Why it’s important to believe in the potential of your coachee or mentee – the Pygmalion effect

The environment, in which line managers coach direct reports, is riddled with potential conflicts. For example:

• Between the need for short term results and long-term development of individual and team capability
• Between the need for the manager to focus on the team and to focus on managing upwards and horizontally
• Between what’s best for the team as a whole and what’s best for individuals within it
• Between priorities from above and priorities from below
• Between spending time helping poor performers achieve an acceptable level of skill and output; and enabling high performers to deliver even more.

Most of these can be managed by creating time for open and honest dialogue with the team, by creating as much psychological safety as possible, and by encouraging supportive behaviours – including co-coaching – between team members. But there are also some common problems to look out for and deal with at an early stage, before they become too time consuming. Among these are:

• “Don’t do as I do, do as I say”. If the team perceives that you are not being as firm on yourself, as you are with them, this will undermine the credibility of your coaching.
• Over-emphasising remedial coaching. When people feel stigmatised by coaching, they tend to cover up errors, rather than be open about them. And high performers can also see an invitation for coaching as a criticism, rather than an acknowledgement. Make it clear that there are numerous reasons for coaching and that, whatever the coachee’s starting point, the aim is always to build on their successes so far.
• Using coaching as a substitute for training (or vice versa). Both coaching and training have advantages, in different circumstances. An ideal combination is to use training for rapid acquisition of knowledge and basic skills; to provide appropriate opportunities to put knowledge and skills to use on real tasks; and to use coaching to reflect upon experience and plan how to develop greater competence.
• Wrong time and place. Line managers can sometimes schedule coaching sessions when it’s convenient for them, without thinking about what is going on for the coachee. Make it a rule always to check the coachee’s preparedness for coaching and be prepared to reschedule, if, for example, their attention has to be focused on an urgent project. Alternatively, settle for a brief coaching session, concentrating on what will be most helpful to them right now.
• Failure to recognise and respect the coachee’s agenda and motivation. Under pressure themselves, line manager coaches may focus entirely on short-term performance issues, at the expense of the coachee’s longer-term personal development agenda. The result is often a superficial acquiescence to change by the coachee, but without the enthusiasm that comes from linking the short-term, externally-generated objectives with the coachee’s intrinsic motivation, which tends to be the product of alignment with their personal values and longer-term aspirations.

Simply being aware of these potential problems helps avoid them. Even better, share them with your direct reports and ask them to speak up, if recognise any of the symptoms.

© David Clutterbuck, 2016

Prof David Clutterbuck
Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd
Woodlands, Tollgate,
Maidenhead,
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ

www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
e-mail: info@coachingandmentoringinternational.org
Company registration number : 08158710