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COMPETENCYCOACHINGBetter CoachingStart asking six questions.by Marshall GoldsmithIN MY WORK WITHleaders, I find thatone common complaintof direct reports is that theirleaders do a poor job of coaching. Yes,executives tend to be poor coaches.They often neglect to schedule coachingtime, and some leaders fear thatcoaching will come across as negative,alienating direct reports.I suggest that you use an effective,time-efficient, six-question coachingprocess. Schedule a one-on-one, 30-minute dialogue with each directreport once a quarter. You and theyare asked to: 1) make each question adialogue, not a dictate, 2) focus on thefuture, not the past, and 3) listen tothe other person’s ideas, try to implementwhat you can—and not try toprove the other person is wrong.1. Where are we going? The firstquestion deals with the big picture.You outline the larger organization’sdirection, vision, goals and priorities,and then ask direct reports where theythink the organization should begoing. This question builds alignmentand commitment to the vision.2. Where are you going? This questionsurfaces the direct reports’ vision,goals, and priorities. Executives sharetheir views as well. By the end of thisdiscussion, the vision, goals and prioritiesof the direct reports should bealigned with the executive’s vision, andthe goals and priorities of executivesand direct reports should be aligned.3. What is going well? Great coachesprovide positive recognition for achievement.Assess what the direct reportsand their teams are doing well, and ask,“What do you think that you and yourteam are doing well?” Direct reportsmay feel under-appreciated becauseyou don’t recognize their achievements.In many cases, you would recognizethese achievements if you knew whatthey were! By asking this question, youcan celebrate performance wins thatyou may otherwise miss.4. What are key suggestions forimprovement? Here leaders begin bygiving direct reports constructive suggestionsfor the future. These suggestionsshould be limited to keyopportunities for improvement. Givingtoo many suggestions is almost as badas giving none. Direct reports shouldlisten to the suggestions with a focuson understanding, not judging what issaid. Executives should come across astrying to help. Next, executives shouldask, “If you were your own coach,what suggestions would you have foryourself?” Then modify the areas offocus and attention as needed.5. How can I help? After asking thisquestion, listen to the suggestions! Youcan also participate in the dialogue bysuggesting approaches and then asking,“Do you feel this approach will helpyou become more effective?” The keyto helping others improve is not to domore coaching, but to provide coachingto the right people on the right topics.By asking this question, youcan make more effective useof your time.6. What suggestions doyou have for me? This questionchanges the dynamicsof the coaching processfrom a one-way monologuethat focuses on, “Let me tellyou what you can do toimprove” to a two-way dialogue:“Let’s try to help each other.”Your reports are more willing to becoached by you if you are willing to becoached by them! In fact, by asking forsuggestions, focusing on improvingone or two key behaviors, and followingup quarterly, you will be seen asdramatically increasing your leadershipeffectiveness.Arrange for follow-up between sessions.At the end of each session, youmight say, “I’ll have a dialogue withyou once each quarter. I’ll cover what Ithink is most important and get yoursuggestions on what you think is mostimportant. Please contact me at anytime you need my help. I can’t promiseI’ll be immediately available, but Ipromise to make your request a top priority.”Great coaching happens withinan agreement of mutual responsibility.Use this six-question approach tobecome a more effective coach. Coverthe most important topics regularly,and be available for each other for specialsituations. Few people need orwant more coaching than this. Thisprocess provides you with a simplediscipline to give people what theyneed, and receive what you need, in away that respects your time and theirs.Pay for ResultsAs an executive coach, I have a uniquecompensation system—I only getpaid if my clients get better, meaningthey achieve positive, measurablechange in behavior, as judged by theirkey stakeholders. This process usuallytakes about 18 months and involves anaverage of 16 stakeholders.I learned this “pay for results” ideafrom Dennis Mudd, my boss 43 yearsago. Growing up in Valley Station,Kentucky, my family was poor. Dadoperated a small gas station. The oldroof on our home had started to leak,so Dad hired Dennis Mudd to put on anew roof. To save some money, Iworked as his assistant. Putting on aroof in mid-summer in Kentucky is nofun. I’ve never done any job (before orsince) that required such physical exertion.I was amazed at the care Mudd putinto the laying of the shingles. He waspatient with me as I mademistakes and helped melearn how to do the job right.When Mudd presentedmy Dad with the invoice,he said, “Bill, please takeyour time and inspect ourwork. If you feel this roofmeets your standards, payus. If not, there’s no charge.”Dad carefully looked atthe roof, thanked us for a job well-done,and paid Mudd, who then paid me.I’ll never forget this event. The Muddfamily didn’t have any more moneythat we did. I thought, “Mr. Mudd maybe poor, but he is a class act.”How much would not getting paidhave hurt Mudd? A lot. Not payinghim would have meant that his familywould not be eating well for the nexttwo months. This sacrifice didn’t matter,though. His pride and integritywere more important than money.Mudd never gave pep talks aboutquality or service. He didn’t use anyfancy buzzwords. He didn’t have to—his actions communicated his values.The next time you are working on aproject, ask yourself, “What wouldhappen to my commitment andbehavior, if I knew that I was onlygoing to be paid if I achieved results?”Although I’ve received many honorsfor my work, I’ll never match thededication to quality and integrity ofMr. Mudd. For the record, I have notbeen paid on a few assignments, andI’ve never asked for money I felt wasundeserved. At the time, this causedme some pain and embarrassment, butI knew I’d still have a prosperous life.LEMarshall Goldsmith is co-founder of Marshall GoldsmithPartners and author of What Got You Here Won’t Get YouThere. Visit MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com or bigspeak.com.ACTION: Adopt a pay-for-performance system.Leadership Excellence May 2008 9