05 Mar

“I know all of this already…”

ID-100139665“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge.” – Daniel J Boorstin

From time to time when we run a training event, a coaching discussion or a group coaching session, we will hear someone say “I know this already”, “I’ve covered it previously in my career”, “I’ve done a lot of this before” or any number of variations on this theme. As soon as we hear such statements, there are small alarm bells going off in our heads.

These alarm bells come from years of experience in learning environments – 9 times out of 10 when we hear these comments we know that this person might just be the participant who needs the content/learning the most.

Really? Yes, really. The bells are picking up on two elements of concern:

  1. There might be a hidden reason for making such a statement
  2. Their mind-set might be limiting their opportunities

Firstly, let’s look at possible reasons that people say “I know it already”. We have no doubt that people who make these comments have indeed participated in training or workshops on the topic at hand, yet they usually don’t tell us this just so we know – there’s almost always an underlying, sometimes unconscious reason for them telling us. Some possible deeper reasons might include one or more of the following.

They:

  • believe that they do know all of the detail and there is nothing more they need to know
  • truly believe they are applying these skills already
  • want to be acknowledged for their experience
  • think we should ask them to share in the session – for the group’s benefit
  • have heard it before and don’t want to sit through it again
  • have too much work on and would love to get out of the session
  • don’t like learning in a ‘classroom’ environment
  • are actually a bit insecure about their skills and don’t want to be put in a position where they may not be the expert
  • are an experienced manager/employee and  don’t want others to think they need to learn more (see also point above)
  • have had a bad experience at a previous learning event and are now wary of all trainers, facilitators and coaches

Some of the reasons above may have sounded very valid to you. So why do those alarm bells go off for us then? It’s because we are concerned that their perspective may be limiting their full potential.

Our concern comes from the following:

  • Knowing and doing are two very different things: people who say they know it already might know the theory, yet in reality they might not be putting it into practice
  • Openness to learning is a core leadership attribute: great leaders are always curious, always learning; even if they are knowledgeable, they know the benefit of refreshing their skills or hearing other people’s perspectives
  • Great leaders lead by example: attending a learning event has a secondary purpose of demonstrating to those you lead, collaborate with or manage that you see investing in development as important
  • Fear is self-limiting: fears of not getting it ‘right’ and of not being the expert can hold you back from beneficial growth and development. Successful people do not let such fears limit them – they know that facing your fears could be the best pathway to ongoing success
  • Refreshing is maintaining: if you really believe you will not learn anything new, then is there really any harm in refreshing on what you know to maintain your level of ability? Refreshing is maintaining

Happy ongoing learning!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

© Engaging Potential Pty Ltd

30 Oct

Stop wasting money when training your team!

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

How many times have you sent your team members on training programs and afterwards wondered why you even bothered? Many managers feel frustrated when they allow their team to take time off work to be trained, then don’t see any results afterwards. It can often seem like a huge waste of time and money and many managers don’t realise a few simple actions might deliver better results.

Training can be mandated by head office, it can be suggested by the employee, it might be recommended by HR or you might identify a program that you believe will help a team member. Yet we are often ahead of ourselves – trying to find a solution before we’ve identified the problem or indeed that there is a problem in the first place! Or we might be ‘ticking an employee development box’, trying to keep an employee happy or even just getting them out of the office for a few days! So before you throw someone into a training program, make sure you have covered off a few basic steps. The tips below are no guarantee, although they should help you start to see better results for your investment.

1. Identify specific strengths and gaps

Take a few moments to write down what you see as the strengths and gaps (areas for development) for the individual. Be specific – don’t just say “good at their job” – identify what specifically it is that they do well or what specifically they could be doing better. For the developmental areas, consider what behaviours you would like to see if they had closed the gap in this area. Finally, prioritise developmental areas – their importance to the individual’s ability to do their job is a good starting point. After you have done this for your employee, it’s a great idea to have a conversation with them to see if you are on the same page – ask them what they think their strengths and development areas might be, then share your thoughts. This opens up constructive dialogue, helps raise their self-awareness, and by asking for their input, you are encouraging them to take responsibility. In these discussions, generally it is best to start with strengths as these are so important to acknowledge!

2. Determine cause of gaps: skill, knowledge, experience or capability

Areas for development have many different causes for each individual. Sometimes it is a skill that they are unfamiliar with, or it may be some background knowledge is missing. Perhaps they have not had the opportunity to demonstrate a skill. Or maybe they do not have the capability to close the gap in development – this might relate to emotional or intellectual intelligence, geographical location or other physical barriers. Of course, often the cause of the gap is an overlap of some of these aspects. Once you know the cause/s of a developmental gap, it will help you determine what might be needed from a learning program. As with point 1. above, and other points below, often this can be a joint discussion with the individual.

3. Understand how they like to learn

Different people learn differently. Take a moment to uncover how  your employee BEST learns. For example, do they learn through reading, discussions, role-plays, applying skills in the workplace, observing  others, and so on. Understanding this will help determine the type of training they might need and also the extra help they might benefit from to support any theoretical learning. And if you don’t know how they like to learn – ASK! Sometimes the way they like to learn will tie in with their strengths – for example, they might bring a very structured and detailed analysis to projects so their learning preference might be to read, take notes and structure the key concepts into memorable points before applying them to a specific task.

4. Identify learning opportunities and plan

Work with the employee to identify a learning plan for closing the gap. Based on their learning preferences, this might involve attending a training program or it may be more comprehensive, like being assigned a specific task, attending training to learn more about the skills required for the task, being coached by an expert in the area and getting feedback at key milestones of the project. Try to incorporate opportunities where they can enjoy and reinforce the learning through use of their strengths – for example, if they are excellent presenters, then have them present the key concepts of any training back to the team afterwards; if they are problem-solvers, ask them to identify areas of the business where the training concepts might improve systems and processes.

5. Reinforce the learning

Prior to beginning their learning plan, including any training sessions, meet with the employee and ask them what they hope to get out of the activities/training. By verbalising their thoughts, they are more likely to take responsibility – they are telling you what they want to learn, so they have to own it. And if they can’t think of anything, perhaps back to point one before you waste money and time! Of course, if you have expectations of their learning that they don’t identify, it’s a good idea to highlight these; they might include how you hope they will apply the skills post training. Then after the training program or learning activity, meet with the employee again to seek their feedback on how they found the learning and what they got out of it; also how they see themselves applying what they learnt back in their daily job. And make sure the learning is reinforced at regular intervals – through follow-up training, discussion, application and coaching, as appropriate. Without effective reinforcement, people will forget, not use effectively or not use at all what they have learnt. Your role as a manager is to help support this reinforcement in an ongoing fashion.

There is no guarantee that you will always get the maximum return on investment for any training that you provide for your employee. What you can do though is to support the learning process effectively to enable the right solution in the right way.

Happy training outcomes!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

© Engaging Potential Pty Ltd

08 Aug

The management brick wall

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

– Benjamin Franklin

As a manager, have you ever felt like you are hitting your head against a brick wall? Do you feel like your team ignore your suggestions, directions and advice? Do you find you have to explain the same things to them over and over?

If you answered ‘yes’ to one or more of these questions, you might be hitting what we could describe as the management brick wall. Rather than keep hitting your head against it while thinking it’s your employee’s fault, how about considering what you could change in your approach to improve the situation.

Consider the following tips that might go part way to knocking down the wall.

1. We all learn differently

Each person in your team is unique; they are not (and nor should you want them to be!) a replica of you. As such, they each will have slightly different ways that they prefer to learn a new skill, seek knowledge and gain experience. Some people learn best through reading and reflection in a quiet environment, some like to read and then discuss, some like to get stuck in and give something a try, some like to watch a demonstration, some like to hear from an expert, some like to talk to different people…and so on. Often learners are described as Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic, yet many are a combination of two or more of these categories and there will be subtle differences amongst even learners with the same ‘type’ of learning style. Understanding how each team member likes to learn will help you understand how best to approach teaching, instructing, coaching and guiding them in new areas. And understanding how they like to learn is as simple as asking them!

2. Our motivations vary

As with learning styles, we each have different things that will motivate us to perform and succeed at work. For some it is having new challenges, for others diversity in their work, for some it is working in a team, for others it is to be able to work autonomously. Strange, but true, research in this area has found that money is not the prime motivator for most people – sure it’s often important, yet not the main thing that inspires them to achieve. Looking for opportunities to tap into people’s motivations will help you to build their knowledge, skills and experience more effectively than just giving them a task to do or telling them how something should be done. For example, if you want them to develop their networking skills, you will only get so far by telling them they need to interact more with other staff members. On the other hand, you might find their skills grow if you explain how developing these skills will enhance their chances of future promotion (if that is a motivator) and that you are asking them to sit on a cross-functional team (working in a team may be a motivator as well) because you feel it will give them more opportunity to learn about the company and to network with colleagues.

3. Sometimes there are other ways

It may be hard to believe, however sometimes our way isn’t the only way. In fact, sometimes there might even be a better way! So be open to your employees’ ideas. As long as they are clear on expectations, know what the boundaries are, and assuming there is no significant risk, there will be times when asking them how they would like to approach a task might be an effective strategy. People learn much more effectively when they need to tap into their own ideas and take responsibility for their actions – they learn when it works and they learn when it doesn’t. As a manager, if you set the expectations, then coach and support them, you might be surprised to see positive results!

So if you feel like you are hitting your head against a brick wall, take 5 minutes to think about what you can do differently to get the best out of your team.

Happy managing!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

© Engaging Potential Pty Ltd

02 May

Coaching breakdown for new managers

“One cannot teach a man anything. One can only enable him to learn from within himself.” — Galileo Galilei

Particularly for those new to management, the word ‘coaching’ can be a little daunting. Other managers throw around the word, they say they coach their team regularly, they seem so confident. But as a new manager, does someone sit you down to explain what coaching is or how to do it? Generally not. So you organise weekly meetings with your team members, get them to update you, tell them where they could improve and share your expertise – see, you’re coaching…aren’t you? Probably not.

Here are some key points for new managers to start growing their understanding of coaching. (A recommended book to enhance new and experienced managers’ understanding is “Coaching for Performance” by John Whitmore)

What is coaching?

  • Coaching can be a way of managing and leading (i.e. it doesn’t have to be rolled out on special occasions!)
  • Management by coaching may be informal and used frequently in communicating with staff e.g. problem solving, briefing and debriefing projects, feedback discussions, informal skill development
  • Coaching can also be formal and structured as required e.g. career exploration, formal skill development
  • The foundational element to coaching is asking questions
  • Through questions, a coach helps the employee think about the situation and come up with their own answers
  • Coaching questions help raise awareness in the coachee and ultimately guide them to  take responsibility for choices and actions

What are the benefits of coaching?

  • When someone comes up with their own options and answers, they feel more in control and engaged with the situation and are more likely to follow through with actions
  • Coaching helps develop employees and encourages application and retention of skills
  • Ultimately staff who are coached can enhance performance and improve productivity
  • As your staff develop their skills and confidence, and own their actions,  it will save you time – less chasing and instructing!
  • Asking questions, listening and responding appropriately will have profound impacts on interactions with your staff – they will feel valued and that you care about their opinions, they will grow in confidence, they will feel motivated and they will likely develop their professional skills (of course, some people may take time to respond if they have relied on being told what to do and think!)

Is it only about questions?

  • Management by coaching may also involve situations where you do provide advice or instruction
  • The balance of ‘ask’ vs. ‘tell’ will depend on the level of motivation and skill of the individual
  • Even when you think more ‘tell’ is needed, hold off and ask a question or two first e.g. “How do you think we could approach this?”, “What do you think the first step might be?”; you never know, you might have made an incorrect assumption about the level of ‘tell’ required
  • If you do need to do some ‘tell’, always follow with a question to involve the employee e.g. “What do you think of that?”, “What other options do you see?”
  • The other key aspect to coaching is listening; engage with your employee, don’t give in to other distractions and truly listen!

When should I be coaching?

  • As you practice your coaching skills, you will realise that most discussions with staff will be enhanced through coaching questions – engaging them in the discussion, presentation or decision-making (of course there are times when it may not be appropriate e.g. serious performance issues, crisis situations)
  • Try starting with the regular one-on-one meetings you have with your team members; if they are updating you, ask them questions e.g. “What’s going well on this project?”, “What are the major challenges you’ve faced?”, “What are your next steps?”
  • Try questions when an employee comes to you with a problem; instead of solving it for them, see if they can solve it themselves! e.g. “What’s the background to this issue?”, “What have you tried already?”, What are your options for dealing with this?”, “What do you think should be done from here?”
  • When a team member asks you for feedback on something they have done – ask for their input first e.g. “What do you think you did well?” (the good stuff first is a must!) “What could you have done differently?” It’s ok to then provide your own feedback – having their input first is important

Is there a structure I should use?

  • One of the world’s most widely used coaching frameworks is the GROW model. Developed by John Whitmore and colleagues (Performance Consultants) it provides guidance on areas to explore that will help raise awareness and responsibility in the coachee

Goal: explore the goal of the discussion

Reality: explore the current situation

Options: explore the alternative actions

Will: determine what WILL be done, when, by whom and the WILL to do it

  • If you find a model difficult, just start by asking open questions with the aim of truly understanding a situation and the employee’s perspective (open coaching questions are commonly those beginning with “What”, although other starters like “When”, “How” or “Which” may be used)
  • Once you start using GROW, you will see the benefits of the discussion steps; after a while you will likely find that you are not even conscious of following a ‘model’ – you are simply having a productive conversation

How will I know what to ask?

  • If you truly engage with and actively listen to your employee, you will know where to go – have an open mind and an attitude of honestly wanting to explore the situation with them; if you don’t bring this openness and authenticity, then you might struggle
  • In knowing what to ask, this is where GROW is useful – it gives you some guidance in an easy to remember model. As nicely summarised by John Whitmore, the process is basically variations on the following:

What do you want? GOAL

What is happening? REALITY

What could you do? OPTIONS

What will you do? WILL

  • If you have time to prepare for a discussion, you could write down some questions that might prompt you; try writing GROW down the left-hand side of your notepad, with one or two questions next to it

Coaching is an exciting, fulfilling and efficient way of enhancing your management style. As you understand and practice, it becomes a way of managing and leading with great results.

Happy coaching!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

© Engaging Potential Pty Ltd

29 Nov

Pre-holiday reading!

“A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend.” – Unknown

This week’s post is short and hopefully sweet – a recommended reading list for those who need some brain stimulation as we wind down to the holiday season.

At this time of year you may find work slowing down as those around you start to relax about deadlines or chill out in the party season. For others, the pace may actually pick up as you try to slog your way through the end of year ‘to do’ list so that you can forget about work over your holidays.

Whether it’s slow or busy, many of us like to keep our brains stimulated with something in addition to what we can buy for our ‘secret santa’ colleague or how we will complete the year-end sales report.

Here are a few suggestion for those who like to learn through reading – enjoy!

Presentation skills

‘The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs.’ – Carmine Gallo.

Simply the most interesting and practical book I have seen on presentation skills!

 

Coaching

‘Coaching for Performance.’ (4th Ed.) – John Whitmore

A great resource to help understand and use the GROW coaching model and to use it well!

 

Team management

‘Managing Teams for High Performance’Harvard Management Update

A compilation of articles on developing high performance teams – PDF available for purchase through Harvard Business Review website (www.hbr.org).

 

Marketing / branding

‘The Big Moo’ and ‘Purple Cow’Seth Godin

Great perspectives on marketing and business in our increasingly competitive world.

 

Innovation

‘Innovate the Pixar Way’Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson

Well written and fascinating book about Pixar and its amazing business success.

 

General

‘The Art of Happiness at Work’ the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler

Practical advice and approaches to getting the most out of your daily work!

Happy reading!

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

© Engaging Potential Pty Ltd

01 Nov

Coaching and problem solving

“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.” – Theodore Rubin

Many managers complain about the fact they have to endlessly solve problems for their team members. Unfortunately they are often doing themselves or their team members a disservice by continuing to do so.

Often employees seek guidance or reassurance from their managers when making decisions or solving issues. Where it may become a problem in itself is when the individual expects the manager to provide all answers, or when the manager prefers to control all issues. 

Whether it is the employee or manager relying on the problem solving hierarchy, it can create a stressful backlog of issues, stifle employee growth and empowerment and even waste time. In the worst instances, it may impact customer service or profit margins.

An effective way to improve employee problem solving is through coaching. Rather than giving them the solution, a manager encourages individuals to understand the issue and come up with possible solutions. Over time, the employee will develop their skills and confidence and the manager will reclaim time and trust in delegation.

So how to break the manager-driven problem solving?

  • Start with the next problem that ‘walks’ through your door!  Ask the employee about the issue and what options they think there are to solve it.
  • Discuss with individuals or the team that you would like to build their involvement in issues and would like to see them come to you with possible solutions, not just the problem.
  • Provide problem solving training to outline the importance of these skills in developing a high performing team.

In order for your team members to evolve their problem solving, it will be useful to have consistent steps in coaching conversations. Below is an example simple format, although many companies have their own problem solving model.

  • Define the problem and possible causes – to ensure that the individual has a good understanding of the issue in the first place, ask them to briefly explain the problem and its impact as they see it. Then encourage them to outline the contributing factors or direct causes. This step will help you determine the level to which you need to be involved and most importantly will ensure the employee understands the issue before jumping straight to a solution.
  • Brainstorm options to solving the problem – ask their opinion as to what might resolve the issue, encouraging all options without too many initial restrictions. Some people will hesitate, but persevere and offer prompts if you think it will help e.g. “If budget was no obstacle, what would you do?”; “If you were the customer, what would you want to see happen?”
  • Prioritise the options – seek the employee’s thoughts on which option would best solve the issue, with reality checks as required. e.g. “Bearing in mind that we have 24 hours to solve this, which do you think is the best option?”; “If we can’t get additional budget, what option looks the most favourable?”
  • Develop an action plan – ask what the next steps should be for the prioritised option; including any analysis, further discussion or approval that may be required. Be sure to add any expectations or suggestions you may have and reinforce that you are available to discuss further if needed.

Over time, your employees will need less prompting and will take more initiative, coming to you with issues, solutions and action plans, or even solving problems and telling you what the outcome was!

Then you will find more time can be spent solving your own business issues, planning strategies, developing employees and servicing customers.

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!

© Engaging Potential Pty Ltd

26 Aug

Coaching and training

“A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle”   – Kahlil Gibran

Many managers believe that people development is solved through training. What they often forget is that there are factors that influence how effectively the employee implements new skills after a training program. 

These factors include the individual’s desire for learning, their expectations of the training, the quality of the learning environment and other aspects beyond the classroom, such as stress at work or issues at home.

Here we focus on the role of the manager / coach in the effectiveness of skills transfer from training into the workplace.

There are three things a manager should do when their employee attends a skills training program:

  • Understand the employee’s perspective on the training BEFORE they attend – ‘What is your objective at this course?’, ‘What do you hope to get out of it to help you in your daily work?’     – and also explain any expectations they may have as a manager – ‘I’ve asked you to attend this program because…’, ‘After this course, I hope you will have further skills to…’
  • Follow up with the employee as soon as possible after the training to understand what they learnt from the program, how they will use the skills and any developmental ACTION PLAN they may have.
  • The manager should then COACH to the new skills and objectives – not just once, but several times to ensure support and ongoing implementation of skills. 

No matter how fabulous a training program is, if the skills covered are not used and coached afterwards, the benefits will be negligible. The reason? Trying out a new skill in the workplace can initially feel awkward and so may not always be successful. This can put some people off and they may go back to their old way of doing things. However, if they stick at it they will become more comfortable with the skills and start to see results.

This is where a manager can provide valuable support with coaching to help employees through the initial awkwardness. By encouraging employees to harness their strengths and apply them to new skills, or to help them focus on what aspects are challenging them, a coach can help the coachee to build awareness and take responsibility for applying what they have learnt in the classroom.

Training is the building block for development, while coaching helps the learning live.

A large international company has studied this interplay of coaching and training in detail. They found that not coaching post-training led to an eighty-seven percent loss of any skills change the program initially created. (Six characteristics of world-class sales coaches – Scott K Edinger, Huthwaite)

Do you want to throw away eighty-seven cents in every dollar that you spend on skills training?

If not, then it seems that the answer is to coach your employees after they attend training! A hectic workplace does not always make this easy, but it is important.

To help managers out, training professionals should be able to provide suggestions for follow-up and coaching activities. They are also a source of information to further understand your employee’s strengths to help implement the skills and their focus areas for development. Whilst often a trainer’s perspective is only a snapshot from the training room, it certainly will add to the information you already possess as a manager.

So the next time you have an employee attending a training program, what will you do? And as an employee, what will you expect of your manager to support your learning?

engagingPOTENTIAL: training, team development, coaching

Specialising in working with managers to develop extraordinary teams!