Employee Coaching Sheds Light on
Value of Independent Perspective

Individuals and companies are realizing the value of bringing in a coach to achieve higher levels of performance, satisfaction, and a sense of team one individual at a time.

Sometimes, the best place to start when building a strong team is with the individual. More and more, professionals and companies are reaching out to performance consultants or executive coaches to enhance or guide individuals to higher levels of performance. The result is a more confident individual with clear purpose, self-motivation and commitment.

There are numerous assessment tools a coach may use to help guide an individual. Using the Big Five personality assessment helped this client. At a large banking institution Shannon, an administrator, was having difficulty getting along with her co-workers. She was a good worker and got results and performed her tasks well; it was the people stuff that got in her way. Her assertiveness was viewed negatively and caused discord among co-workers. Coaching helped Shannon realize how her behavior affected others, and that she had many valuable talents and skills. With just a few hours of one-on-one coaching, she was able to transform her assertiveness into a positive attribute that was valuable at work. It has made a lifetime of difference for Shannon, her boss, and fellow employees. Several months after our last coaching session, I got a note from Shannon stating that her life had finally taken a direction she had always hoped for: her work was going very well, she felt happy and productive and the people issues were calm. She even had friends in the department now and she has a wonderful fiance'.

Conducting a 360-degree feedback on everyone in your team is another way to gain a true assessment of each individual's contributions. This assessment instrument paired with coaching can be very effective. Joe, a production manager for a construction materials company was given feedback on his 360-degree assessment. At first, Joe was uncomfortable and concerned with some of the feedback resulting from the assessment. I give him lots of credit here. He was willing to take an objective look at himself and how he was doing his job and he wanted to determine ways to improve. Our first goal was to identify the talents Joe did bring to the management team and the organization. Second, we looked at skills and areas of interest he had that were not currently being used and discussed ways he could start doing new and different roles. The third step in our plan was to work with the management team to allow him to change duties and try new roles. By redirecting his responsibilities, he became a more valuable member of the management team with a clearer understanding of the importance of his role and contribution to the overall team.

In both of the cases mentioned above, there were key aspects essential to their success. First, these individuals had a desire to make changes and to understand what was holding them back, causing conflict, or difficulty in their job. Second, the management, superiors and coworkers were willing to be flexible and open during this process and to see the impact on the rest of the organization. Finally, a respect for confidentiality between the coach and the individual was an essential component of the coaching relationship, allowing the individual to explore their competencies openly with an objective and caring supporter.

Effective coaching should be a short-term relationship which provides guidance, direction, and self-awareness and motivation of the individual to effect positive change. The key is ultimately in the hands of the individual to take charge and make the difference. The individual must take ownership of their strengths and weaknesses. Only then will they be able to excel and grow beyond what could have been imagined.