MANAGER AS COACH TOOLKIT Winter 2013

Getting Ready to Coach

Planning the Coaching Discussion

Conducting the Coaching Session Get to the point, and don’t be abstract in your discussions. Most people hear what they want to hear. If you are not straightforward in your discussion of performance, your employee will probably leave the session without clarity around what is required.  Always conduct the coaching session privately. Criticizing in front of others is one of the worst things a manager can do. Public criticism is embarrassing and discouraging. It also obscures your message, and causes observers to lower their opinion of you. If you make a habit of coaching privately, your staff will appreciate your sensitivity to their feelings, and accept you as a manager more quickly.  Never get emotional. Emotions can obscure your message, and lead to confrontations. Even if the person becomes emotional or confrontational, stick to the issues and be objective.  Allow the employee an opportunity to respond to your concerns. Ask for his/her point of view on the causes. You may discover legitimate obstacles preventing them from success. If this turns out to be the case, you will look much better if you are objective and not emotional.  Develop a plan to correct issues with your employee. If you allow your employee to take the major role in developing the plan, s/he will probably do a better job adhering to it. Make sure the plan has goals for improvement, with a deadline for achieving each goal. Come to an agreement with the employee on follow-up to the coaching session.  Close the coaching session on a positive note. Express your confidence that the employee will overcome the issue and can accomplish the goal/ project.  Document the key points of your discussion after the coaching session. It is not necessary to give a copy to the employee but it will help in evaluating subsequent performance.

Additional Techniques: What if … The individual needs examples … Provide specifics, when possible, or if not, talk about when the behavior tends to happen Pledge to provide feedback if future examples occur The individual gets defensive … Tone down your message, if merited, Discuss the unproductiveness of being defensive Suggest an alternate way to respond to the feedback The individual challenges you … Rephrase the feedback and provide examples, if possible If the individual still disagrees, ask: “Are there are any instances when this might be true?” Discuss those instances If still no agreement, don’t argue, just agree to disagree Say you’ll follow up if the issue occurs again The individual agrees … Ask why he/she thinks this happens Discuss the negative impacts and ask for their suggestions to improve Talk about alternatives and what the positive impact might be Ensure the conversation is two way.

Employee Self-Assessment Instructions Please complete and return this self assessment to your supervisor by ______________. Your thorough and timely participation in the appraisal process will help facilitate a fair and comprehensive review of your progress and accomplishments since the last performance review. Supervisors: Attach completed self assessments to the employee’s performance appraisal and return to HR. List your most significant accomplishments or contributions since last year. How do these achievements align with the goals/objectives outlined in your last performance review?       In what aspects of your job do you feel you need more experience and training? List steps you propose to take and resources that might be needed to accomplish them. Please describe capabilities or skills that are not currently fully utilized. Please identify any areas where you think improvement is needed.   Performance Review Period: (MM/DD/YYYY) f r o m         to       Employee Name: D a t e : Job Title: D e p a rt m e n t: Supervisor’s Name:   Online at HRM Website: http://www.northeastern.edu/hrm/docs/resources/performance-management/self-assessment-form.doc

Manager’s Self-Review Managerial Competency Am I effective in this competency? 1–5 (1= Not Effective 5 = Highly Effective) Action plan for Improving What will I do? What resource or assistance will I need? When will I do this? I pay attention to and address others’ capabilities and development needs; I help identify and close gaps I effectively give and receive feedback for growth I seek feedback about my performance as a manager; I learn from experience and mistakes I model desired behavior for peers and subordinates I delegate for the development of others; I encourage others to make decisions, take responsibilities, and learn from it; “I get out of the way” Online at HRM Website: http://www.northeastern.edu/hrm/pdfs/resources/for-managers/SelfReviewWorksheet.doc