If you are frustrated with the overall results from your team members, or if you would like to increase the overall success and productivity of your team, think about where you focus your coaching efforts. Here are a few ideas and tips for resetting your focus to increase your success.
I have the good fortune of working with lots of leaders, and often have the chance to talk with, teach or consult with them on a variety of issues including their role as a coach. The vast majority of those I work with truly want to be more effective and make a difference for their people and their organizations.
When the subject of coaching comes up, invariably the conversation moves to how to coach underperformers. This makes sense for a variety of reasons, including:
So while it is logical that leaders would ask about these challenges, it masks the bigger question, which I am always thinking about, and sometimes ask: “Hey Coach, why are you so focused on your poor performers?”
Am I suggesting that we should accept poor performance and let people continue to work at levels below the needed expectations?
Definitely not.
Am I suggesting that your poor performers won’t ever cut it, so you should let them go and move on?
Certainly not without coaching and the chance to grow and develop.
What am I suggesting then?
Relook at how you are allocating time between coaching your poor performers and your top performers. Based on my experience and observation, most leaders are spending 70-90% of their coaching time, effort and focus on their poorest performers.
And that just doesn’t make sense.
At the end of the day, the best coaches spend the last 50% of their time coaching their top performers to even higher levels of success. Here is why:
In the last several years, the concepts of strengths-based coaching and working on our strengths have gained much popularity. While sometimes misinterpreted and incorrectly applied, I agree with this line of reasoning – and my personal experience bears witness to its success. Here is the idea in a nutshell:
We should understand both our strengths and weaknesses, and spend at least as much time working on our strengths as on our weaknesses.
Most agree with this idea in concept, and it applies to our current conversation in the following ways:
If you are frustrated with the overall results from your team members, or if you would like to increase the overall success and productivity of your team, think about where you focus your coaching efforts. If you are consistently spending most of your coaching time on poor performers, it is time for a reset.
Find ways to focus more time on high performers, even if it comes at the expense of some of the time spent with those currently performing below expectations. Do that and you will see overall increases in results even if it seems counter-intuitive.
Don’t wait – take this idea and start implementing it now.
Five Ways to Make Your December More Productive
When you hear or think about the word December, many things likely come to mind; but one word that likely doesn’t is productive. Here are five specific things you can do this month to get more accomplished in the rest of your life.Five Songs From My iPod That Will Make You a Better Leader
Music can move us, make us smile, bring back memories. Today, I plan to show you how music can help you be a better leader.What Leaders Can Learn From Charlie Brown
There are lessons in winning AND in losing. In this article, we'll learn leadership lessons from Charlie Brown's strengths and from his blind spots.