Are your employees telling you they could desperately use some coaching—without actually telling you?
Be on the lookout for these four warning signs that your employees, without you even realizing it, may be in desperate need of guidance, training, and mentorship.
1- Sometimes You Need to Judge a Book by Its Cover
Employees who are sloppy—in appearance as well as mannerisms—need coaching. Dressing inappropriately, having poor manners, and carelessly causing distractions brings down not only an individual employee’s performance, but the attitude and performance of the people around them as well.
How Coaching Can Help
Personal appearance and decorum are directly connected to attitude and performance, but broaching the subject can be tricky. Fortunately, an effective coach knows exactly how to handle this type of situation with tact and grace. When all is said and done, your “sloppy” employee should be able to represent himself or herself, as well as your organization, in a much more positive way.
2- How Many Strikes is Too Many?
Making mistake after mistake is one of the most obvious signs that an employee needs some coaching. Inaccuracies and inefficiencies can cost your company a lot of cash. However, it’s important to avoid assuming that these failures are due to an employee being incapable of doing the job successfully. There may be other, less-obvious reasons behind the employee’s errors.
How Coaching Can Help
Coaches can step back from the situation, look at it objectively, and evaluate what’s really going on. The reasons behind the employee’s failings may not be obvious right away. Does the employee know how to use the tools or equipment needed to do the job? Is the workspace and surrounding environment conducive to completing the work successfully?
If you answered “no” to either of these questions, the problem may be a simple lack of training or organization. Identifying and creating a clear-cut training and development plan for the employee (and motivating the employee to get it accomplished) is right in the wheelhouse of a good coach.
3- Why Am I Here?
Bored. Easily distracted. Unhappy. Whatever word you use, they all mean the same thing when it comes to employee engagement on the job. The thing is, disengagement, it doesn’t necessarily mean your employee doesn’t want to do the work, they just aren’t being fulfilled by it.
Do they find their work to be interesting and challenging? If the answer is “no,” your employee may be in the wrong role for his or her disposition.
How Coaching Can Help
Having a coach meet one-on-one with disengaged employees to ask if they are satisfied with their job duties and roles can open your eyes to the (often-unexpected) reasons behind their boredom. What are their current and future expectations for their careers? What can be done to make their jobs more fulfilling to them? Could they use some variety in their tasks or a different position?
Coaching an employee to find a better fit for their strengths and aspirations (and then also coaching them on how to work towards moving into their desired role) can positively affect employee satisfaction and productivity.
4- Where’s the Breaking Point?
On the outside, overworked employees may not seem overwhelmed at all. In fact, they may appear calm, collected, and willing to take on anything—and they are!
However, underneath that cool exterior may be an employee who tries to do their best at all times. The pressure of never working up to the expectations they have of themselves (or that they perceive others to have of them) can take an ugly toll. Before you know it, this type of employee may suddenly collapse under the stress and quit their jobs quite unexpectedly (and for no apparent reason).
How Coaching Can Help
Employees who are overwhelmed tend to thrive once they have a chance to clearly communicate their stresses to a coach. Providing employees with needed support and feedback gives them the confidence to voice their concerns and know that they’re being heard. When they’re nurtured and given guidance on how to prioritize what’s important (and let go of what is not), overworked, high-performing employees will be able to free up more energy for the work that they’re passionate about—and they’ll thrive.
Recognizing the Red Flags
Recognize the “red flags” that your employees are exhibiting and move forward, offering the coaching they need. If you do, you will suddenly see their efforts, strengths, and potentially become an integral and outstanding part of your team.
A talented coach knows exactly what needs to be done to unleash the untapped potential and discretionary performance of every member of an organization. Constructive coaches build team-member commitment, invite employees to work hard to accomplish goals and become indispensable partners in the business, and help to maintain (and even transform) a company’s competitive advantage in a genuine and sustainable way.
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