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Coaching the Right People In the past few years Executive and Personal Coaches (aka Life Coaches) have found their way into mainstream business. While this, in my estimation, is a great coup for the world of business ~ I still think that we are missing the boat in terms of using coaching in its strongest capacity.
Most formal coaching programs are based on a sport’s model – to a point. Then for some unknown reason, the corporate world deviates from the model. This sport’s model has a “Coach” being a source of motivation, inspiration, learning, discipline, and controlling the daily practice sessions of the players. This is all in the hope that the constant drilling will embed the skills and knowledge necessary for use during a high-pressure game situation, such that players will operate effectively from reflex.
Why organizations would wish to deviate from this proven successful model is beyond me. For some reason, most executives do not believe this formula for peak performance is either completely “suited to” or “good enough” for the corporate world. My question is “Why not?”
The corporate equivalent to the “Coach” in most cases is the Team Leader, the Sales Manager, or Project Leader. These people are generally responsible for driving a team, paying attention to budgets, hitting targets, and managing the day-to-day operations of their team(s). So, really, how is this so dramatically different from the sport’s coach?
On a recent consulting job – I spoke to an executive who told me: “I can understand having coaches for my upper executive staff, but I can’t understand why we should have coaches, especially highly paid ones, for our front line people.” Now, take this concept and apply it back to the sport’s world. Does a sporting team hire a coach for the team’s manager or the owner instead of the players? No, of course not. The coach applies his/her talents directly to those players who are on the field every day making the difference – winning or losing the game.
This is where I believe the corporate world needs to make a shift in organizational philosophy. Put the training, coaching, monetary and time investment in staff who are on the field ~ the front line individuals who are dealing with the customers on a daily basis.
I recently heard a wonderful definition of the term “Excellent Customer Service” – it simply stated that this is the process and habit of doing average (routine) things exceptionally well. The definition speaks to the one real competitive arena organizations have available to them ~ DEALING WITH THE CUSTOMER ~ be it in a service, sales, informational or help-desk format. Because this definition includes the concept of creating habits, it is exceptionally well suited to the principles of coaching. Isn’t this truly what organizations want to have happen? What kind of a competitive advantage would it be to have an entire corporate culture focused on REAL customer service?
In my 15 years of consulting experience I have seen precious few organizations that really do have this “CAN DO” culture right down to the grass roots. Most preach it and pay it lip service in their vision and mission statements ~ though DOING it is altogether another story. The only way to affect such a radical chance in corporate culture is to bring in staff with a different job description ~ coaching.
In the absence of a niche market and a monopoly-like grasp, it is in creating the day-to-day customer transactions in such a way that customers develop a true loyalty to the organization that will make the difference. The best and fastest way to achieve this change is through a team of coaches working with the front-line staff and going over all of the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of communicating with customers, suppliers and internal co-workers.
There is another factor that will either make or break an effective coaching program, it is the power and delegation to make a decision on the spot. Coaching can fine-tune and polish, develop and create amazing behavior in staff. It can also refine an individual’s ability to make good and sound decisions. Where coaching comes undone is in an environment that is so top-down controlled, leaving the front-line individual with no power to make even the smallest decision without seeking approval.
Think about a team player in a game of “footy” – he has the ball and can either take the kick for goal himself, pass to another player, or run. There is no executive person demanding that he seek approval for his choice of action. He makes a split-second decision, then acts. After the game, the coach pulls all the players together and goes over all of the decisions of the day. Some will have been good decisions, and some bad. Eventually, all the players will build their decision-making skills in the direction the coach believes is the right one.
I am not saying Executives and top corporate personnel should not be coached. In fact, quite the opposite – I believe everyone should be coached toward peak performance. I am saying that if there are decisions to be made about coaching one group of people over others – then consider where and how the game is won or lost. . .every time a front-line staff member in your organization speaks to a customer for any reason. Will the ball be carried effectively – resulting in a long term winning side ~ or dropped?
--Fran Berry
Fran Berry is a director and co-founder of Alive & Kicking Solutions and has over 20 years experience in performance consulting and designing training programs. Areas of expertise include communication, customer service, sales, leadership, emotional intelligence and managing employee performance. For more information click here
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