Late Stage Coaching Model Review - Part 2

Submitted by Michael on Sun, 03/12/2006 - 11:30.

Last week, in our detailed review of the Late Stage Coaching Model, we covered steps 1 and 2 (Feedback and Systemic Feedback) of the six steps. Today we review the last 4 steps.

As a reminder, the 6 steps of the Late Stage Coaching Model are:

Feedback - Key point here is one of FREQUENCY versus significance. Good adjusting feedback is relaxed, it's professional, it's simple, it's respectful. But it is also DELIVERED.
Systemic Feedback- Systemic feedback is simply feedback about an employee failing to change behavior that they've agreed to work on. This is a critical and often overlooked escalation of your performance coaching, and has powerful implications. Effective Managers AVERT the need for performance coaching with this step ALL THE TIME.
One on One Performance Discussion - In this step you simply make YOUR agenda item during your weekly one-on-one their continued failure to perform. You talk about their performance, and review all the feedback and systemic feedback, and their lack of improvement. And you ask for their input. You're doing FOUR things here.
1. Reconfirming that they are performing below your standards.
2. Creating a key documentation point.
3. Asking for comments of ANY nature that might explain the performance issue.
4. Asking again for ideas about how THEY can improve THEIR performance.
Coaching - It's possible you never get to coaching, because the feedback, systemic feedback, and direct one-on-one discussion get the point across. We hope so, we BELIEVE so... until they don't get it. And then we coach them.
Formal Performance Discussion and Notification - This discussion is similar to the first one. But now, you're doing FIVE things.
1. Reconfirming that they are performing below your standards.
2. Creating a key documentation point.
3. Asking for comments of ANY nature that might explain the performance issue.
4. Asking again for ideas about how THEY can improve THEIR performance.
5. And finally, Notifying them about the implications of continued failure to improve.
Coaching Within Your Corporate Process - We can't tell you what it is; it's different in every company. You coach them using the MT coaching model, modifying it to allow for your organization's final steps or system. If you've followed the process we've described, you'll be in a great position to comply with whatever processes exist in your company prior to finally letting someone go.

As we've said repeatedly, you use this model ALL THE TIME, not just when you have someone you intend to let go. 99 times out of 100, behavior changes and you never get to step 6.

Questions or comments? Chat with us about them in the Discussion Forums.

Thanks to everyone participating on the Discussion Forums ... we're all learning!

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