Employee Engagement Management Coaching Certificate

Clarity

Clarity, according to the Gallup's research organization, and their dissection of more than a million employee and manager interviews from companies around the world, found that employees who are engaged and immersed in striving to help create a high performing team, have something in common. What they have in common is clarity. The number one response that according to their research is correlated with employee engagement is "I know what is expected of me at work".  To say it another the number one element of great managing is proving your team with clarity.

In this lecture we will discuss the importance of clarity and your will download a handout containing clarity generating questions.

Lecture Transcript

This transcript was captured and transcribed automatic transcription software. The transcribed content is derived from a live recording of this lecture.  Please excuse any auto-generated spelling, wording discrepancies, or grammatical errors. This transcript is provided as a way to supplement your learning experience.

Intended Reputation

Think of a time when you were surrounded by people who's attitude and, tone and intentions were aligned with yours. It works pretty well

As a coach and a leader, setting an intention regarding what you want from the team, will set you in the right direction while removing ambiguity for your team-members.

The intention of the team molds the dynamics of human interaction and establishes your internal team culture.

EXERCISE

To set the foundation for a high-performing team culture, think about and then, I'd recommend write out, a description of the reputation you want your team to be known for.

Perhaps you want your team to be known for being, hard working, quick to respond, and productive", or maybe you want your team to be known for being skilled, conscientious and driven". . . in other words, if a project gets put in your hands, the sponsor of that project would know based on your reputation, that your team will do a good job, and that the work will be done with exacting detail and delivered on time.

SAMPLE INTENDED REPUTATION (Department of Defense client)

"We go above and beyond in every capacity in order to support the war-fighter (their end customer)".

One reason that setting a team intention is a precondition to coaching, is that from a big picture standpoint, the intention that you set for your team, and that you verbalize and work toward, will enable you to establish standards on which to offer both corrective feedback and coaching to maximize performance.

At the end of this section there is an assignment centered on establishing what you intend your teams reputation to be.

You'll be asked to give it some thought and then articulate your intended reputation in 25 words or less.

Lecture Transcript

This transcript was captured and transcribed automatic transcription software. The transcribed content is derived from a live recording of this lecture.  Please excuse any auto-generated spelling, wording discrepancies, or grammatical errors. This transcript is provided as a way to supplement your learning experience.

Coaching is Not Telling

As a manager who leads other people and who is also accountable for process, you'll likely have to switch in and out of various roles.

You'll switch in and out of being a Manger, Leader, Consultant and Coach. When each of the roles are combined you become a powerful change-agent, or a proficient Leader Manager.

One thing to recognize is that Coaching is unique to all the other roles you will play. As a coach you're helping that person unlock their very best self. You're guiding them as they discover how to maximize their own performance.

Good coaching from you, that is delivered from a place of mutual benefit, a win-win, not just I win you lose, good coaching that is thought provoking, that is focused on future outcomes, and that has positive objectives . . . this type of coaching is a significant catalyst for heightened overall employee engagement.

The easy approach to business coaching is to say that your coaching when in fact your acting in the role of a consultant. As a business consultant myself for many years I can tell you that consultants, ones that stay around for a while, are people who offer well though-out, direct and decisive advice.

The reason consultant are sometimes referred to as rain-makers is because as a consultant your role is to provide solutions, and to provide them in a compelling way.

Coaching on the other hand requires that you temporarily remove your consulting cap and resist your impulse to "fix the situation", "solve the problem" or "impose your own solution".

Coaching is NOT TELLING. Of course as a manager, there are times for telling. There are times for fixing and taking charge, but your coaching role is about you helping your employee learn rather than teaching them.

You can guide them in this learning process by asking open-ended questions that, in a Socratic way, help them on their own, arrive at viable solutions.

We'll talk more about effective questions later in the training, but for now, at this stage of the course, we're really interested in the coaching questions that you ask, or that you plan to ask as a way to help your employees reveal and maximize their potential.

There's an assignment within this section of the training where you'll be asked to share with the class three coaching questions. if you've never asked coaching questions before, just ask your manager or at a minimum do a Google search.

This assignment is a creative exercise to spark the coaching area of your brain, so don't spend too much time in concern of whether your questions are "good" or "bad". The fact that you're thinking about coaching questions is a good thing in and of itself.

Establishing the Coaching Relationship

According to the research organization Gallup, as well as the Society of Training and Development, a major factor of whether or not an employee succeeds, is their relationship with you, their boss.

The beginning of the relationship is your time to demonstrate  that you either recognize already, or will be focused on and invested in discovering their potential.

During this stage set individual meetings with each team member and have an easy, non-directive, discussion with your team members . . . .

Whether you're new to coaching or you're a seasoned Leader/Manager, it's helpful to have a structured model for moving through your coaching conversations.

The G.R.O.W framework provides you with a organized way of structuring your coaching conversations . . . keeping them focused, effective and action-oriented.

The G.R.O.W model is the focus of this section.  As you'll discover, the G.R.O.W model can be worked through quickly . . . five or ten minutes, or if time permits you can also use this model during an extended coaching or training session.

G.R.O.W = Goal. Reality. Options. Will Do

If you've already been exposed to the G.R.O.W model, your aim in this section should be to discover one new idea on how to use it effectively.   If this is your first introduction to G.R.O.W, get ready for some "Yeah! I can definitely use that" moments.

Let's get started!

Grow Coaching Model - Goals

When you're new to coaching and in fact even after you become quite seasoned, it is very helpful to have a structured model for moving through your coaching conversations. The GROW model provides you with a simple framework that enable you to keep your conversations on track.

The wonderful aspect of this coaching model is that you can work through it quickly . . . five or ten minutes, or if time permits you could use this model over an extended period of time.

The acronym GROW stands for Goal, Reality, Options, and the Will Do . . . as in what will you commit to doing? When will you do it by, and what is your first step.

Like with any coaching model the idea is to internalize the process and then allow that process, or that structure to become fluid. So, you'll notice that you'll likely move in and out of the various aspects of the GROW model with some regularity. The model acts a support to your coaching and anytime your considering all stages within the model, then you're using it effectively.

So lets work through the stages one at a time so that you can really start to relate to it.

The first stage is Goal Setting

And here's the thing, whether you're brand new to coaching or you're a seasoned coach manager, it's pretty obvious that goals and goal progress are extremely important. Human beings are goal seeking creatures by nature. Part of what separates us from other species is the cognitive desire to have, or to create, something different, or better than what we have today.

When you sit down with your employee you want to start the coaching by discussing and agreeing upon a Goal for the Session itself . . . so this is the first level of goal setting. The goal for the session could be just about anything. Maybe the goal of the session is to leave the session or meeting with an action plan, or greater self-awareness.

After determining the Goal of the Session itself, next you want to establish a specific Performance Goal. A performance goal give the employee something tangible to latch onto. Performance goals establish metrics that are easily checked-off as being either complete or incomplete. For example the employee might set a goal to bring-in ten new customers over the next thirty days, or to complete a project by Friday of this week.

While you're working with your employee on Setting the Actual Performance Goal, there are three essential things to consider, and they are PSM... Possibility, Specificity and Medium Risk. (and don't worry all of this is also provided as a courtesy for you in the handout and workbook).

The first thing to consider is Possibility. .. Does the goal fall within a reasonable range of expected completion . . .

Let me give you a for instance. As a manager in an office of about thirty, many years ago, I had a brand new employee that came to me with their goal of being put in charge of one of our established satellite offices within one month of employment. Now while I admire and certainly respect the enthusiasm, I also knew that there was no reason to expect that this goal would actually be reached, so what we did was we worked to pare down the goal and instead establish something more reasonable and attainable.

Specificity: Next thing is that you want to make sure the goal is very specific. Can the employee verbalize the goal in a clear, concise way? What are the qualities of that goal . . . how will the coachee know if they've achieved the goal...what are the metrics? Also how much time do they need to reach that specific goal?

The third to consider in the Goal Setting stage of the Grow Model, is what is referred to as Medium Risk. Medium Risk is somewhat of a nebulous description, and it is simply because each situation is different, but medium risk refers to setting a goal that is complex or difficult enough to challenge the employee, but not so complex and difficult to scare them. Medium Risk goals are considered the sweet spot in the science of goal setting, and as your employee begins having success in achieving these medium risk goals, they will also feel excited about and engaged in their work.

So now in the next lecture we'll discuss the remaining segments of the GROW coaching model.

GROW MODEL - Part 2

The second stage in the Grow Model is a check of the current REALITY. This is self-awareness building phase. It is where together in the coaching session you establish the AS IS. So for instance if the goal that was set in the previous stage is to submit a technical project by the 15th of next month, you want to gain real clarity on where the project currently stands, and any barriers that might arise.

Here are some examples of terrific clarity generating question that you can use in this phase.

How would you describe the present situation?

When you look at the situation what do you see?

Hypothetically speaking, if this goal could be chunked into ten convenient steps, what step are you in right now?

What have you tried so far?
What haven't you tried, but would like to?

What, if anything, do you anticipate getting in the way of goal progress?

What is your present level of performance in this area?

What resources do you need, that you currently don't have, that will ensure that you reach your goal?

When using the GROW model, after you've gone through this Realty phase, your employee should be much more self-aware about their current reality. They should have gained some new insights and perhaps even some, Aha moments.

The next phase in the model is where you guide your client, in this context your employee, in generating all possible Options and solutions.

This is a green-light thinking phase , and it serves the purpose of getting ideas on the table. Ideas that will help the coachee achieve the goal.

In this phase you want to really be attuned to your employee. You'll want to help them generate as many ideas as possible. You'll want to guide them through any feelings of self-consciousness ...any worrying about if the idea is "good" or "Bad", and you want to help them get into a state creative solution finding. Remind them that they will always have time to filter valid ideas from unworkable ones, but for now all the ideas are worthy of consideration.

Some questions that you can ask during this phase include;

How can you achieve this goal?

In an ideal world what would the path to goal completion look like?

What other options exist to help you along?

What are some actions you could take that would produce different results than what your currently getting?

How might someone else with completely different experience than you . . . how might they approach this?

Once you've completed the Options phase of the grow model, you're employee will have much better visibility into all the potential ways that they can achieve their desired outcome.

Finally, the W stands for "Will Do" . . . as in what will you commit to doing? When will you do it by, and what is your first step.

This phase of the model is the decision -making stage. This is where you'll want to guide your client to funnel their ideas into a commitment.

What's wonderful about working through this model is that instead of your coachee committing to goals that haven't been well thought-out, after working through this process, they'll be making a clear decision to move forward on a goal that is both informed and that can be realistically achieved.

So at this stage of the coaching discussion, your questions are centered exclusively on, What exactly will you commit to doing? Who else, if anyone, needs to be involved. When will you begin, and you also want to have them identify and verbalize the First Step in they will take. So simply asking them, "What is the very first step you can do to take action on your goal?

Asking this final, "first step" questions helps to set the goal into motion. It make commits the employee to take action in a specific way and at a specific time.

DESC is a practical tool for approaching and solving challenges involving performance issues. DESC outlines a process for giving effective Feedback. It's also a wonderful tool for you as a manager of a high-performing team to teach as a universal process, something that everyone on the team can use.

DESC stands for Describe - Explain - Specify - Commit.

For example, I'm having some difficulty with a colleague. We work on the same project and their work is either not on time, or they dispute that that a particular aspect of the workload should be theirs. They think responsibility should be elsewhere.

So when describing, the description should be based on factual, observable evidence, as opposed to opinion and interpretation. So I would strip out all the "filler opinion" . "They are an idiot and horrible at their job" "They don't respect me or the team . . . and they don't care about quality". What I also doing is stripping away all of my emotional reaction and not allowing my emotion about the situation to "taint" how I describe the situation. Describe is about stating the facts as they occurred.

The next step is to EXPLAIN. Explaining involves making it clear to the other person how the facts impact you, impact your team, your organization, or your project. The explain step is the Effect part of a Cause/Effect relationship. Explaining is not about blaming. Instead, explaining is about running the full course of thought from the facts to how they affect the team.

The Specify step is about revealing your suggestions on how things could work better moving forward. In this step you want to engage the other person for their input and ideas. It's a negotiation phase. It's the back-and-forth dialog phase where you make a suggestion or put an idea out there, but then invite the other person into that idea to discuss it.

Commit - Commitment comes after the Describing, Explaining and Specifying steps. At this point you've likely come to at least some agreement on what needs to be done. You may not be at full agreement and that is okay, wherever you are in terms of desired outcomes and action steps, you'll want to make some formal commitment to getting things done. The best practice is to write down on paper, or to memorialize in some form or fashion the actions you both agreed to take. The commitment step is vital. Without a commitment to do something different moving forward, you'll wind up in the same exact place with the same exact issue.

Open Ended Appreciative Inquiry Questions

A default approach to managing and attempting to drive better future performance is to do any form of a gap analysis, and to ultimately investigate what's not working? This is referred to as a deficit based approach.

A deficit based viewpoint begins from the premise that person or the organization, or the team is the challenge that needs to be solved or fixed. So in a deficit based approach to performance we isolate the problem areas, pull-apart causes of the problem, think-up solutions to the problem, and then execute those solutions. But just on a human intuitive level, think about how a pervasive deficit-approach or deficit viewpoint can derail motivation and engagement.

It's not that gap analysis and corrective feedback aren't important, because of course they are. The ability to fix problems is essential. It's just that there are ALSO other ways to motivate performance . . . that unfortunately are often time overlooked. The idea as a coaching manager is to balance the scale of using corrective feedback dialogue when necessary and Appreciate Inquiry at other times.

Appreciative Inquiry is a research-based practice from the field of Positive Organizational Scholarship that helps employees reveal latent and unrecognized potential. It is an alternative philosophy and approach to the deficit-based viewpoint.

With appreciative inquiry, you start by asking about, investigating and inquiring into, what works. So Appreciative Inquiry is a strengths-based approach or even better said, a strengths-based philosophy.

After inquiring into what works you'd then expand on that inquiry to build an even brighter picture of how the future COULD be if they did more of what already works.

Then together you agree upon how things should be, and then finally, together you commit to what will be.

You see, people actively engage in discussions that focus on their strengths . . . that focus on what they do well.

From this starting point of what's working, as a manager you're now building your employees confidence in their ability to perform in the future, and you're also opening a pathway for positive outcomes.

Attached to this lecture are some open Ended appreciative inquiry style questions for you to begin working with. However, since appreciative inquiry is as much a strength-based philosophy as it is an set a specific techniques, an assignment with revolving around this topic is to develop a set of your own appreciative inquiry style questions.

Levels of Listening

There is a great deal of talk, at least in my coaching and business consulting circle, about the three levels of listening, but what does that really mean and are the tree levels really that different from one another?

Well the answer is yes ... and in your Leader/Manager/Coaching role, you're gonna want to be aware of the three identified levels of listening, and really practice conducting all of your coaching conversations at a minimum of level two and in ideal situation at level three.

So just briefly.

"Internal Listening" is Level One Listening. Internal listening simply means that when you're listening from this level your focus is inward . . . it's on you. When your "listening" at this level you're not in rapport with the other person, and your listening is either focused on how what that other person is saying is going to benefit you, or surprise, surprise, you're listening so you can be prepared to say the right thing when they're done talking.

This level one listening is completely natural and it's what you might expect, at least at the beginning, it's what you might expect from the Coachee . . . the employee being coached. But probably needless to say that as the Coaching Manager level one is definitely not the appropriate level for you to listen from.

If I were to ask you how this level of listening impacts the person who is speaking, you would likely note that the other person would feel unheard. they might feel as though their opinion doesn't count, or even worse that they were being treated disrespectfully.

Focused Listening is Level Two Listening. Focused listening is definitely a significant step up from level one in that when you are Focused in your Listening, then you're actively listening. You're concentrating on what the other person has to say, and you're engaged in a circular give and take feedback loop. At this level the coachee or employee in this context, feels heard. They feel acknowledged and that their opinions matter.

Universal Listening is level three... Universal listening is also referred to as 360 Degree Listening because when you're listening at this level you're doing all of what's found in level two, but you're also attuned to much more than what's being said. At this level of Universal Listening, you're listening actively while also relaxing enough, letting your guard down, so that you're intuitively picking up on emotion . . . you're in tune with and effortlessly aware of the Universal Context from which your employees words are coming.

When you're really listening at this Universal/360 level, which takes some practice and some dedicated time, what you'll notice is that you begin to understand what it is the other person is feeling and thinking.

An added benefit of listening Universally is that your follow-up questions just come more naturally. They come from a state of flow. Your questions come from a state of genuine curiosity and therefore just about any question you ask is going to be a good question.

As a new coach in your organization, in order to get to level two and three, you'll want to practice noticing your own internal dialogue. Become aware of any biases or assumptions you may have about either the individual or situation you're discussing. We all carry around self-protecting biases and it is essential to root them out because pre-judgments about the other person or about the situation make it nearly impossible to actually hear anything they are saying.

You'll also want to practice listening at levels two and three outside of work, if you're not already. This is one of the added benefits of practicing listening skills. When you start to actively listen to your significant others and friends, you tend to draw people in closer and solidify personal relationships.

Finally, only say you're listening when you truly are. If you don't have time to listen, let the employee know that, tell them, and then suggest other times when you will be able to place your full focus on a one-to-one conversation.

Rephrasing - Clarity

Rephrasing is an essential coaching skill, in that it demonstrates to your coachee that you're attempting to genuinely understand what it is that you think they are saying.

When you as a coaching manager use language like, "I think what I heard you say is . . ." or, "This is what I think I heard, is that correct...did I get it about right?", It shows your employee that you are at least attempting to truly listen, instead of railroading the conversation.

Rephrasing, when done well, is a communication tool that is known to be a terrific clarity generator, in that, after you rephrase or parrot back in your own words, what you think the other person is saying, it affords the coachee an opportunity to restate their communication in a different way, just in the case what you think you heard them say is not what they intended.

By verbally rephrasing, the employee is going to experience you as a leader who really listens to them.

For example if you wanted to gain clarity on a situation affecting job performance while simultaneously helping your employee express their feelings about that situation, you would listen and then Rephrase by saying something like "What I think I hear you saying is that the confrontation you had with your team leader Akash caused you to feel disrespected and a bit anxious. Did I get the core of what you are saying just about right?

Rephrasing takes a genuine curiosity on your part as the manager to truly understand what is beings said. It is all to easy to NOT use the rephrasing process and just go on the assumption that , "yeah, I get it", but as a leaders manager who goes the extra communication mile, you'll find that you leadership and authority is much more respected.

Acknowledge and Transition

The Hidden Meaning Behind Performance Improvements Plans (PIP's)

In addressing what this course is all about - its objectives, it's only fair that you also understand what this course is not about.

This certificate course does not focus on the things that your HR staff likely already has in place.  Employee coaching is not about "fixing" employees. It's not about the more standardized process (that you can find online if you have no HR staff), things like Performance Improvement Plans (PIP's).

In the real world of management anyway, let's face it . . . the only time Performance Improvement Plans come out of the file cabinet is when the employee is on the edge of being pushed out the door, fired.

Based on my personal experience, as well as my professional experience consulting for more than 100 companies over the past 25 years, Performance Improvement Plans are most often used as a way to document that they, the manager, "tried" to do all they could to help the employee, that they no longer want, succeed. Rarely are PIP's purely about actually improving performance. Yes, improved performance may be a side-effect, but the performance improvement is fear-based. "Ohh no, I need this job!"

It's not our position that there's no place for Performance Improvement Plans; for documenting, and tracking employee behavior, because there certainly is.

It's just that while in your coaching manager role, you're going to want to use more carrots and less sticks. 

Let's face it - anyone who's been called into their managers office to "go over a Performance Improvement Plan", knows that the internal response is fear.

When you remove your coaching manager hat and put on your disciplinarian manager hat, which you'll have to do at times, then corrective measures - i.e. PIP's and other Human Resource Generated - cover your tracks strategies, are completely appropriate.  I've personally worked closely with serious HR professionals for decades, and have absolute respect for the challenge inherent in their dual "leadership/protector of company and its people role".

That said, when you are in coaching manager mode, you'll want to rely more heavily on the trust/mutual respect you've built with your employees. You'll rely more heavily on your ability to listen to your employees desires. . . their goals within the company - what it is that they are aiming for. And, if they don't know what they are aiming for then your role is to help them figure that out.

As a coaching manager you'll want to focus on asking thought-provoking questions that help your employees expand their capacity to examine issues, solve challenges, rise to the top - to thrive as an integral part of the team they were hired into.

So while we do offer strategies that help you, as the 'manager of process and accountability', address challenges head-on, the foundation on this course is on becoming a truly people-centered, leader-manager-coach.

Communicative Science
Building Rapport

Developing a positive, trusting relationship with your coachee involves developing the skills associated with rapport.

When you're in rapport with another person there is a mutual understanding . . . an uninterrupted and easy line of communication. Rapport is a harmonious relationship where you're both on a similar wavelength.

You're in rapport when a level of comfort is experienced by both parties- when the conversation is circular and has a give and take - as opposed to communication flowing in one direction.

Research suggests that rapport is a naturally occurring "bonding" phenomenon that arises from our biologically engrained need for human support and contact.

While rapport is naturally occurring, the science of communication demonstrates that rapport can also be developed consciously.

Matching and Leading

By matching (getting in step with) another person's ideas, beliefs, body language, words, and voice tone (effectively stepping into their world), you signal to that person "all is safe". When things are safe they then feel free to let down their guard - on a subconscious level they sense that you're just like they are, so you must be okay. As age old adage says "people like people who are like them"

Consciously getting in step with (building rapport with) another person does NOT require you to give-up your own ideas, beliefs or language. Getting in step only requires you to adopt a bit of their uniqueness for a brief time.

Once you've established initial rapport and the other person feels comfortable, you can begin to gradually guide or lead them. This becomes possible because the wall of protection they once had in place is now removed, and they will be receptive to your ideas, opinions and influence.

How to Match:

Since the first level of matching is naturally occurring and takes place among friends - you can see this in friendships where you complete each other's sentences, or sit, walk, speak in a similar way - you'll want to make sure your matching is as close to natural as possible.

It can be helpful to begin every conversation by saying quietly to yourself "I just know I'm going to like this person if only I take the time to get to know them".

With this frame of mind, observe the other persons gestures, breathing, facial expressions, posture - and then subtly match (emulate) a bit of what you observe.

In addition the physical, also take notice of the words they use. Do they use visual, auditory, or kinesthetic/feeling language? *In the science of communication this is often referred to as their Representational Style.

Take notice of their language and get in step with their world by using similar language.

Kinesthetic

A person who represents information from a kinesthetic/feeling context might use language like; "That feels right to me", "It feels to me like..." "I'm having difficulty grasping the idea".

Visual

A person who represents information from an auditory context might use language like; "I can see what you mean", "I'm looking to accomplish this . . .", "I was blind-sided by that request".

Auditory

A person who represents information from an auditory context might use language like; "I hear what you're saying", "Sounds good to me", "I agree with what you said, it just clicks with me"