In Part I of this series I wrote an article about how the tactic of asking “why” can help remove stress and conflict from a coaching situation. In this article, I will focus more on you, the coach, and how asking “why” helps you become a better leader and improve your operations.
First, here is a quick review of what we discussed last time:
- By asking why, you are not telling someone what they should have done
- The person answering the question is fully invested in the process. They are providing the answers, not you.
- You, as the leader, ask what you could have done to prevent the situation
By using this approach you are collaborating with your direct report. There is a big difference between collaboration and dictation, and in these situations the employee truly appreciates being treated as a valuable contributor. They know they made a mistake, and they probably feel terrible about it. You can choose to berate them, ignore them, be passive aggressive, or you can use the opportunity to honestly evaluate the reasons for the mistake and correct them.
In the technology world, we have Six Sigma and ITIL to help us continually improve. I submit to you that these coaching opportunities are more important than either of those frameworks. Here is why:
- Employees are the ones who do the work
- Employees translate policy, standards, and procedure into action
- Employees configure technology tools
- Employees have free will and make choices
We can spend all the time in the world writing policies and procedures, but if the people who are expected to follow them do not know about them, do not understand them or do not care, it is all a waste of time. People do not care about you or your company until you demonstrate that you care about them. Coaching shows that you care.
It is our job as leaders to teach our people why we are doing what we are doing, and explain their role in the process. Teach them that their actions directly result the company’s performance, and show them how.
Taking the time to coach them when they make a mistake is a very important step in improving our processes. The employee will tell us why:
- They didn’t know about the policy, standard, procedure
- They didn’t know where to find the policy, standard, procedure
- They didn’t understand the policy, standard, procedure
- They didn’t know how to do the task
- They don’t agree with the policy, standard, procedure
With any luck, and if there is trust, they will tell us what we can do better to make sure others do not make the same mistake. Keep asking questions until you get to the root cause, then ask how to prevent a repeat of the same mistake. I always say to my people, “if we’re going to make a mistake, let’s learn from it so we don’t make it again.” We then work together to update procedures, change policies or simply improve awareness.
I promise you that if you approach these situations as an honest learning opportunity, you will develop trust with your people and you and they will continually improve your processes. There’s no stress in that.
Related Link: The Power of Asking Why (Part I)
