The Spoon

We live in a world of dramatic, tumultuous, and unpredictable change—change that is wiping out time-honored businesses and long-standing institutions and ushering in unprecedented opportunities for creative individuals and entrepreneurial organizations. So pervasive is change today that it has redefined our first task: The job is no longer figuring out how to win at the game of work and life; the job is figuring out the new rules of the game.

The 7th installment of Coaching Staff from the Brilliant Leadership Blog. What else do you want to learn about? Tell me! ~Kristin

Coaching Staff -- Part VII
The Brilliant Leadership Blog

Having looked previously in this series at the application of the coaching cycle and how a manager/leader can find time to coach, this final installment is aimed at the relationship between coaching and other learning solutions, in particular, training courses.

There are a variety of learning solutions or tools available for helping staff to learn. The most common is to send staff on a relevant training course but there is also the option of using tools such as eLearning, procedural documentation, technical documentation, team briefings, formal education programs, educational books and online articles, forums and blogs. Critically, all of these tools are predominantly knowledge based and they do not, in the main, develop skills, behaviours or attitudes – all of which are required for a staff member to become fully capable in the relevant area.

For example, is it possible to send a staff member on a relevant training course and as a result, for them to become completely competent in that area without any additional intervention?

The answer is – possibly. But only if they are able to practice what they have learned and develop in that specific task or skill area through self evaluation. From a leadership perspective, it will be completely hit and miss as to whether the individual is able to apply what they have learned and become fully competent.

The chances of a staff member becoming fully competent are significantly enhanced if the leader is able to make regular coaching interventions alongside the alternative learning tool. By all means use training, eLearning or any of the other learning and development tools to kick start or support the learning process but they should always be used in conjunction with one-to-one coaching – not instead of it.

One of the common traps managers fall into is to identify a training need (often as a result of the appraisal process) and to arrange for the staff member to attend a relevant training course and then to simply tick the box – job done! Whereas a smart leader will possibly utilise a training course to kick start the process but they will then work with the staff member upon their return to work to develop opportunities for practice, supported by regular feedback interventions.

In short, training courses, eLearning modules, procedural or technical documentation predominantly fulfil the first stage of the coaching cycle – instruction. They simple do not and cannot replace the following four stages of the coaching cycle – demonstration, practice, observation and feedback. These stages can only be achieved by actively coaching staff on the job.

I hope this series on coaching staff has been useful. Becoming an effective coach is a pre-requisite of becoming an effective manager of people – a workplace leader. If you or your company would like any guidance in developing a coaching culture and improving the leadership capability in this area, please contact me via the ELC website to discuss how we can help you move forward.


Simon Cooper is chief executive of the Experiential Learning Centre, author of the exciting new book, Brilliant Leader and architect of the Brilliant Leadership workshops.

There are fewer things more challenging than being a supervisor today. Each day becomes more difficult because of new challenges like ever-changing technology, an increasingly diverse work force and the push to accomplish more with fewer resources.

Nowadays, there are tons of seminars, workshops and books out there to teach new supervisors and managers skills they need. It's hard to sort through them all and determine which one will give you the most bang for your buck. Many times, it takes trial and error until you find something that works for you. Often, you can rely on the expertise and recommendations of your peers.

National Seminars Training is well-respected and receives rave reviews from past participants. If you'd like to learn what it takes to be a manager, or maybe you've been a manager longer than you can remember but want to refresh yourself, I encourage you to sign up for a seminar like "Management and Leadership Skills for First-Time Supervisors and Manager" from National Seminars Training. They have decent locations to choose from and a variety of seminars to offer. You can register here.

OK, I'm going to show a little of my nerdiness here, but do you remember 2 years ago when the International Astronomical Union striped Pluto of its "planet" status? Most of you probably heard about it, many of you probably didn't really care... but I urge you to consider this:

If change can happen to something as certain as a PLANET, it can certainly happen to us. And it does. Everyday.

Pluto's reclassification changed the rules of the game, and organizational change can be like that too. There you were confident and comfortable with your boss, and now you must readjust and reorient to a new one with a different style, focus, and rules. Like it. Don't like it. Regardless, get on board!

"Change is good. Everybody is doing it... Get on board!" -- Will Anderson, Channel Marketing Manager, Double-Take Software

Title: Leading Talent in Challenging Times

Overview: It's imperative to know how to energize talent to give their best at a time when their confidence and commitment is wavering. With shrinking budgets and economic constraints, organizations who survive to outlive the economic downturn will be those who focus, invest and commit to developing their talent. As a leader of today's and tomorrow's talent, are you equipped with the skills to meet the challenges in this new economy? Can you help your organization turn the corner and win in the future? This webcast will provide strategies for managing and developing leaders who can help their companies stay in the game. Any leader trying to meet the challenges of these uncertain economic times won't want to miss these timely insights.

Don't miss these webcast take always:

Understand the types of challenges that will require different leadership

Engage your talent to passionately pursue the organization's goals

Identify obstacles, advantages and the change needed in this new economy

Title: Leading Effectively: What is Your Global Management Style?

Overview: Remote teams, telecommuting, and office "hoteling" have become familiar terms over the past decade or so. Today, almost a quarter of the U.S. workforce "telecommutes" at least some of the time. More and more, teams or entire workforces can be located in different parts of the country or the world and still collaborate effectively. This learning track explores the opportunities and challenges of leading virtual employees. We examine new ideas and trends, and delve into what works in remote workforce management.

When: Wed, Feb 25 2009 / 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET

Presented by: Eileen Rogers, Managing Director, Leadership Sigma

Register: http://www.hci.org/hci/tracks_virtual_global_workforce.guid

Talent will only take you so far -- the higher you go the greater your need for development. So why is it that supervisors are the first to tell their subordinates to attend a training class, but the last to sign up for one themselves?

To be effective we need continuous learning and development. The good news is that we have a wide range of opportunities to develop and increase our leadership capability. We learn in many ways:

• We read books and digest the information. Real leaders take it a step further -- they apply the material to their daily lives.

• We learn by stepping out of Management Land. We step outside of our comfort zones to more positively impact our lives and the lives of others. We step outside of Management Land to attend a training class with our peers and subordinates.

• We learn from others. Leaders learn from others. We learn from discussions and feedback we receive from relationships with other leaders.

• We learn from experience. Leaders learn by taking time to reflect and learn from life experiences. Our experience shapes us and if we learn from our life experience, we grow and develop.

Keep an eye on the "Upcoming Training Opportunities" widget in the right column for in-house and online courses for improving your business skills.

Don't let a fear of confrontation negatively affect your career.

Join LeadStar for a Tough Talks teleseminar Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 1pm EST to learn how to overcome communication challenges with confidence, consistency and clarity.

During the 60 minute call and 30 minute Q&A session you will:

• Realize why direct communication is crucial to your success
• Increase awareness of your communication style
• Learn best practices to effectively handle the most common difficult workplace communication
• Discover how to manage your emotions to ensure productive conversations

What most of us don't realize when we get dressed for work every morning is that the office is a unique learning environment. There are always people around to learn from, experiences to gain insight and understanding from, and opportunity to learn from mistakes.

Another thing you may not think about is how much you can learn by watching public figures... sort of like long-distance mentoring. For example, look at Barack Obama (new US President) and Carol Bartz (new CEO of Yahoo):

• both are entering their respective positions at a time of crisis;
• both have multiple and diverse constituencies;
• both are the focus of extremely high, often conflicting, sometimes impossible expectations; and
• both are subject to substantial outside influences, circumstances and pressure.

Here are some upcoming management and leadership development opportunities.

Thursday, 11/20 @ 12:00 (noon) EST
Taking the Fear Out of Feedback -- Thought Leadership, The Ken Blanchard Companies
As we enter Performance Appraisal time, now is a prime opportunity to provide solid feedback to your employees.

Tuesday, 12/2 @ 2:00 pm EST
How Effective Leaders Coach with Compassion (vs. Coach for Compliance) -- Richard Boyatzis / Human Capital Institute / MHS

Tuesday, 12/2 @ 11:00 am EST
BOOM! Play to Your Genius / Get it Done -- Dr. Kevin Freiberg and Dr. Jackie Freiberg / Better Management

Play to Your Genius - Your work is your signature—make it a masterpiece. To know that your work counts is to know that you count. If you engage in work that makes you come alive, the world will beat a path to your door. Defy mediocrity and make yourself indispensable by playing to your genius and engaging in work that matters.

Get It Done - No one is paying you today for what you did yesterday. When you stop bringing something of value to the game, the game is over! Become a junction box for knowledge, find a way to get smarter, better, faster. Speak up, tell it like it is, think for yourself. People who get it done and make a difference, choose results over rhetoric and red tape.