ORLANDO, Fla.–Most credit union executives are involved in coaching of subordinates. But who coaches the coaches? Very often it’s no one, an issue that was at the heart of a discussion here by one expert on the issue.
During a breakout session here at the CUNA OpSS Council/Technology Council annual meeting here, most of those in the room indicated they were responsible for coaching employees. And most also agreed when speaker Denny Graham observed, “It’s really easy to avoid coaching someone. It’s hard to coach.”
Graham, president and CEO of FI Strategies, a St. Louis-based consultancy, said he has worked with more than 200 credit unions on both coaching and on improving sales and service, and he has seen some common challenges and failures facing most.
What do coaches do? Graham cited the quote, “Great business coaches ask great questions, push you to do more, push you out of your comfort zone, and piss you off.”
The best coaches also do something else: follow up. Graham cited Booz Allen research that for every dollar spent on coaching there is a return of $7.90. An analysis by Public Personnel Management Journal found that training gets a 22% improvement in productivity. But when a group is provided follow up coaching, productivity rises 88%.”
But there are a lot of issues in getting to the point, acknowledged Graham, many of which are the pragmatic realities of running a business. Still, he stressed that “not all training models are the same and different business plans work.”
But there are any number of roadbumps to be found on making those business plans work, observed Graham.
“Most employees will say, ‘My boss is always there when I need help.’ Managers will say, ‘My door is always open.’ It’s like standing there on the sidelines waiting for someone to ask a question,” he said.
Rating One's Self Highly
Coaching, said Graham, often comes down to some sort of statement such as, “You did a million bucks last month. Do it again. That’s not coaching; that’s a history lesson and wishful thinking.”
Many managers will rate themselves as 4s and 5s on these attributes, according to Graham:
- I’m a very good coach.
- I’m there when they need me.
- I observe my people in action. “This one is a little more difficult. It means getting outside of comfort zone,” he said.
- I focus on behaviors as well as results.
- I meet with my direct-reports once a month.
Direct reports, he said, often rate their bosses much lower.
A big reason many in management who are responsible for coaching the coaches fall short is they have some many conflicting priorities. A show of hands at the breakout session found that at least half said they spend 20-plus hours per week in meetings. To combat that, Graham first proposed not setting the bar too high. “It doesn’t take that much time,” he said.
The Basic Rules of Coaching
In addition, Graham also shared his Basic Rules of Coaching From a Senior Management Perspective:
- Goals are the starting point of the discussion, not the end.
- Coach skills one at a time: what are the strengths, and what do they need to improve?
- Coach against a specific model. “If you don’t have a coaching model, it would be good to have one. How will your coaches know what it is you want them to do? It’s not rocket science. How often? What skills?”
- Coach uniquely for each person.
- People accept coaching when they know it’s a benefit to them. Graham asked his audience, “How many of you have been branch managers or MSRs.” Many had been, which led Graham to ask, “You just couldn’t wait for that next coaching session, could you?”
- If someone is struggling, get them to work on one skill to show they can improve, recommended Graham.
- Set a goal to do a specific amount of coaching: who and when. “Outlook is the great equalizer of coaching,” he said, as it puts coaching sessions on both parties’ calendars.
How to Manage Time to Coach Staff
- Keep a to-do list. “It’s as corny as it can get, but I would advise you to do this.”
- Set coaching goals for yourself, how often you’re going to do it, what are you going to do, and what are the outcomes you expect.
- Prioritize. “Which people and outcomes are most important? We spend most of our time with the low-performers, but you’ll learn a whole lot more from high-performers.”
- Manage distractions. “Email is one of the biggest distractions ever. Turn off that email sound.”
- Chunk-out tasks. “Block out an hour rather than trying to get something done in between other tasks.”
- Learn to say no. “This is tough inside a credit union.”
- Resist the rush.
- Don’t multitask.
- Remember, you deserve a break.
- Schedule the task. “If you don’t put coaching on a calendar, it itsn’t going to happen.
Graham said that when he was a senior executive with a bank he found one effective strategy was to make managers responsible for talking to direct-reports within five days of receiving any report. Each quarter every manager was required to set aside three days for meeting with subordinates. “It can be grueling, but you get through it if you carve out the time,” he said.
Other effective strategies:
- Find out how you’re really doing. “Lots of companies available to help you do this.”
- Conduct a Leadership 360 Assessment. “This is powerful; if you’ve ever had one done, it’s really disarming.” Among the management attributes measured: establishing standards, inspiring trust and respect, developing people, achieving results, supporting teamwork, solving problems, making decisions, evaluating performance, organizing and planning, communicating, driving sales and service, and understanding the business.
Finally, Graham offered some thoughts on why people don’t do what their managers want:
- They don’t know what the manager wants. Have you defined it?
- They don’t know HOW to do it. We find most people know HOW to do it there’s a different reason for why they don’t
- The person lacks overall focus.
- The person is in the wrong job.
- There are barriers in the way of getting the job done.
Graham said the best coaching question he has ever heard is this: “What can I do to make YOU more successful. That’s what it’s really about as a coach.”