Five Principles for Performance Coaching
Five Principles for Performance Coaching
Whether you call it performance management or coaching, as a manager, it can be challenging to navigate.
When you’re wrestling with a particularly challenging performance management issue, there are some key principles to remember regardless of the circumstance…
🪟 Be transparent - be open and direct as much as possible without compromising things that you are supposed to hold in confidence.
🎯 Be focused - underperformance can happen for any number of reasons so the focus isn’t on blame or judgement. It’s on getting the individual back to high-performing as fast as possible. Communicating energy and drive around that goal is key.
🗣️ Be engaged - check in often and have good ways to assess progress every week if not every day. Real change is possible in a very short period of time if everyone is determined to make it happen. Never let things drift.
❤️ Be human - work out the pace the other person needs for processing. Maybe they need a document in advance. Maybe they need 24 hours to think it over.
💪 Be resolute - know when and where to draw the line. The temptation is to try to look after (and grow) everyone at any cost. Not only is that not a good use of time and energy but it deprives everyone else who needs your support of that support.
If you’re a people manager who could benefit from some support, please don’t hesitate to reach out. If you found this helpful, please share it with a colleague who might appreciate the reminder.