detecting emotions is difficult but essential. Why? Emotions suggest the kind of
support a person needs most from you.

Emotions and Responses

If your employee Consider saying . . .

is feeling . . .

A lack of self- "You have the best intuitive sense of

confidence design in our department. If anyone can
learn this, you can."

"I think you should try this. Yes, it's risky,

Afraid of the but if it doesn't work, you'll always have a
consequences of

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failure place on my team."

Uncomfortable "Try speaking up during the meeting.

with conflict Howard won't like it; he disagrees. But
that's his problem, not yours. And we
need healthy debate to make the best
decisions as a team."

Identify problems and skill gaps

After discerning your employee's emotions, move the discussion to the causes of
underlying performance problems and ways to close skill gaps. Ask questions that give the
person the first opportunity to offer ideas: "If you're falling short of your goal, what do you
think the reasons are?" or "What would help you learn how to delegate better in order to
prepare for your new managerial role?"

If you don't hear a thoughtful reply, ask further questions: "Could the problem be that you
need more training? Are there too many distractions in the office?" or "What do you think of
taking that workshop on delegating that's coming up next month?"

Agree on goals

Successful coaching requires agreement on goals. Meet with your employee to:

 Revisit earlier discussions about goals

 Confirm the coaching goal
 State the benefits of attaining the goal
 Ask for formal agreement on the goal

Communicating Goals

Coaching Dialogue Function

"Lynn, I'm glad we could talk more about Revisits earlier

delegating." discussion.

"When you learn to delegate, you get your States benefits of

managerial work done on time. You also achieving goal.

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help your employees develop their skills."

"Can we agree to meet an hour each week Confirms

to review your progress on delegating? definition of the
You mentioned wanting to delegate three goal.
tasks to your team."

"Are we in agreement, then, that our Asks for formal

coaching goal is to help you delegate agreement on the
better?" goal.

Create an action plan

Small goals, such as fixing a spreadsheet error, can be achieved with on-the-spot coaching
and don't require an action plan. But larger goals—such as helping an employee master a
skill needed for a new role—require a plan. An action plan is most effective if proposed by
the coachee.

Components of a Coaching Action Plan

Action Plan Example

Component

Statement of the Priya routinely interrupts others

performance problem during meetings.
or skills gap

Statement of goals To learn how to allow others to

express their views.

Actions to be 1. Refrain from interrupting others

taken/Measures of during meetings/Measured by no
success interruptions observed during two
successive meetings.

2. Listen carefully to others' views;

respond with questions, not
speeches/Measured by number of
follow-up questions asked.

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Timetable Action #1 progress reviewed by

February 15; Action #2, by April 15.

Coach's role Coach will comment on progress after

each meeting.

Ongoing Dialogue

Cultivate an emotional bond

During ongoing coaching sessions, you and

your direct report meet to discuss job
performance or needed skills in more detail.
Prepare for each session by agreeing on the
desired outcome of the meeting and the
topics you both wish to cover. During the
sessions, remember that coaching is a
partnership and requires a positive emotional bond. Cultivate that bond by:

 Keeping the tone positive

 Focusing on the opportunity for personal development
 Demonstrating your sincerity in wanting to help
 Sharing your advice, suggestions, and observations, and listening to the other
person's responses and ideas
 Strengthening agreement on desired outcomes
 Gaining the coachee's agreement to create an action plan
 Setting up a follow-up date to review progress

Always deliver honest feedback

Personal Insight

When you're having a conversation with an individual who is experiencing difficulties, you
need to be very clear what the issues are. You need to be very supportive and
constructively critical. But at the end of the day neither you nor the individual concerned
can be under any misunderstanding as to what was said, what was required from both
parties, and what will happen if either party doesn't deliver what it's supposed to. People
look for stability, honesty and a certain measure of loyalty. Being candid and giving people
honest feedback is being loyal to them and to the firm.

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For a leader, the 'soft' option is never an option: ignoring a problem and hoping it will go
away will just makes things worse. Direct, candid feedback is essential; people deserve
such honesty and are likely to thrive as a result.

Amelia Fawcett

Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley International

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Amelia Fawcett worked for the US law firm Sullivan and
Cromwell, first in New York, and later in Paris.

She has been with Morgan Stanley for 17 years, first joining the London office in 1987. She
was then appointed Vice President in 1990, and Executive Director in 1992, moving up to
the role of Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer for the European operations
in 1996.

In 2002 she was appointed Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley International, responsible for
development and implementation of the company's business strategy.

Amelia Fawcett is Deputy Chairman of the National Employment Panel, Chairman of the
National Portrait Gallery's Development Board, and Chairman of the London International
Festival of Theater.

Customize your coaching approach

There are two coaching approaches—directive (showing or telling the other person what to
do) and supportive (acting as a facilitator or a guide). The table below suggests uses for
each approach and provides examples.

Once you've had an initial conversation with your coachee, you might change approaches
depending on your coachee's issues and needs. But whichever approach you're using
predominantly, reassure the person that discussing mistakes or shortcomings with you
during coaching will not be reflected negatively in his or her performance review. You'll
build a strong foundation of trust, which is essential for successful coaching.

Directive versus Supportive Approaches

Approach Uses Example

Directive Developing skills Training a new employee who

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needs to develop skills in your

area of expertise

Providing Explaining the company's

answers strategy to a new direct report

Instructing Conducting a sales call with an

employee to demonstrate how
it's done

Supportive Facilitating Helping a direct report find his

problem solving or her own solution to a
problem

Building Expressing belief that an

confidence employee can find the solution

Encouraging Letting a direct report with

self-directed new responsibilities learn on
learning the job and make mistakes

Serving as a Providing information or

resource contacts to help an individual
solve problems

Activity: Directive vs. supportive coaching

Directive and supportive coaching each have their place in a coach's toolkit. Read each
coaching example, and then decide if the approach is directive or supportive.

Providing an organizational chart that will help an individual know who to call for
various needs.

Supportive

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Correct choice. You are acting as a facilitator or a guide by

providing a resource.

Directive

Not the best choice. "Supportive" is the correct choice, as you

are acting as a facilitator or a guide by providing a resource.

Running a sample report with an employee to demonstrate how it's done.

Supportive

Not the best choice. "Directive" is the correct choice, as you are
showing or telling the other person what to do.

Directive

Correct choice. You are showing or telling the other person

what to do.

Expressing belief that an employee will be able to handle managing a new team.

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Supportive

Correct choice. You are acting as a facilitator or guide by

expressing your confidence in the employee's capabilities.

Directive

Not the best choice. "Supportive" is the correct choice, as you

are acting as a facilitator or guide by expressing your
confidence in the employee's capabilities.

Explaining that the company plans to reduce operating expenses through a new
process.

Supportive

Not the best choice. "Directive" is the correct choice as you are
explaining a company strategy to the person.

Directive

Correct choice. You are explaining a company strategy to the

person.

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Letting an employee find his or her own solution to a time-management problem.

Supportive

Correct choice. You are acting as a facilitator or guide by

allowing the employee to find his or her own solution.

Directive

Not the best choice. "Supportive" is the correct choice, as you

are acting as a facilitator or guide by allowing the employee to
find his or her own solution.

Blend inquiry and advocacy

While coaching, you rely extensively on inquiry, or asking questions. But an over-reliance
on inquiry can make coachees feel like they're being interrogated. As a result, they may
withhold important information and their viewpoints. For that reason, incorporate
advocacy—offering your ideas and advice.

The best coaches advocate in such a way that their coachees can hear their ideas, respond
to them, and consider their value. To advocate effectively:

 Present an idea in neutral terms.

 State your opinion—your interpretation of what you have observed.
 Make the thoughts behind your ideas and advice explicit.
 Share your own experiences if they might help.
 Encourage the other person to provide his or her perspective.

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Here's an example: "Joe, I'd like you to consider taking that workshop on public speaking. I
think it could help you work toward your goal of delivering compelling presentations to the
sales force. When I started out, I found this training very helpful. I'm wondering what you think
of giving the workshop a try."

Give feedback regularly and be specific

During the coaching process, provide feedback regularly. The best feedback is specific.

For example, to provide positive feedback on a presentation, say, "I liked the way you finished
with a demonstration that explained the technology," not "You did a great job with the
demonstration."

Likewise, try to address specific details when delivering negative feedback.

For example, to provide negative feedback on a presentation, say, "You showed that the
prototype worked, but I wasn't clear on the technical challenges we're facing. Let's work on
clarifying those," not "The audience was confused."

Follow Up

Check progress

Effective coaching includes follow-up,

whereby you periodically check progress
and understanding with your direct report as
the coaching process unfolds. Following up
gives you an opportunity to:

 Encourage continued improvement in

your coachee
 Reinforce mastery of new skills and behaviors
 Discourage regression (reverting to original problematic behavior)

Ask questions, pose challenges

To follow up with your coachee, consider asking him or her what has been going well and
what could be improved upon after each coaching session. Augment these questions with
challenges designed to encourage your coachee to demonstrate his or her new skills or

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knowledge.

For example, suppose you're helping Alex, an employee, strengthen his presentation skills.
You might follow up an initial coaching session with Alex by saying something like, "Last week
we reviewed a software program that makes presentations more compelling. Have you made
any progress learning how to use the software?"

If Alex says yes, you could challenge him by asking him to create a sample presentation using
market data on one of your company's products. Provide him with the raw data and ask him to
develop a set of pie and bar charts using the presentation software. Pose the challenge in the
following manner: "Let's work together using the presentation software to see what you can do
with this market data. Prepare some pie and bar charts—just as you would if you were
preparing a presentation for our marketing group."

If the resulting presentation contains problems, you could practice some on-the-spot
feedback to help Alex fix any errors and continue learning.

Sessions like these give you opportunities to check your coachee's progress, praise him or
her for achievements, and spot signals that continued coaching and feedback are needed.

Following up also helps you identify ways in which the coaching action plan might need to
be changed.

For example, you might realize that you need to review your employee's progress more
frequently than you originally anticipated. Or maybe you decide that your coachee might have
more success if you broke a daunting challenge into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Be systematic about following up

Follow-up is most effective if you approach it systematically. Consider these ideas:

 Set dates for follow-up discussions. Many coaches plan to hold follow-up discussions
several days or a week after a coaching session.
 Regularly review the progress your coachee has made to date. Ask him or her to
demonstrate new skills if the purpose of the coaching is to prepare the person for new
job responsibilities. If your employee is having trouble mastering a new skill or
changing a behavior, ask what he or she needs from you to make more progress.
 Continue to observe your direct report's performance and behavior. If you're striving
to correct an unproductive behavior, for instance, objectively assess whether the
behavior has improved or worsened over time. Express concerns promptly, and ask
what the person needs from you to stay on a track of continuous improvement.

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 Continue to practice active listening with your coachee. As you follow up with
questions and discussions, demonstrate interest, support, and focus. Listen carefully
before offering responses or ideas.
 Continually enhance the action plan. Identify possible modifications to the action plan
and implement them promptly. Review the results of any changes to see if additional
modifications would be useful.
 Improve the coaching process. Periodically ask what has worked well in the coaching
process itself and how the process could be improved. For instance, do you and your
coachee need to meet more or less frequently? Do you need to use a more directive or
more supportive coaching style than you originally assumed?

Strengthening Your Coaching Skills

Invest your coaching time and energy wisely

You have only so much time and energy to

devote to all your managerial
responsibilities—including coaching. To
make the most of those limited resources,
be judicious in how much of them you
allocate to coaching. These guidelines can
help:

 Know when to coach and when not to coach. If an employee is completely unaware of
a behavior or performance problem, coaching at this juncture may not be the best use
of your time.

For example, if one of your direct reports writes wordy, hard-to-read reports but isn't
aware that this is a problem, it might make more sense to raise the issue with the person
and then give him or her an opportunity to address it independently. If the individual
fails to take corrective actions, coaching may then be necessary.

 Delegate coaching when possible. Some coaching situations may be candidates for
delegation.

For instance, a peer or another employee in your group may be able to provide more
expertise or better coaching than you can for a particular performance problem or skills
gap. If so, consider delegating—you'll conserve your time and energy, provide a
developmental opportunity to the delegated coach, and help the employee in question
improve.

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To illustrate, if a direct report wants to learn how to write better technical reports, ask a
technical writer on your staff if she would like to coach him. If you choose to delegate
coaching, however, ensure that the delegated coach assumes responsibility for the
outcome.

Evaluating vs. coaching

Key Idea

Managers often feel a tension between their roles of evaluator and coach. The two roles are
actually interrelated. As evaluator, you review performance. As coach, you look for ways to
help others grow and improve. This combination can be difficult for your coachees: Direct
reports may be hesitant to bring up mistakes or shortcomings with you for fear it will affect
their performance evaluations. If enough of your direct reports feel this way, you won't
have a clear picture of what's going on around you. This, in turn, may affect your ability to
manage effectively and meet your group goals.

Consider implementing the following measures to loosen any tension you may experience
between your role as evaluator and coach:

 Conduct coaching and performance evaluating as separate processes.

 Reassure coachees that frank discussions with you about mistakes or shortcomings
won't result in a poor performance evaluation.
 Use performance evaluations to identify problems that may improve with coaching—
but reaffirm to the employee that coaching is a process distinct from performance
evaluation.

Create an atmosphere of trust

Another way to manage the dual roles of evaluator and coach is to create an atmosphere of
trust. Employees seek help, learn best from, and open up to managers who show interest in
their long-term development and who provide both support and autonomy. Trust makes
coaching possible, and the act of coaching itself increases trust.

Your coachees will be more likely to trust you if you have expertise in the matter that they
are being coached on, demonstrate concern for their well-being and success, show
empathy for their situation, fulfill promises that you've made, and respect confidentiality if
they desire it.

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In addition, you create a positive climate by ensuring accountability for the results of
coaching and making that accountability explicit.

For example, "I agree to help you develop your selling skills. You agree to learn and apply
them to produce higher sales."

Also express accountability in measurable terms whenever possible—such as "number of

sales contacts made each day."

Finally, coaching paired with motivation-to-learn is a powerful combination. Common

workplace motivations that encourage people to master new skills or improve performance
include: opportunities for advancement, salary increases and bonuses, job security, peer
pressure to perform at one's best, and opportunities to take on more challenging work.

In short, the more trust, accountability, and motivation you can establish, the more
effective your coaching will be.

Avoid common coaching mistakes

Simply avoiding common mistakes can improve your coaching. The table below shows
typical coaching mistakes and remedies.

Common Coaching Mistakes and Remedies

Mistake Remedy

Talking too much Resist the urge to talk, tell, and direct in
the early stages of coaching. When you do
talk, focus on asking probing questions to
generate needed information; for
example, "How are you spending your
time?" or "What is holding you back?"

Failing to listen While listening to your coachee, put all

actively other thoughts out of your head. Focus on
what the person is saying, and suspend
the urge to evaluate or pass judgment. If
necessary, take notes to capture key
comments or concerns.

Losing control of If you're having a bad day or are upset

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emotions about something, do not engage in

coaching sessions or conversations. Wait
until your feelings of frustration or
annoyance have passed.

Failing to prepare If your coachee lacks the self-confidence

the coachee to take on new challenges, address that
emotionally for problem before pushing the person to
new challenges reach for higher performance standards or
to try his or her hand at a difficult new
skill.

Activity: How not to coach: Part 2

Successful coaching hinges on several key skills. Identify the skill that the manager
neglected in these scenarios.

Michael manages Andrea, who handles print buying for their company's brochures. In
several recently published brochures, the quality of the printing job was less than ideal.
But when Michael points out the problem to Andrea, she says, "I don't know what you
mean. These look fine to me." Michael decides to coach Andrea to help her improve the
quality of projects she's responsible for. When he broaches the subject of coaching,
pointing out that it can help employees develop new skills and grow, she looks
confused and distressed.

What mistake has Michael made?

He failed to earn Andrea's trust by demonstrating his concern for her success on
the job.

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Not the best choice. When Michael mentioned that coaching

can help employees develop new skills and grow, he did
express his concern for her success in her role.

He caused Andrea to fear that her performance evaluations may hinge on her
willingness to be coached.

Not the best choice. Michael did nothing to make Andrea think
that her performance evaluations would depend on her
openness to coaching.

He should not have set out to coach Andrea, since she seemed unaware that a
problem existed.

Correct choice. Since Andrea does not see any problem with the
print quality, coaching is not appropriate at this point. Instead,
Michael should clarify what he sees as the print quality issue
and give her the opportunity to address the problem on her
own.

During a meeting with her employee, Silas, Bette asks what particular skills he thinks he
should work on improving. Silas pauses for a moment and then says, "Well, things really
have been going well overall. I'm not sure what to specify as areas for improvement."

What mistake has Bette made?

She failed to explain that she treats coaching and performance evaluating as
separate processes.

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Correct choice. If employees fear that sharing weaknesses with

their coach will affect their performance evaluations, they may
hesitate to bring up mistakes or shortcomings with their coach.

She neglected to delegate coaching to someone else in Silas's group who would
provide more expertise.

Not the best choice. Nothing in this scenario suggests that

Bette should have delegated Silas's coaching to someone else
in the group.

She didn't create a coaching plan in advance for Silas.

Not the best choice. Bette and Silas need to reach agreement
on a coaching objective before they can create a plan, and then
they should create the plan together.

Brian, a former individual contributor, has recently been promoted to manager of a 10-
person department. He has asked Ming, one of his employees, to lead a team he has
assembled to manage a special project. Ming has never been a team leader before, so
Brian suggests that he coach her to help her strengthen her team leadership skills. Ming
agrees to the coaching but doesn't seem to participate actively during the sessions.

What mistake has Brian made?

He led Ming to think that progress toward her coaching goals would influence her
end-of-year pay increase.

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Not the best choice. Nothing in this scenario suggests that

Brian implied to Ming that her response to coaching would
affect her performance evaluations.

He failed to earn Ming's trust because he lacks expertise in management himself.

Correct choice. Coachees are more likely to trust their coach

and therefore participate actively in coaching sessions if the
coach has expertise in the subject area in question—in this
case, team leadership skills. In this scenario, Brian is a new
manager himself. He might have assigned Ming a different
coach—one who does have experience as a team leader or
manager.

He didn't fulfill promises he had made to Ming about how their coaching
relationship would work.

Not the best choice. Nothing in this scenario suggests that

Brian didn't fulfill commitments he had made to Ming about
when they would meet for coaching sessions or how the
coaching would be carried out.

Practice your coaching skills

Like any other skill, coaching becomes more

effective with constant practice. Look for
opportunities to apply your coaching skills—
with your direct reports, with members of a
team you're participating in, and with peers
who would welcome and benefit from your
help.

Also practice coaching in the moment. Not every coaching session must be planned. If you

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spot an opportunity to help an employee, grab it. Fast, on-the-spot coaching is often very
effective. By catching a problem in the making, you'll not only hone your abilities as a
coach; you'll also prevent the problem from growing.

Scenario

Part 1

Part 1

Marie's sales group has ambitious goals in challenging times. Under intense pressure to
make this quarter's numbers, members of the group have proposed creative measures to
close their sales—adding whatever "extra" is needed to sweeten each deal.

A certain amount of tension between sales and the post-sales implementation group goes
with the territory. But lately, the tension has escalated. The implementation manager
recently brought the matter to Marie's attention. She mentioned that one salesperson in
particular, Larry, seems to generate many surprises for implementation—tacking on extra
implementation days, nonstandard reports, and extensive customization requests.

Marie suspects that she may have a direct report in need of coaching—and contemplates
how she should proceed.

What would you advise Marie to do next?

 Bring the matter to Larry's attention at an upcoming quarterly performance review

Not the best choice. Coaching should not be confused with formal quarterly or annual
performance reviews. Rather, coaching is an ongoing process that takes place as the ne
or opportunity arises. A manager needs to separate the dual roles of coaching and
evaluating direct reports. A performance review, with its purpose of evaluating goals an
expectations, is not usually the best time for dealing with coaching issues

 Look for informal opportunities to coach Larry during daily interactions in the coming
week

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Not the best choice. Though informal coaching can be helpful during a manager's day-
day interactions with direct reports, managers should address urgent coaching issues
proactively by preparing for and scheduling a coaching session.

 Review Larry's deals and observe his interactions with the implementation group

Correct choice. Before coaching a direct report, a manager should take the time to prep
Reviewing the individual's work and observing the person in action helps the manager
better analyze and understand a coaching issue. This important step prepares a manag
clearly describe the issue to the direct report during a coaching session.

Part 2

Part 2

Marie takes the time to review Larry's deals and observe his interactions with the
implementation group. She sees that Larry has promised a lot of extras to customers—but
nothing that Marie finds unreasonable. In fact, she's impressed with Larry's creativity, as
well as his sales record. At a joint meeting of the sales and implementation groups, Marie
observes polite frustration on the part of the implementation group—and a touch of
impatience on Larry's part as he defends his promised extras.

With a clearer understanding of the situation, Marie is now ready to schedule a coaching
meeting with Larry. When they meet, Marie starts by explaining the purpose of the meeting.
Next, she wants to give Larry some feedback.

What feedback would you advise Marie to give Larry?

 "Larry, tension between sales and implementation is not new. It goes with the
territory. But implementation appears pretty frustrated, and you need to be more
sensitive to their needs."

Not the best choice. This feedback is general and vague. Effective feedback is clear and
specific. A manager should describe the impact that an individual's behavior has on
coworkers and on their ability to meet their goals, making sure to deliver this feedback

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neutral manner.
 "Larry, at the recent meeting, I observed frustration on the part of

implementation. When you add an extra to a standard package, it may close the sale.
But it also has an impact on implementation. It increases their workload and affects
their schedule."

Correct choice. A manager should neutrally describe the impact a person's behavior ha
his or her coworkers and on their ability to meet their goals. This description should be
clear, specific, and nonjudgmental.

A manager should also consider how he or she might be contributing to a coaching iss
For example, ask yourself if you have unrealistic expectations of your direct report, or
whether your own feelings are clouding your ability to observe and analyze a situation
clearly and fairly.

 "Larry, I reviewed your recent sales. I'm really impressed with your creativity—and your
numbers. No problems there. But I think you might present implementation with fewer
surprises."

Not the best choice. While positive feedback is important, a manager shouldn't minimiz
the importance of the issue at hand. Rather, he or she should present a clear descriptio
the specific problem, showing how the direct report's behavior affects his or her cowor
and their ability to meet their goals.

Part 3

Part 3

Let's listen in on Marie's conversation with Larry.

Marie: When you add an extra to a standard package, it may close the sale. But it also has
an impact on implementation. It increases their workload and affects their schedule.

Larry: Well, I did notice their frustration. But it's frustrating for me, too. I mean...if I didn't
make the sale, they wouldn't have anything to implement!

Marie: True. But it isn't necessarily an either/or situation. Either no sale—or a sale with a
surprise attached, which creates unexpected, extra work for them.

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Larry: I see. You mean a sale—but without the surprise.

Marie: Right. Fewer surprises. And more expectation-setting.

Larry: But still do what it takes to close the sale?

Marie: Oh yes, Larry. Close the sale.

Marie has helped Larry understand the issue. What should Marie say next?

 "What do you think would help the implementation group feel less frustrated?"

Correct choice. During a coaching discussion, a manager wants to build a shared

agreement with a direct report about a desired outcome. Often it's best for a manager t
begin by asking an open question that invites the direct report to give his or her
perspective and perhaps propose a solution. This can deepen the manager's understan
of the situation. And direct reports will more likely be committed to solutions that they
propose.

 "You need to offer a customer what it takes to close the sale, but without surprising
the Implementation group."

Not the best choice. Marie has already established what the problem is. Now it's time to
begin building a shared agreement with Larry about a desired outcome. To do this, a
manager should balance inquiry (asking questions) and advocacy (stating a viewpoint).
this situation, Marie might begin by focusing on inquiry—and ask Larry for his perspect
and ideas.

 "I think you need to start communicating with Implementation more—and earlier. You
know, start setting expectations the minute you close a sale."

Not the best choice. During a coaching discussion, a manager wants to build a shared
agreement about a desired outcome, using a balance of inquiry and advocacy. In this
situation, Marie might begin by focusing on inquiry and inviting Larry's perspective bef
offering her own impressions. She should then add her ideas and advice—in a neutral
manner that enables Larry to understand her viewpoint and consider its value.

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Conclusion

Conclusion

Marie: What do you think would help the implementation group?

Larry: Not adding any extras to the standard package...

Marie: ...and lose the sale?

Larry: No. Well, let them know ahead what's coming, so they can plan.

Marie: Right. Set expectations. Early. You might involve implementation—tell them what
you're thinking of offering...

Larry: ...and lose the sale?

Marie: Larry, would they ever say, "Don't offer that"—if it meant losing the sale?

Larry: No. But they would feel more involved...

Marie: ...and appreciate how their work contributes to a sale. They might have good ideas
about how to improve your offer and set customer expectations.

Narrator: Marie has observed and analyzed the situation, described the problem in terms of
Larry's impact on others, probed for suggestions, and finally offered advice. These steps
can help a manager coach an individual and build a shared agreement about a desired
result.

Check Your Knowledge

Question 1

You've been observing an employee in order to better understand his

unproductive behavior. You want to estimate the probability that coaching
will lead to improvement in his case. Which of the following would most
suggest that coaching would lead to improvement of this person's
performance?

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 The unproductive behavior occurs in a wide variety of situations.

Not the best choice. When unproductive behavior occurs in a wide variety of situations,
most likely cannot be improved through coaching. Coaching works only when the coac
willingly agrees to participate and when the behavioral or performance problem in ques
is solvable (e.g., it manifests itself infrequently and only in certain situations).

 The person is willing to participate in a coaching process.

Correct choice. Coaching works only when the coachee willingly agrees to participate a
when the behavioral or performance problem in question is solvable (e.g., it manifests
infrequently and only in certain situations).

 The problem behavior manifests itself frequently.

Not the best choice. When unproductive behavior manifests itself frequently, it most lik
cannot be improved through coaching. Coaching works only when the coachee willingly
agrees to participate and when the behavioral or performance problem in question is
solvable (e.g., It manifests itself infrequently and only in certain situations).

Question 2

Because coaching is based on mutual agreement, it is not always an

appropriate strategy. Which of the following situations requires direct
intervention, rather than coaching?

 While giving a report at a meeting, one of your direct reports seems nervous about
delivering bad news.

Not the best choice. This situation does not require direct intervention, because it does
involve a staff member who's clearly violating company policy or values. Instead, an
employee is nervous about delivering bad news during a meeting. The situation in whic
you overhear a direct report promising a customer something that isn't available would

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require direct intervention, because it violates company policy.

 A customer you have

previously worked with tells you that your direct report has made some irritating
comments.

Not the best choice. This situation does not require direct intervention, because it does
involve a staff member who's clearly violating company policy or values. Instead, an
employee has made some comments that a customer finds irritating. The situation in w
you overhear a direct report promising a customer something that isn't available would
require direct intervention, because it violates company policy.

 You overhear a direct report promising a customer something that is not available.

Correct choice. Direct intervention is appropriate when someone clearly violates compa
policy or organizational values. Promising a customer something that isn't available is a
violation of company policy.

Question 3

When should coaching take place?

 As the need arises

Correct choice. Unlike goal-setting and performance reviews, which are scheduled
quarterly or yearly, effective coaching is ongoing. Sometimes coaching focuses on spec
situations. Often, however, coaching is informal and happens on the go as you interact
direct reports and peers—in person, by phone, or even through e-mail.

 Formally, yearly; informally, quarterly

Not the best choice. Unlike goal-setting and performance reviews, which many manage
conduct formally every year and informally every quarter, effective coaching is ongoing
Often effective coaching happens informally and is not scheduled for any particular tim

 At least once a quarter

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Not the best choice. Unlike goal-setting and performance reviews, which many manage
conduct on a formal schedule, effective coaching is ongoing. Often effective coaching
happens informally and is not scheduled for any particular time.

Question 4

When is it more appropriate to use an open-ended question rather than a

closed question during a coaching session?

 When you are focusing on the other person's response, or confirming what has been
said

Not the best choice. When you want to focus on the other person's response or confirm
what has been said, you would use a closed question (which leads to a "yes" or "no"
answer). An open-ended question is more appropriate for exploring alternatives or
uncovering the employee's attitudes or needs.

 When you are exploring alternatives or uncovering the employee's attitudes or needs

Correct choice. Open-ended questions invite participation and idea sharing, while close
questions lead to "yes" or "no" answers. When you want to find out more about another
person's motivations and feelings, use open-ended questions. The responses will give
more information to understand the employee's perspective.

Question 5

As a manager, you have only so much time and energy to devote to all your
managerial responsibilities—including coaching. Which of the following
practices will not help you make the most of your coaching time?

 Pointing out behavior to employees who are not aware that they have a performance
problem

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Not the best choice. Pointing out behavior to employees who are not aware that they ha
performance problem will help you make the most of your coaching time. For example
you have a direct report who doesn't realize that he or she has a performance problem
might make more sense to raise the issue with the person and then give him or her an
opportunity to address it independently.

The correct choice is: "Focusing your coaching on as many employees who need it,"
because this is not a good way to make the most of your coaching time. Since your tim
limited, it makes better sense to invest it in coaching opportunities that will deliver the
highest return.

 Focusing your coaching on as many employees who need it

Correct choice. Coaching as many employees as possible is not a good practice for mak
the most of your coaching time. Since your time is limited, it makes better sense to inv
in coaching opportunities that will deliver the highest return. These generally arise whe
new subordinate needs direction, a direct report is almost ready for new responsibilitie
and needs a bit more help, or a problem performer who can be brought up to an
acceptable level of work with some timely guidance.

 Delegating coaching when possible

Not the best choice. Delegating coaching when possible is a good way to make the mos
your coaching time. For example, if a direct report needs to acquire a new skill, it migh
more effective and efficient to delegate the coaching assignment to someone in your g
or organization who has expertise in this particular skill area.

The correct choice is: "Focusing your coaching on as many employees who need it,"
because this is not a good way to make the most of your coaching time. Since your tim
limited, it makes better sense to invest it in coaching opportunities that will deliver the
highest return.

Question 6

What might happen if you rely only on asking questions during a coaching
session?

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 The other person may begin to withhold important information and perspectives.

Correct choice. If you rely only on asking questions, your coachee may start feeling
interrogated. As a result, he or she may begin withholding important information and
perspectives. Instead, incorporate advocacy into your session, offering some of your ow
ideas and advice in such a way that the coachee can hear your ideas, respond to them,
consider their value.

 You will find it easier to offer your own ideas later on.

Not the best choice. Relying only on asking questions will make it harder, not easier, fo
you to offer your own ideas—which are also important to present during a coaching
session. Instead, strive for a balance of inquiry and advocacy.

 You may stimulate a richer exploration of alternative solution.

Not the best choice. Relying too much on asking questions will discourage, rather than
stimulate, a rich exploration of alternative solutions—which are also important to prese
during a coaching session. Instead, strive for a balance of inquiry and advocacy.

Question 7

During the coaching process, when should you give feedback?

 Only after you and your coachee have exchanged your perspectives on a situation

Not the best choice. Waiting until you and your coachee have exchanged your perspect
on a situation is not the ideal time for you to give feedback. Instead, it would be more
effective for you to give feedback early and often during the coaching process. Frequen
feedback delivered soon after the fact is more effective than infrequent feedback.

 At the end of each coaching session

Not the best choice. Waiting until you and your coachee have reached the end of a coac

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session is not the ideal time for you to give feedback. Instead, it would be more effectiv
for you to give feedback early and often in the coaching process. Frequent feedback
delivered soon after the fact is more effective than infrequent feedback.
On a regular basis

Correct choice. The best coaches give feedback early and often in the coaching process
Frequent feedback delivered soon after the fact is more effective than infrequent feedb

Question 8

You want to provide contacts for an employee seeking to solve a problem,

as well as help build the person's confidence. Which coaching approach
would you use?

 Supportive

Correct choice. Serving as a resource and building your coachee's confidence (as well a
encouraging self-directed learning and facilitating problem solving) are all appropriate
reasons for using the supportive coaching approach.

 Authoritative

Not the best choice. "Authoritative" is not a coaching approach. Instead, when you wan
serve as a resource or help build a coachee's confidence, it's best to use the supportive
coaching approach.

 Directive

Not the best choice. The directive approach is used for developing an employee's skills
providing answers, and instructing. When you want to serve as a resource or help build
coachee's confidence, it's best to use the supportive coaching approach.

Question 9

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As part of preparing to coach, you observe your direct report's behavior and
form hypotheses about what you're seeing. Which of the following questions
will help you assess whether you may be contributing to your direct report's
poor performance?

 "Does this employee have the necessary skills to perform the job requirements?"

Not the best choice. Lack of skills may indeed contribute to employee's problem behav
However, this question does not examine how your own behavior and expectations ma
contribute to the performance problem.

Many managers find it difficult to identify with an employee who's having a performanc
problem. If you have this difficulty, you may feel anger or frustration toward the emplo
And if the person senses your emotions, he or she may become upset—which can in tu
make it difficult to perform well on the job.

 "Have I praised this person's performance too much in the past?"

Not the best choice. Sincere praise helps employees build self-confidence and often
motivates them to excel. It is unlikely that praising an employee for things that he or sh
does well will result in poor performance in other areas.

Many managers find it difficult to identify with an employee who's having a performanc
problem. If you have this difficulty, you may feel anger or frustration toward the emplo
And if the person senses your emotions, he or she may become upset—which can in tu
make it difficult to perform well on the job.

 "Have I failed to identify with the person who's having a performance problem?"

Correct choice. Many managers find it difficult to identify with an employee who's havin
performance problem. If you have this difficulty, you may feel anger or frustration towa
the employee. And if the person senses your emotions, he or she may become upset—
which can in turn make it difficult to perform well on the job.

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Question 10

Effective coaching includes follow-up, whereby you assess your employee's

progress and identify ways to improve the coaching process. Which of the
following is an effective practice for following up?

 Set a date for a follow-up discussion at the conclusion of the series of coaching
sessions you've scheduled with your employee

Not the best choice. Setting a date for a follow-up discussion at the conclusion of the
series of coaching sessions is not an effective way to follow up. Instead, you should
conduct follow-up discussions throughout the coaching process—by continuing to obs
the person's behavior and performance and asking what he or she needs from you to
improve steadily. This can help you assess whether the unproductive behavior has
improved or worsened over time.

 Continue observing the person's behavior and performance, asking what he or she
needs from you to improve steadily

Correct choice. If you're striving to correct an unproductive behavior, continued observ

and questioning can help you assess whether the behavior has improved or worsened o
time. This process can also help you generate ideas for helping the person stay on a tra
of steady improvement in the future.

 Switch from active listening to advocacy once the employee has demonstrated
progress toward his or her goals

Not the best choice. Switching from active listening to advocacy once the employee has
demonstrated progress toward his or her goals is not an effective way to follow up. Ins
you need to conduct follow-up discussions throughout the coaching process—by
continuing to observe the person's behavior and performance and asking what he or sh
needs from you to improve steadily. This can help you assess whether the unproductive
behavior has improved or worsened over time.

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Steps

Steps for coaching

1. Prepare. Observe your potential coachee, test your hypotheses about his or her skills
or performance, estimate the probability of improvement, and ask the employee to
prepare for coaching.

2. Discuss skills and performance. Share your observations with the potential coachee,
ask questions and listen actively to his or her responses, and explore potential causes
of the performance problem or the need for new skills.

3. Coach. Obtain agreement on goals, conduct coaching sessions, customize your

approach, blend inquiry and advocacy, give feedback, and create action plans.

4. Follow up. In this final step of coaching, you regularly discuss what's working well and
what isn't, and make any needed adjustments in the goals or the coaching process.

Steps for reaching agreement

1. Inquire into and advocate different perspectives.

Throughout the coaching process, you and your coachee need to agree on goals,
create plans for achieving them, and make any changes necessary to improve the
coaching process. A blend of inquiry and advocacy can help.
For example, "Julie, I'd really like to see you build the skills you need to take leadership
of the product development team. Based on what I've observed, and what you've told me,
learning to delegate would be a major challenge for you as a new manager. What do you
see as the most important focus for our coaching sessions?"

2. Present proposals.
Offer your ideas for conducting the coaching process or helping your employee
achieve his or her goals.
For instance, "Julie, I think that talking with several experienced managers about
delegating could be very helpful."

3. Check for understanding.

Ask questions to assess your employee's understanding of what you're proposing.

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"Julie, what is your understanding of the delegating process? In your view, how will we
measure your progress with this skill?"

4. Check for agreement.

Ask questions to check whether you and your coachee are in agreement.
"Julie, do we agree, then, that our coaching should focus on delegating skills rather than
another aspect of management?"

5. Revisit step 1 when agreement is in question and begin the process again.
If you check for agreement and the employee's response indicates lack of agreement,
begin blending inquiry with advocacy again. The following dialogue provides an
example:
Coach: "Julie, do we agree that we'll review your progress on delegating in two months,
and that we'll measure your progress according to whether you've met your goal of
delegating four projects to team members?"
Julie: "I'm a little nervous about having just two months. I've got another big deadline
that will hit midway through that timeframe, and I'm not sure I can handle the coaching
assignment at the same time."
Coach: "I think it's important to review your progress on the delegating assignment
promptly, and I'm worried that waiting longer than two months may make it harder for
you to learn this skill. Do you share my concern? If so, let's explore ideas for sticking
with that timetable."
Julie: "If the two-month review is crucial, maybe I could reduce the number of delegated
projects to three instead of four. That might be more manageable."
Coach: "That sounds like a good idea. So, we'll agree to review your progress two
months from today to see whether you've been able to delegate three tasks to your
team?"
Julie: "Yes, let's move ahead with that understanding."

Steps for balancing inquiry and advocacy

1. Describe the individual's situation in a neutral way based on your observations.

To balance inquiry (asking questions) with advocacy (presenting your ideas or
opinions) during the coaching session, start by referring to the observations you
gathered during the preparation stage of coaching.
For example, "Martin, thank you for generating so many reports for the executive
committee over these last few months. You really accomplished a lot under extreme time
pressure. I think your reports could be much more useful to the committee, though, if
you learn how to format them in a more effective way. I've noticed that the five reports
you created lack an executive summary, as well as headings to indicate the flow of

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information."

2. State your opinion—your interpretation of what you have observed.

After presenting your observations, offer your views of what you've observed.
For instance, "Martin, when reports lack certain features, such as a summary and
headings, executives find it harder to read and absorb the information."

3. Make the thoughts behind your opinion explicit.

Explain what assumptions or line of reasoning led to your opinion:
"Martin, most of the executives on the committee are eager to get through the material
as quickly and efficiently as possible. That's why I'm thinking it would be good for you to
learn how to format your reports in ways that make the reading easier for your
audience."

4. Share your own experiences if they might help.

Sometimes describing your own experiences can help explain the reasoning behind
your opinion or idea.
For example, "Martin, I've discovered that when technical reports begin with a summary
and contain headings throughout, it takes me about half the time to read them as it does
to get through unformatted reports."

5. Encourage the other person to provide his or her perspective.

To balance advocacy with inquiry, ask questions that invite your coachee to provide
his or her perspective:
"Martin, do you agree that it's important for you to learn how to write more effective
reports? If so, what steps do you think we need to take to help you achieve this goal?
How would you like to measure your progress?"

Tips

Tips for when to coach

 Coach employees who are aware of a performance problem or skill gap and who are
motivated to address the situation.
 Don't expect to solve a problem in a single coaching session. Coaching is an ongoing
process.
 Coach informally "on-the-spot" as you overhear a conversation or observe a specific
behavior that indicates a potential performance problem or skill gap.
 Offer coaching if you see a need—but first explain what you've observed and why you
think coaching would be valuable.

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 Don't try to force coaching on someone who doesn't want to improve or who isn't
aware that he or she has a performance problem.
 Avoid coaching if unproductive behavior is deeply rooted and occurs across a broad
range of situations. Such problems usually don't clear up with coaching.
 Find opportunities to strengthen your coaching skills. Regular practice improves a
coach's effectiveness.

Tips for effective coaching

 Create an atmosphere of trust. Trust makes coaching possible, and the act of
coaching strengthens trust.
 Keep the coaching focused to one or two goals that will help the employee improve
performance or close a skill gap.
 Cultivate a comfortable setting during coaching sessions. Make sure you will not be
interrupted. Set a positive tone, and communicate genuine support for the person's
development.
 Establish ground rules up front. For example, what is said during a coaching session
will remain confidential, and each party will agree to fulfill his or her commitments to
the coaching process.
 Establish preferred work styles and a method of feedback up front. For instance, some
people like to receive feedback in written form so they can process it at their own pace
and refer to it during the coaching process. Others prefer to receive feedback in
spoken form.
 Set mini-milestones to help your coachee build confidence and stay motivated.
 Be clear about who has promised what during the coaching process. To maintain
accountability, periodically assess whether both parties have fulfilled their agreements
and commitments.
 For large goals, such as acquiring a new skill, invite your coachee to create an action
plan that lays out the coaching need, the goal, the steps the coachee will take to
achieve the goal, ways of reviewing progress, and the role that the coach will play (for
example, attending meetings to observe the coachee's behavior).

Tips for forming hypotheses

 Ask open-ended questions (those that require more than a "yes" or "no" response).
They generate more valuable information than closed questions (which require a
simple "yes" or "no") do.

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 Spend more time listening and observing than you do talking and judging.
 Don't try to psychoanalyze your direct report based on your observations of his or her
behavior. Doing so is inappropriate.
 Don't pry into an individual's personal life or make judgments about his or her
character or motivations in order to interpret your observations.
 Don't use your own performance as a yardstick to measure others. Assuming that your
direct reports have the same motivations or strengths as you do is unrealistic and
unfair.

Tips for giving feedback

 Give feedback as soon as possible after observing performance. Wait only if doing so
is necessary to gather necessary information. On the other hand, if the behavior
you've observed was particularly upsetting, consider waiting until you've calmed down
before providing feedback.
 Don't use feedback simply to underscore poor performance. Also provide feedback on
work that is done well—you'll help your employee learn from what he or she did right.
 Focus feedback on behavior, not character or personality. Emphasizing behavior helps
prevent the other person from feeling personally attacked.
 Avoid generalizations. Instead of saying, "You did a great job during the meeting,"
offer feedback that is more specific, such as "The graphics in your presentation really
communicated the message."
 Describe the other person's behavior and its impact on projects and/or coworkers.
You'll help the person see why it's important to address problem behavior.
 Focus feedback on factors that the other person can control. Feedback on factors that
he or she cannot control is not constructive.
 Keep feedback focused on issues that your employee can rework or improve in the
future.
 If a troubling behavior or action was a one-time event, consider letting it go.
 Be sincere. Give feedback with the clear intent of helping the person improve.
 Give feedback as often as necessary.

Tips for receiving feedback

 Ask your direct report for specific information about how the coaching process is
going. "What did I say that made you think I wasn't interested in your proposal?" or
"How were my suggestions helpful to you?"

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 Ask for clarification in ways that don't make your coachee defensive. "Could you give
me an example?"—not "What do you mean, I was unreceptive to your idea?"
 Help your coachee avoid emotion-laden terms. "You said that I'm often inflexible. Give
me an example of things I do that give you this sense."
 Don't be defensive. Offer justification or commentary on your actions only if asked.
Tell your coachee when you've gotten all the feedback you can process.
 Thank the person for his or her feedback, positive and negative. You'll build trust and
model productive behavior.

Tips for cultivating a spirit of partnership

 During coaching conversations or sessions, set your direct report at ease. Don't let the
person feel that he or she is being scrutinized.
 Ask the employee, "How do you think we are doing as a unit?" You'll convey the
important message that everyone has a part to play in the coaching process.
 Review the purpose of the coaching process and its positive benefits for both parties.
This will psychologically prepare you and the employee for the process. It will also act
as a "warm-up" for useful dialogue.
 Do whatever you can to avoid interruptions by phone calls and other intrusions.
Taking a phone call during a coaching discussion sends the employee a nonverbal
signal that the call has a higher priority, which is exactly the wrong signal.

Tips for eliciting responses from uncommunicative coachees

 Rehearse how you will respond if your coachee doesn't provide thoughtful replies to
your questions during coaching discussions or sessions.
 Practice speaking slowly and taking long pauses. You'll give the other person time to
formulate responses to your questions and ideas.
 Make it clear that you expect a reply—and are willing to wait for one.
 Ask open-ended questions—those requiring more than a "yes" or "no" response. They
encourage more thoughtful replies than closed questions (requiring "yes" or "no") do.

Coach's self-evaluation checklist

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Coach's planning form

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Observation worksheet

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Active listening self-assessment

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Action-planning worksheet

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Coaching session evaluation

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Online Articles

Kate Ludeman and Eddie Erlandson. "Coaching the Alpha Male." Harvard Business Review.
Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, May 2004.

Highly intelligent, confident, and successful, alpha males represent about 70% of all senior
executives. But many of their quintessential strengths can also make alphas difficult to work
with. Drawing from their experience coaching more than 1,000 senior executives, the authors
outline an approach tailored specifically for the alpha. Coaches get the alpha's attention by
inundating him with data from 360-degree feedback presented in ways he will find
compelling. Such an assessment is a wake-up call for most alphas, providing undeniable proof
that their behavior doesn't work nearly as well as they think it does. That paves the way for a
genuine commitment to change.

Judith A. Ross. "How to Be the Best Coach for Your Team." Harvard Management Update,
November 2005.

Trying to implement an enterprisewide change initiative but your leadership team members
are mired in their functional silos? Or, do you need to quickly shape a diverse group of

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individuals into a brand-new team? When it's time to create a well-synchronized unit, or even
revitalize an already established group, some form of team coaching may be in order. Unlike
individual coaching where a coach or supervisor helps an employee one-on-one to develop
new skills or adjust behaviors, a team coach works with the whole group to improve its
collective performance. This article examines two recently proposed models for team coaching
that tackle this challenge from very different angles and offer a starting point for considering
what type of coaching intervention could best help your team.

Harvard ManageMentor Web Site

Visit the Harvard ManageMentor Web site to explore additional online resources available to
you from Harvard Business School Publishing.

Articles

Click on a link below to go to Harvard Business Online, the Web site of Harvard Business
School Publishing, where you can browse or purchase products. Your Harvard
ManageMentor program will remain open while you are at the site.

James Waldroop and Timothy Butler. "Managing Away Bad Habits." Harvard Business Review
OnPoint Enhanced Edition. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2001.

We've all worked with highly competent people who are held back by a seemingly fatal
personality flaw. The authors suggest concrete tactics they have used to help people recognize
and correct the following six behavior patterns: (1) the hero, who always pushes himself—and
subordinates—too hard to do too much for too long; (2) the meritocrat, who believes that the
best ideas can and will be determined objectively and ignores the politics inherent in most
situations; (3) the bulldozer, who runs over others in a quest for power; (4) the pessimist, who
always worries about what could go wrong; (5) the rebel, who automatically fights against
authority and convention; and (6) the home run hitter, who tries to do too much too soon—he
swings for the fences before he's learned to hit singles. Using the tactics introduced in this
article, managers can help their brilliantly flawed performers become spectacular achievers.

James Waldroop and Timothy Butler. "The Executive as Coach." Harvard Business Review
OnPoint Enhanced Edition. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2000.

How do you deal with the talented manager whose perfectionism paralyzes his direct reports
or the high-performing expert who disdains teamwork? What about the sensitive manager who
avoids confrontation of any kind? The authors suggest that you coach them; helping to change
the behaviors that threaten to derail a valued manager is often the best way to help that
manager succeed. Executives increasingly recognize that people-management skills are the
key to both their personal success and the success of their business. And being an effective

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coach is a crucial part of successful people management.

Books

Micki Holliday. Coaching, Mentoring, and Managing: Breakthrough Strategies to Solve

Performance Problems and Build Winning Teams. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 2001.

Coaching, Mentoring, and Managing offers hundreds of practical, easy-to-learn techniques

every manager can use to coach employees to become more productive, positive, inspired,
and effective. Filled with real-world advice and management-changing exercises, this manual
shows how to get the most from employees in today's era of downsizing, layoffs, buyouts, and
mergers. Managers learn how to be more than just a boss and develop the skills and strategies
to become more like a coach to their employees. This book will show managers how to tap
into the hidden strengths and talents of employees, to inspire peak performers to even greater
levels of productivity, confront inappropriate behavior, turn problem employees into
productive workers, and ask questions that get good answers.

eLearning Programs

Click on a link below to go to Harvard Business Online, the Web site of Harvard Business
School Publishing, where you can browse or purchase products. Your Harvard
ManageMentor program will remain open while you are at the site.

Harvard Business School Publishing. Case in Point. Boston: Harvard Business School
Publishing, 2004.

Case in Point is a flexible set of online cases, designed to help prepare middle- and senior-
level managers for a variety of leadership challenges. These short, reality-based scenarios
provide sophisticated content to create a focused view into the realities of the life of a leader.
Your managers will experience: Aligning Strategy, Removing Implementation Barriers,
Overseeing Change, Anticipating Risk, Ethical Decisions, Building a Business Case, Cultivating
Customer Loyalty, Emotional Intelligence, Developing a Global Perspective, Fostering
Innovation, Defining Problems, Selecting Solutions, Managing Difficult Interactions, The
Coach's Role, Delegating for Growth, Managing Creativity, Influencing Others, Managing
Performance, Providing Feedback, and Retaining Talent.

Harvard Business School Publishing. Coaching for Results. Boston: Harvard Business School
Publishing, 2000.

Understand and practice how to effectively coach others by mastering the five core skills
necessary for successful coaching:

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 Observing
 Questioning
 Listening
 Feedback
 Agreement

Through interactive role play, expert guidance, and activities for immediate application at
work, this program helps you coach successfully by preparing, discussing, and following up in
any situation.

Harvard Business School Publishing. Influencing and Motivating Others. Boston: Harvard
Business School Publishing, 2001.

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to have a natural ability to stir people to action?
Influencing and Motivating Others provides actionable lessons on getting better results from
direct reports (influencing performance), greater cooperation from your peers (lateral
leadership), and stronger support from your own boss and senior management (persuasion).
Managers will learn the secrets of "lateral leadership" (leading peers), negotiation and
persuasion skills, and how to distinguish between effective and ineffective motivation
methods. Through interactive cases, expert guidance, and activities for immediate application
at work, this program helps managers to assess their ability to effectively persuade others,
measure motivation skills, and enhance employee performance.

Source Notes

Learn

Harvard Business School Publishing. Coaching. The Interactive Manager™ Series. Boston:
Harvard Business School Publishing, 1997.

Harvard Business School Publishing. Coaching and Mentoring. Boston: Harvard Business
School Press, 2004.

Steps

Harvard Business School Publishing. Coaching. The Interactive Manager™ Series. Boston:
Harvard Business School Publishing, 1997.

Harvard Business School Publishing. Coaching and Mentoring. Boston: Harvard Business
School Press, 2004.

Tips

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Harvard Business School Publishing. Coaching. The Interactive Manager™ Series. Boston:
Harvard Business School Publishing, 1997.

Harvard Business School Publishing. Coaching and Mentoring. Boston: Harvard Business
School Press, 2004.

Tools

"The Supervisor: Coaching for Success." AT&T course, 1995.

Harvard Business School Publishing. Coaching and Mentoring. Boston: Harvard Business
School Press, 2004.

Version 10.0.20090501 © 2007 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.

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