In an earlier article we discussed how performance challenges can fall into skill-related issues or are a matter of will. Challenges in these two areas require different tactics to address. Today we are going to focus on the more direct, although not necessarily easier, area to correct – coaching for a skill deficiency.
- The Ground Rules – Leader Prep Work
- Setting the Stage for a Remediation Coaching
- Coaching on the Skill – Imparting the Knowledge and Following Up
- Repeat Coaching – What to Do When You have to Coach the Same Thing Again… and Again…
- Of course, not every coaching is successful
Overview
Skill issues tend to relate to specific knowledge or a competency that you want the employee to have. It is often related to tasks or functions related to the job at hand. “How do you … ” Note that skills can be hard skills (tasks, software, etc.) or they can be soft skills (empathy, organization, etc.).
When addressing items related to skill, we generally think along the lines of “how” as in “how is this done?” Coaching for skill deficiencies most frequently (although not exclusively) occurs with employees who are newer to their role, or in a tactical position where there are alterations to tools, systems, processes, or procedures on a semi-regular basis. This does not prevent a senior employee, member of leadership, or a long-tenured person from requiring a coaching session for skill. Indeed, sometimes these employees get stuck in old or bad habits, and skill coaching is required to help them follow the organizational or leader expectations.
The Ground Rules – Leader Prep Work
To have effective outcomes from skill coaching, particularly when it comes to fixing an existing problem, there are a ground rules to bear in mind.
Focus on a limited number of skill introductions or corrections at once.
If you are discussing more than one skill, try to address related skills together. For example, you could link introducing a new system and how to perform a common piece of work in the system. Or you may link time management and organization skills. The more interrelated these skills are, the more “sticky” your coaching or training is likely to be. People are typically not adapted to give dedicated focus in many places at once. Spreading your coaching to cover too many topics means that the learning and application of each individual item gets less attention.
Prepare in advance and be specific on what needs to be improved.
Before you ever sit down to coach, be certain that you are specific on the details. When delivering a coaching to correct a skill deficiency, simply saying “you’re not doing it right” is a recipe for disaster. You are going to need to articulate what is wrong, why you feel it’s important, how you want them to improve, and how much improvement you expect to see. For a new skill teaching, the focus is going to be on why the thing you are covering is important and the how (“how do you…”).
Be clear and be prepared to check for understanding.
As a coach, you must be mindful to be clear in conveying your expectations, any descriptions or instructions, and check for understanding as you go. Failure to be thorough in training may result in the employee not meeting expectations while assuming they are doing what was requested of them.
Document, document, document!
Keep records as you go. This helps provide proof of success, identifies areas for further refinement, or can help provide evidence if remediation or escalation is required.
If you are conducting a remediation coaching (correcting a skill or behavior rather than teaching something new), there are some added steps and points you should follow. If your focus is on a new skill, you can generally skip over these steps as they won’t be applicable.
Setting the Stage for a Remediation Coaching
When you coach for skill remediation, make sure that you know the starting point for improvement. Your prep work is going to be more important for a corrective discussion than it would be for a new skill introduction. This becomes even more critical if it’s a repeat coaching, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
In addition to the prep work we noted above, take note of the following items:
Observe the current behavior / skill level.
A key part of your advance preparation for remediation coaching is observation. Observe the employee and make note of the current behavior or skill level. This will serve as your baseline, and when you later meet with your employee, this provides an illustration of what they are currently doing (or not doing) so you are aligned on what needs to be addressed.
- It is a good practice to gather examples over a period of time if you can. This can help identify a true skill issue vs. a “will” issue where they know, and have demonstrated, how to do it correctly but are choosing not to. It can also determine if someone merely made a mistake. We are all human and mistakes happen! A one-time mistake may warrant a quick mention in a standard 1on1, but it rarely requires a full dedicated skill coaching. And conducting a full remediation coaching on something the employee already knows and is doing regularly will likely lead to disgruntlement.
- Be sure to include any observations in your documentation. Although we like to believe that good coaching can correct nearly all behavior, there are instances where you will need to escalate to a punitive structure. Having this record clarifies behaviors from before and after the coaching. This documentation can also provide evidence of ongoing issues as opposed to hearsay or opinion.
Review your observations together.
Give your team member a chance to discuss with you what they are doing (or not doing) and any possible “whys” behind their actions. There may be instances where there are valid reasons for not following instructions. Perhaps a technical / system limitation is present. Or maybe they have received contradictory instruction from another person. As a leader, your role is to help knock down barriers to success. If there is a valid impediment, this is a good time to solicit additional feedback and review solutions.
Clarify the improvement needed and set expectations.
Describe how behavior or skill does not meet with expectations and the impact of not doing what was requested (whether a hard skill or a soft skill). Use your prep work from earlier. Be specific in what needs to be corrected and why it is important. We will get into how you go about delivering the how in the next section.
Coaching on the Skill – Imparting the Knowledge and Following Up
Demonstrate, teach, or discuss how to perform the skill or behavior.
There are some cases where a coaching is simple enough that it doesn’t require in-depth training or a demonstration. However, performing a demonstration (such as a role play or a live demonstration) is more likely to cement the understanding of what is being requested from the employee.
- Not every teaching method works in every scenario. Some things can be covered with a simple discussion (i.e. setting expectations during a remediation coaching). Other items may require supplemental written instruction. Some may benefit from live demonstrations, and others may require more in-depth training. Don’t rely on a one-size-fits-all approach! Evaluate and customize your delivery to fit what is needed by the situation.
Be or find a role model to emulate.
It’s important to have positive role models to follow! Whenever possible, walk the talk yourself. Show that you follow the same rules and expectations. If the coaching is in an area where you are not the resident expert (as you progress in leadership, you may have areas where you need Subject Matter Experts to support you), enlist the help of someone to act as a model for success. These people can assist with demonstrations and guiding your employee as they learn so they feel supported and increase the likelihood of success. (This can help your resident expert feel valued as well!)
Check for understanding & agreement.
Always validate that your employee understands what is being requested from them. Nothing is more disheartening than when someone feels they are doing exactly as they were asked, only to be punished for it later. If there is a lack of understanding, now is the time to investigate why. Is a different teaching approach needed? Is there an obstacle to implementation that the employee foresees?
There are a few ways to confirm understanding. As with the teaching mechanisms, not every approach works in every scenario or with every employee. A few options you can try:
- A “teach back” – have the employee teach you as if you were a new person to the team.
- Role play – pretend you are the customer (or other department, etc.) and conduct role play exercises so you can give additional feedback.
- Sample demonstration – particularly useful when associated with a tool or system. Have the employee show proper usage for you.
Confirm with your team member that they will apply the skill.
This is a good time to check for any concerns from the employee. Ensure they haven’t already identified barriers to application of skill.
- Document the confirmation! As we noted earlier, this documentation is particularly important if a need arises to conduct remedial or escalated coaching sessions.
- If this is a repeat coaching (more on that soon), it is a good practice to obtain written confirmation from your employee that they will apply the skill. This can prove useful if the coaching must escalate to a punitive measure including removal from the position.
Monitor & watch for behavior or skill usage in real-life scenarios.
Just as with setting the baseline, it is recommended to observe the application of the skill over a period of time. Document successes as well as failures. Both are needed to help create a complete overview and a robust documentation trail.
Commend for successful application or provide additional guidance if needed.
It’s really important to remember to applaud the successes! Acknowledge when things are being done well! If there are still challenges, you may need to look into a repeat coaching. Be sure to hold your team member accountable to their commitments.
Repeat Coaching – What to Do When You have to Coach the Same Thing Again… and Again…
Be aware that there may be some situations where repeat coaching is needed. If an employee continues to struggle despite multiple attempts at coaching, the coach or leader must assess if there is also another issue affecting the outcome. Most commonly, there are a few themes that lead to repeated issues with skill:
A deficiency in training / coaching, particularly for a complex topic that requires additional focus.
For the first, there are a few questions one can ask to help zero in on a training deficiency. Is the training always delivered by the same person? Is the same coaching / training delivered to other team members? If so, are they seeing success where your employee is not? If other team members are struggling as well, try delivering the coaching to another person and check for clarity and ease of understanding. It may be helpful to have someone else deliver the same or similar coaching / training and observe for variance in delivery. There may be a word choice, a tone of voice, a role play activity, or some other bit that helps with material absorption. Not everyone learns (or teaches) in precisely the same manner, so check for opportunities to try a different method.
A barrier preventing implementation.
Identification of barriers will often come about via feedback from the employee when you are checking for understanding or discussing the failure to meet expectations with them. In these instances, it is often worthwhile to review the noted barrier for validity. Can the obstacle be validated or is it a perception? Check with other team members to determine if they encounter the same barrier (for example, tool doesn’t allow a particular entry). Is there an accommodation that needs to be considered?
A lack of desire to perform the skill (see will vs. skill).
A lack of desire may be more difficult to spot. In cases where someone continues not to apply the skill despite repeated coaching, leaders must ask if the employee is choosing not to learn or apply the skill. Does the employee follow the instruction some of the time but not at other times? Does the employee disagree with the direction being given? This is where a leader needs to switch to addressing a “will” issue instead of one of skill.
An employee who is simply a poor fit for the position.
Sometimes, a person is just not a good fit for the position. Be aware, though, that someone who is a poor fit for a particular role may not necessarily be a poor fit for the organization as a whole! In these instances, care must be taken not to toss aside an otherwise valuable employee. This is not to say that every person can fit within an organization, but if the issue is truly one of skill, then consideration should be made if that person would fit (and there is reasonable availability for them) in another role. While we advocate trying to find better fits for valuable employees, be aware that this comes with possible challenges as well. Some people become disgruntled if removed from a role (particularly if this is viewed as a demotion). Also stay on the lookout for someone with a “will” issue masquerading as a “skill” issue. It does not do to simply transfer a challenging employee to another place.
Of course, not every coaching is successful
Of course, sometimes, despite your best efforts, the person is unwilling or unable to perform the skill. In these cases, the leader may be left with little recourse but to follow the path leading to the removal of the person from the position. As we noted earlier, having detailed documentation showing the time, effort, agreement/understanding, and lack of outcomes will make this process a bit more conclusive – even if the process itself is in no means “easy.”
The steps we’ve outlined for addressing issues relating to skill are direct and straightforward. This does not mean that they are always easy to apply. Some skills are quite easy to demonstrate (i.e., how to use a new system). Others require time, patience, and practice (for example, time management or interpersonal skills). And sometimes, we find that our coaching efforts do not drive the desired results, and we must look at alternative steps.
