I firmly believe that anyone who wants to do better can grow. They just have to have the opportunity and motivation, as well as the right tools and support. Every coach knows that it’s impossible to make progress if the individual, the “coachee,” is not interested in changing their behavior.
Is Your Employee Really Uncoachable?
Employers should not assume that someone is not coachable just because they have bad habits or have failed to change even after receiving feedback. People often want to change, but don’t know how to go about it. Here are a few things managers can do to assess coachability:
- Explain the behavioral issue, business impact, and potential consequences. For instance, if someone is yelling in meetings and does not collaborate well, they need to understand that this is disrupting the team’s ability to get its work done and could result in a low performance rating, lack of bonus, or possibly even termination.
- Ask if they are open to feedback and if they would like help to make some changes.
- Offer coaching and involve the employee in choosing a coach.
If the employee is engaged in this process, allow some time for coaching and see if there are noticeable changes. If the employee resists the feedback and support, misses or frequently reschedules coaching sessions, or does not follow through on work after making a commitment, that person may not be coachable right now.
Leaders Are Key to Employee Success
Leaders need to be clear about what they want from the employee and how much they’re willing to invest. While coaching often results in quick wins, sustainable behavioral change can take time. Think of it this way: Coaching often helps us address long-held beliefs and behaviors. If an employee is naturally abrasive and has been successful (or at least accepted) that way for decades, dramatic change is not going to happen overnight.
The manager should collaborate with the coach and coachee on goal setting as well as hold periodic check-ins. Include HR too, as an objective party who can help both the manager and the employee during the coaching engagement.
First look for the coachee’s willingness to engage and work hard, then start looking for signs of progress. It’s important to keep an open dialog with the coach while also maintaining confidentiality. The best way to do this is to increase dialog between the coachee, their manager, and HR. Getting the coach out of the middle leads to more candid conversations between the people who own the relationship in the long run.
Beware of Coaching as a Last Resort
I’m not a fan of coaching as a last resort before termination unless it’s truly coming from a place of goodwill on the part of the organization. Ideally, before looking to coaching, the company has offered feedback, training, mentoring, and other means of helping an employee correct their behavior.
When coaching is a last resort, that should be transparent to everyone involved, including the coach and coachee before they even agree to work together. If the coaching is purely remedial as opposed to developmental, it is ok to set milestones as a condition of continued employment.
Set clear goals at the beginning of the coaching engagement, and conduct frequent check-ins to make sure the goals, outcomes, and progress are transparent. If the engagement has been well organized with clear and frequent communication, then the coachee will know whether or not they’re succeeding.
Overall, coaching is a proven way to offer customized development to your team. Coaching works best when everyone is committed and engaged. Leaders don’t often realize the role they can play by keeping an open dialog with the coach and coachee. Involving your HR or People Ops professional is another way to keep goals focused, measure progress, and track outcomes.
Looking for a coach or curious how coaching can help? Reverb is proud of our diverse team of coaches who come from a variety of backgrounds including business, technology, and Human Resources. We coach leaders at all levels.
Contact us to learn more – info@reverbpeople.com
