DON'T STEAL MY JOY!

"If a man love the labour of any trade apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

 

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." ~Aristotle 

Continuing the theme from my previous article, I had been thinking more about how we lead those members of our team who appear to have plateaued in their roles.

I am reminded of a time earlier in my career when I was meeting with one of my Accounting Specialists (we'll call her "Sherry"). Sensing that her abilities exceeded her present role, I had been encouraging Sherry for some time to learn new tasks, go back to school for additional education, and position herself for advancement in the Organization. I valued Sherry's contributions and loyalty to the Team. During this particular meeting, I was proposing assigning Sherry some new duties with greater responsibility, and I was suggesting that I delegate some of her current duties to another Accounting Specialist to alleviate some of Sherry's work load.

I'll never forget what came next. Sherry looked at me and said calmly but firmly, "Cris, don't steal my joy!"

A bit confused by her response, I clarified further, "Sherry, I am very pleased with your work on this Team, so I want to provide you with new opportunities." I continued sincerely but naively, "This is a good thing I'm suggesting."

"I would be happy to take on these additional tasks and the project, but please don't take away my current tasks," Sherry continued. "I enjoy doing them."

Aha! So that was the rub. In my zeal to develop my Team Member with advancement opportunities, I had neglected to fully understand how and why Sherry had come into the role I had found her in. Because I had viewed her outstanding work ethic, trustworthiness, and loyalty to me (as the Leader) and to her peers through my own lens, I had failed to inquire further into Sherry's own perception of her value to the Team and to the Organization.

Taken in that new light, but cognizant that Sherry would not be able to effectively shoulder all of the new duties with all of her existing duties, we negotiated to ensure that Sherry retained those prior duties she most valued and would remain the back-up on the additional duties that she agreed she would shed. As Leaders, we must shun the gut-level assumption that "resistance to change" or "secure comfort zones" are the only reasons member of our Team might wish to perform longstanding duties. As Sherry taught me that day, some employees simply--heavens!--ENJOY THEIR WORK.

Sherry had shown longtime loyalty to the Organization. She didn't want to set the world on fire, become the CEO, or lead a Division. But, like many members of the Teams we lead daily, Sherry wanted to contribute to the Team's success, further the objectives of the Organization, and have fun doing it. Really not so bad when you view the win-win outcome against the philosophical backdrop of the likes of Aristotle and Robert Louis Stevenson.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Are YOU fully informed about the individual reasons why your Team Members gravitate to and excel at the work that they perform? If not, when will YOU schedule that conversation?

THE UNCOACHABLE TEAM MEMBER

"It's hard to help people who don't think they have a problem. It's impossible to fix people who think someone else is the problem." -Marshall Goldsmith

"You can't get better at anything unless you're willing to look carefully at what you've done wrong. Your mistakes and miscues form the foundation of learning and developing as an athlete and a person." -Dr. Alan Goldberg


The title topic is brought up in conversations, small group discussions and large group Q&A sessions in various formats:

• "Can every employee be coached to improve?" (neutral to hopeful)
• "You think you can coach everyone to improve, don't you?" (challenging)
• "Yeah, I tried that coaching thing once and it didn't work!" (dismissive)

I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble, but coaching ISN'T effective for every person or organization in every situation. While the literature on the topic of coaching is rife with conditions favorable and unfavorable toward coaching, the bottom line is that successful coaching--personal, career and business--requires a willing client and a coachable outcome. Early in my career I naively and selfishly thought that I could "fix" anyone with enough time, energy and effort. Experiencing failure is sometimes the best teacher, and I gradually became aware that the CLIENT (organization, team, employee, athlete, etc.)--NOT the coach--determines the outcome of success or failure in the coaching relationship.

My own mistakes and miscues continue to strengthen me, and lend greater confidence and credibility to my practice. More importantly, like the athlete who locates the sweet spot from which to shoot 3-pointers and then continues to shoot hundreds of them per day during practice, a coach (manager, business owner, parent, pastor) has the opportunity to deepen his/her mastery upon locating his/her own "sweet spot" with each individual he/she encounters.

Coaching involves the formation and development of a trusted relationship that focuses entirely upon the client identifying, working steadily toward, and successfully achieving his/her outcome(s). Implicit in that framework are a coach's steady, assertive and nonjudgmental professionalism toward the client. Equally implicit are the client's commitment, control, focused effort, and accountability with regard to the intended outcome(s). Integrity, confidentiality and mutual respect undergird the relationship between the coach and client.

Returning to the title, we must remain alert to cues that an individual may NOT be the appropriate focus of extended coaching: the uncoachable team member. Let me be very clear that just because you or I may not be able to coach a particular individual does NOT imply that the individual himself/herself is uncoachable. Let's be honest...I am not the appropriate coach for every individual or organization. I trust that you could conclude the same about yourself. Sometimes our professional approach, personality, faith, or other factors simply do not mesh well with our prospective client (individual or organization). Coaching is a very interpersonal and personal undertaking, and I would always want the best for the client--even if that means a coach other than me is chosen.

Uncoachable clients are those clients who demonstrate an unwillingness or inability to engage in the focused, transparent, often difficult work to identify, work steadily toward, and successfully achieve an outcome(s). As in matters of faith and of the heart, personal vulnerability can be scary and introspection and identification of our own flaws can be painful. Though I myself must engage regularly in such self-assessment to admit and correct my own flaws, I will readily admit that years ago such activities frightened even me. I can assure you, as I have assured all of my clients, that such activities become easier to the point where one begins to enjoy the challenge of identifying and rectifying the deeper flaws.

Take comfort in the fact that the uncoachable client is not the norm, since we generally do not retain uncoachable individuals on our teams. Such individuals often remove themselves from a winning team when they sense that personal growth will be necessary for continued team and organizational growth. Leaders and winners seek coaching to incrementally improve themselves and their organizations to be that 1% better that wins hearts, minds and competitions in the marketplace. No one remembers who completed the race .1 second behind the winner. Optimistically assume that each individual IS COACHABLE until he/she stubbornly and emphatically demonstrates his/her aversion to improvement, growth and team success.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Do I have a team member who has demonstrated that he/she wishes to remain uncoachable? If so, am I prepared to encourage that individual to choose another path outside my team?