Employee Deployment and Retention
Executive Coaching and Teambuilding Techniques to Create Your Own World Class Workforce
By Chuck Haughton
Dec 26, 2005, 22:13

The same challenge faces every business, no matter the size: how to build and retain a workforce that is consistently engaged, productive, results driven and service oriented. Executive coaching and teambuilding are critical tools for addressing this challenge. The difference between these two processes two is mainly a matter of scale. Executive coaching is primarily an individual activity, whereas team building is a group activity. Their purposes, however, are basically the same––to align available energy and talent with the goals and objectives that need to be accomplished and, as a result, there are some basic techniques common to both that leaders in organizations can apply. Learning and practicing these techniques can have a significant impact on business results as well as employee and customer satisfaction.

Start with the right people. Coaching and team building are processes that work best when you trying to take a good situation and make it even better. Therefore, employee selection, or hiring, is perhaps the most important component of creating a world-class workforce. This is when you have the best opportunity to achieve excellence within your workforce. If you have ever tried to “fix” a team or individual that is “broken” you have likely learned the hard way that people don’t change very much, and spent a lot of time and energy to do it.

Unfortunately, the hiring process often receives little attention. It is often done quickly to alleviate the stress of having a vacancy. In addition, hiring decisions are typically based on the candidate’s resume and the hiring manager’s gut feeling. Hiring based on skills and experience alone is like gambling. Sometimes you get lucky with a winner, but more often than not, you don’t get the results you wanted. Research has shown that a person’s skills and experience are not reliable predictors of future success in a given role. The hiring process is most effective when it includes an objective assessment of a person’s cognitive ability (intelligence), behavioral characteristics and the potential culture fit in relation to the requirements of the specific role to be filled. Success is determined by your ability to create a process and utilize tools that can give you this information.

Constantly reconnect people with the mission. When you’re in the trenches, under pressure to get things done and trying to keep your to-do list from going to a third page, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. The most effective leaders know this, and they go out of their way to remind people about why their work is important. During casual interactions, formal project reviews and in your scheduled one-on-one performance discussions, help people understand how their piece of work connects to the overall outcome of the product or service. When it is time to celebrate an achievement be sure to emphasize the value of the work to the customer, in addition to recognizing the efforts of those involved.

Stop being a problem solver. Managers and executives often pride themselves on their ability to solve problems. It gives them a sense of accomplishment when they are able to intervene in a crisis situation or critical decision. The trouble with this approach is that it creates dependency on the leader while limiting the development opportunities of those who work for them. When coaching a manager or team leader, one of the first things I have them work on is shifting from having the right answers to having the right questions when they deal with the problems their people bring to them. Helping people learn to solve their own problems frees up the leader’s time while building confidence and promoting teamwork among people.

Help people identify their talents. One of the most important roles a leader can play is helping others understand what their talents are and how they use them to be successful. Marcus Buckingham, in his book First Break All The Rules, distinguishes talents from skills and knowledge. According to Buckingham, talents are “recurring patterns of thought and behavior that can be productively applied”. They are abilities that are, more or less, “hard-wired” in people. Ironically, most people don’t have a real appreciation for their own talents because they’re so second nature that they take them for granted.

From a leader’s perspective, talents are the key to motivation. People feel the most engaged and effective when they are utilizing their talents. By having performance conversations focused on both helping people see their own talents at work, and finding ways for them use their talents as much as possible, you can help your people achieve greater productivity and satisfaction at the same time.

Lead by example. As the leader of your organization, you set the standard for others to follow by:

• Being open about both your talents and your weaknesses.

• Letting people know what you have done to develop your talents and manage around your weaknesses.

• Improving your own skills related to coaching others. Get better at asking effective questions, and become more comfortable with letting people do things in the way that is best for them.

• Seeking feedback regularly from clients, subordinates and peers.

If you don’t know how to do some of these activities well or would like to have some support of your own, work with an executive coach to increase your self-awareness and skill level. The actions you take on a consistent basis, along with the expectations you set for the leadership team, will set the tone for the entire organization.

Make these techniques a part of the business culture. Teambuilding shouldn’t be something you only do once or twice a year at a retreat, and coaching isn’t only used when someone is failing. Conducting teambuilding and coaching only sporadically, or in response to a crisis reduces their potential impact, and can even generate a negative backlash. Creating excellence in your workforce requires the discipline of integrating these techniques into everyday life in your business.

About the Author
Chuck Haughton is President of High Potential Resources, LLC, a consulting firm that works with businesses to maximize their pipeline of talent. He can be reached at chaughton@highpotentialresources.com".

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