Top 5 Coaching Gaps Observed Watching Managers In The Field

At Shift Manager Academy, Hector Hernandez and I focus on observing and analyzing manager coaching in the field. As you can imagine, the insights gleaned from this kind of on/job observation are incredibly valuable, and we love sharing what with our networks. Last week I posted the five most notable/common coaching gaps that we've observed, and I've condensed them all here.

#??1??: Set weak commitments limiting accountability

Failure to set commitments that help ensure follow-through is one of the most common gaps we observed. The goal of coaching is to prompt action, so limiting accountability significantly decreases the effectiveness of the coaching, making this an especially important skill for managers to master.We observed managers struggling to set commitments for a bevy of reasons including: running out of time before commitments were cemented, failing to prioritize a small number of high-impact next steps that require accountability, and a reluctance to set tight commitments because they didn't want to come across as a micro-manager. There were also a large subset of managers who established commitments that lacked enough specificity to effectively hold the coachee accountable.The good news is that we observed a group of managers who set commitments very effectively in their coaching conversations. These managers were able to be successful by utilizing some of the best practices detailed below:1- Dedicated a specific amount of time at the end of the coaching discussion for commitments (called out in the agenda with a hard stop)2- Prioritized a few high-impact actions in which to focus commitments (called out in yesterday's post)3- Set an upfront contract with the coachee that detailed commitments would be an important component of the coaching relationship4- Utilized SMART commitment framework to ensure accountability (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound)

#??2?? : Lack of prioritization

Effective coaching empowers the coachee to identify actions that make her/him more successful and productive, and it's critical to ensure that the coachee is focused on the highest value activities. The majority of managers we observed don't spend enough time on prioritization. Instead, managers tend to go into brainstorm mode guiding the coachee to identify all of the actions they could take, versus aligning on a small number of actions that would have the biggest impact.Managers who effectively coach to prioritization guide the coachee to brainstorm an exhaustive list of potential actions, and then follow that up with a series of questions that help the coachee to focus on the most important items.

#??3??: Not enough focus upfront

While there are some that find that rigorous setup of a coaching discussion can feel a bit check-the-boxy (if that's not a recognized phrase it should be), there are critical things that good coaches do with the coachee upfront in order to establish the right mindset, build trust, and align on focus. Our observations have revealed that most managers are missing the critical step of upfront alignment, leading to scattered coaching discussions that lack a clear destination. On the bright side, we observed some managers that setup coaching discussions very effectively, including clear alignment on the focus and success criteria of the discussion. What's best is that these managers engaged in discussions with the coachee about where to best focus the conversation, versus directing them to a specific area.

#??4?? : Leading the witness

It feels good to solve problems, and many of the managers we observe have a tendency to jump into solution mode too quickly. While this might be helpful in the short term, being overly directive doesn't allow the coachee space to think critically and get to the solution themselves, thus preventing them from building successful habits and skills (which is the primary goal of coaching).On the bright side, we have observed several managers who avoid leading the witness. These managers start by asking broad, open-ended questions that force the coachee to think, then get narrower with probing questions empowering the coachee to find their own solutions.

#??5?? - Lack of coaching continuity:

Our observations have exposed that most managers lack a defined process for tracking coaching activity with their direct reports, making it difficult to drive accountability and ensure continuity.Formalized tracking allows managers and employees to have a shared space to monitor progress, trends, commitments and follow-through, but the vast majority of the managers observed don't put this into practice.The good news is that there are lots of tools out there that make tracking easier. Many companies have invested in software (e.g. Lattice) that make it seamless, but we've seen managers' effectively tracking coaching in a number of other ways (spreadsheets, calendar invites, slack, email, etc.).