As a manager, if you focus on the employee’s agenda when you’re coaching him or her, how do you ensure that the company’s agenda is being addressed?\u00a0 Let’s focus on this balancing act for a minute.<\/p>\n
One of the most powerful approaches that I use is to distance myself from the group\u2019s goals and the organization\u2019s goals.\u00a0 For instance, change \u201cI am responsible for ensuring this project gets delivered on time\u201d to a slightly more distant \u201cAs a team, we all need to deliver the project on time.\u201d<\/p>\n
This shift in emphasis allows the manager and employee to then work on the problem, side by side, rather than in opposition:<\/p>\n
You see that this conversation was entirely about us working together<\/span> as a pair, or even as a larger team, to quickly figure out the best action to take.\u00a0 When we both take ownership for this next step, then we\u2019re equally invested in having it succeed \u2013 even if all the actual work is done by only one of the two people.<\/p>\n It\u2019s quite possible that the employee will come to you with an agenda which actually conflicts with your own.\u00a0 Perhaps the employee is getting burned out, yet you don\u2019t see a way to reduce the workload to accommodate that.<\/p>\n In that case, what happens is that together you need to search for common ground.\u00a0 You don\u2019t actually have a goal<\/em> to give employees an unreasonable workload, so you\u2019re not actually in direct conflict.\u00a0 The solution lies in looking outside the current constraints to a broader world of possibility.\u00a0 In this case, perhaps a different way of addressing productivity<\/em> might be the best step forward, a way which will allow both you and the employee to meet your independent goals.\u00a0 To start the discussion, though, you need to respect and understand the employee\u2019s goal, not combat it with arguments and excuses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"