Performance Coaching
Jane is an employee within our organization. Recently, I was grouped together with her and a few other people to form a team to work on a company project. The team has lasted for three weeks now. Jane is a good teammate as she is a hard worker and gets along with other members of the group. However, she seems to have a slight problem. Jane is unwilling to pursue which are assigned to her.
Often, other team members have to intervene and assist her in completing the tasks. Jane is often kin on doing tasks that are not her responsibility, and thus neglecting her core responsibilities. This is becoming a source of frustration as other team members are compelled to make additional input so as to cover for Jane’s shortcoming. The team has also fallen behind schedule because some tasks are not completed in time. In order for the team to move forward, Jane will need coaching intervention to boost her performance.
“What is the Specific Problem”?
The specific problem in this case is that, Jane cannot “do the right thing at the right time”. She focuses her energy on performing tasks that are not relevant or of great importance to the team. This leads to her neglecting her core responsibilities towards the team. This problem has affected the general performance of the group. The problem is dragging the team behind as other team members have to fulfill their responsibilities and assist Jane to fulfill her duties. The problem is also threatening the unity of the team as other team members are not pleased with Jane’s behavior.
“Does the team member know that the problem exists”?
It is always easier to address a problem if the person acknowledges that the problem exists (Brocato, 2003). This acknowledgement will enable the team member to work collaboratively with other members in solving this problem. Unfortunately, in this case, Jane is not aware that a problem exists. She seems to be unaware that her actions are causing frustration to other team members, and are dragging the team behind.
“Does the team member know the performance expectations”?
Performance problem is at times caused by lack of awareness of performance expectations. This is a short coming in the part of the team’s leadership. The team leader may not have clearly communicated the goals and objectives of the team (Rao, 2012). The leader may also fail to give clear directions on how the vision of the team will be realized. In this case, Jane might not be aware of the performance expectations. When joining the team the team leader did not give the team a brief on what is expected of them. We just got straight to business (Guide to Managing Human Resources, 2012). The team leaders might have assumed that everybody has knowledge of the goals and expectation of the team, and aware of their duties and responsibilities. Similarly, the team leader has not taken the initiative to talk to Jane and any other team member with aim of finding out where the problem is. This might be one of the reasons behind Jane’s behaviors.
“Are there obstacles outside the team member’s control that are affecting his/ her good performance”?
Performance problem may also originate from obstacles that are beyond the control of the team member. External obstacles may include; lack of adequate facilities and equipments and infighting and struggles with the team. None of these obstacles are visible in Jane’s case.
“Do negative consequences follow good performance”?
Employee motivation is an important element ion influencing performance. Various action or events with the team may motivate team members to perform better or poorly (Anonymous, 2006). In situations where good performance is followed by negative consequences, then the team members have an incentive to stop performing well. However, in Jane’s case there was no incentive to promote poor performance.
“Do positive consequences follow good performance?
Employees are motivated to perform better when good performance is accompanied by positive consequences (Anonymous, 2006). This is evident from companies that run performance based compensation system. The positive consequences act as reinforcements for the employee to work harder. In Jane’s case, there is no clear mechanism for rewarding better performers. All individuals are treated equally despite their contribution towards the realization of the company’s goals. This might be one of the causes of Jane’s behavior.
Coaching Analysis
Performance Analysis I
The problem is worth solving. Jane’s inability to fulfill his duties towards the team is affecting the ability of the team to realize it goals. Addressing this problem will optimize the performance of every employee, and thus taking the team back on track towards the realization of the team’s goal. Solving Jane’s problem will also boost the morale of the team which has since gone down due to frustration.
Problem Analysis II
The problem with Jane is that she is unable to complete the task assigned to her by the team leader. Jane focuses her energy on activities that are not relevant to the team, and neglects activities that are important to the team. Sometimes she may take too long to complete a task or may begin a task and fail to see it to completion. In this team, each member is assigned certain unique responsibilities. When one member fails to perform, the team cannot move forward. Other team members are often forced to assist Jane to complete her task in order to avoid complete failure of the team.
Root Causes
Various root causes may be responsible for this problem. Some of this root causes originate from deficiency in the team leadership. The team leadership has failed to clearly communicate the goals and responsibility of each individual to the team members. The leaders seem to have taken the assumption that everybody has knowledge of his or her responsibilities and duties (Brocato, 2003). The leadership has also failed to provide guidance on how the goals and responsibilities of the team will be achieved. It seems that the leaders have given the team members a free hand and left them without clear guidance on what to do. The leadership has also failed by not seeking feedback from the team members concerning the functioning of the group. If this was done, then the problem would have been realized early enough.
There are also root causes that are associated with the team member’s individual attributes. This includes inadequate skills on the part of the team member. Poor performance may be caused by inadequate skills to complete the assigned task (Anonymous, 2004). When an employee lacks the skills required to perform a task, they become overwhelmed with task and find ways to evade them. This problem can be addressed through training. Another possible cause of the problem is job incompatibility (Rao, 2012). Performance problems may arise when a team member is assigned tasks that do match his level of skills. This problem can be resolved by assigning different tasks to this employee.
Worth Analysis
Addressing Jane problem will require interventions such as formal training programs. This is going to cost the organization in terms of money and time (Guide to Managing Human Resources, 2012). However, this will translate to various benefits including increased productivity of the team and enhanced chances of success in the realization of team’s goals. The cost associated with not implementing the intervention is also high. This cost is associated with loss of finances invested into the team in turns that the problem causes the team to fail to realize it objective and interference to the overall operation of the organization.
Action Plan
The first step is to let Jane know that there is a problem. In order to solve Jane’s problem, she must be made aware that the problem exists and is affecting the team. Acknowledging the problem will enable everyone to corporate towards solving the problem. The second action plans involves orienting about the activities of the team. It was noted during the analysis stage, that one of the root cause of the problem is poor communication of the team’s goals and expectations. This goals and expectation need to be communicated to Jane (Guide to Managing Human Resources, 2012). She needs to become aware of what the team plans to achieve and her role in helping the team to achieve its goals.
The third plan of action involves enrolling Jane formal coaching program in order to update her skills and make the match with the tasks she is required to complete (Rao, 2012). This will make her work relatively easier. The final plan of action is evaluation and feedback. This plan involves examining the progress of this entire coaching process in order to identify its efficiency and effectiveness in solving the problem. Jane should be kept aware of the progress that she is making.
References
Anonymous (2004). “Outsourced learning makes its mark”. Development and Learning in Organizations. 18(4): 28-30
Anonymous (2006). “For success with corporate coaching, begin with assessment”. HR Focus. 83 (7): 8.
Brocato, R. (2003). “Coaching for improvement”; “An essential role for team leaders and managers”. The Journal for Quality and Participation. 26 (1): 17-22
Guide to Managing Human Resources (2012) New Employee Orientation. June 30, 2012. http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/guide/orient.htm
Rao M. (2012). “Myths and Truths about Soft Skills”. T + D. 66(5): 48-51
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