He shows his frustrations openly and spends hours poring over details, delaying important decisions. He gets far too involved in the responsibilities of his direct reports, demanding daily updates on their progress. He hides out in his office, and when he does communicate he focuses solely on the task, not his people. His team members feel exposed to a bizarre combination of neglect and unfair scrutiny.
The reasonable and fair boss they thought they had is now making them feel uncomfortable, demotivated and worried about their future. Alex is displaying behaviours common of a leader feeling the pressure to perform in tough times. While there are no “magic bullets”, there are a number of best practices coaches can use when leading clients through tough times.
Gaining insight into behaviour
Pressure is a fog that envelopes people in tough times. The first step is to help the client increase their self-awareness and gain clarity. The coach needs to help them understand what they are doing, what is driving their behaviour, the impact it has on others and what they can do to change it.
Make it work
- Focus on behaviour, impact and consequences. Ask questions about what the client is doing, how it is working and what the outcomes have been so far.
- Clarify what is changing and what is remaining stable. This can help them to see things more clearly and realistically and gain perspective.
- Help them to understand how others are affected by the pressure. Work with them to rebuild empathy. Acknowledge that they need to lead people as well as deliver results.
- Gently challenge, but remain supportive and empathetic to sustain self-reflection and avoid defensiveness. Give alternative perceptions of their situation and behaviour.
Fatal flaws
- Challenging too vigorously. Your client is vulnerable right now and needs the correct balance between support and challenge.
- Accepting that pressure is an excuse for poor behaviour. This merely compounds the behaviour.
- Getting bogged down in the client’s sense of hopelessness. Make sure you get support or supervision from an appropriate person to help you provide the clarity needed.
Managing their need to control
It is common for people in tough times to switch into “results” mode at the expense of relationships. They can feel they are achieving a lot when often they are getting sidetracked by specifics. In effect, they are busying themselves with what is in their power to change, when so much else is beyond their control. Help them to focus on the core issues that will make a difference to their current situation.
Make it work
- Get them to consider where their focus lies and what value it brings.
- Target the biggest, most difficult task that will make the greatest difference.
- Help them break down huge tasks into manageable chunks.
- Test the fact versus the fiction. They are busy, but what have they accomplished? Help them to work more effectively and start to feel more in control of the things that matter.
- Identify the low-hanging fruit. What are the quick wins that will have a meaningful, positive impact?
- Help to leverage the resources around them and identify how they can share responsibility with others.
Fatal flaws
- Getting sidetracked in the detail. Help them to plan, but continue to refer to the overall benefits and gains.
Taking care of themselves
Working in stressful situations can have a seriously debilitating effect on individuals, their families and their colleagues. Look for signs of tension and stress. Get the client to talk about the impact this is having on them.
Make it work
- Pay attention to extreme symptoms such as irritability, sleeplessness, distractedness and alcohol abuse.
- Suggest they switch off their phone and take a break. Give practical information on the physiological impact of stress and the importance of diet, exercise, sleep and keeping boundaries between work and personal time.
- Help them to see the risks of their behaviour if they do not take care of themselves – such as derailment at work and effect on personal life.
Fatal flaws
- Trying to help your client with serious clinical issues if you’re not trained. Know your limits and recognise when medical or psychological attention is needed. Refer the individual for specialist help where necessary.
- Not keeping clear boundaries. Getting overly involved helps neither the client nor the coach.
Bringing out their strengths
Interestingly, underperforming individuals can raise their game considerably in tough times and emerge as capable leaders. Difficult situations can give some people a sense of purpose that can stimulate and motivate them. As coach, you may be required to adapt to the new situation.
Make it work
- Help them to re-prioritise, but remember the original issues that brought them to coaching. Tough times can provide a focus, but they don’t fix the day-to-day challenges and can even be a welcome distraction.
- Support clients in building on their success and learning what they are capable of. Use this to build momentum and commitment to working on other issues.
Fatal flaws
- Not being adaptable and steadfastly sticking to the original coaching goals. This may be more to do with your perceptions and ideas of what you set out to achieve.
- Ending the coaching because you see the client as suddenly successful and not in need of your services.
Haydee Toltz is a consultant at Personnel Decisions International. www.personneldecisions.com
Further reading:
- Financial Times, 2 August 2007, Cristina Jimenez, from the study “Work stress precipitates depression and anxiety in young, working women and men”, in Psychological Medicine, 37(8), pp1119-1129, 2007.
- P Babiak and R D Hare, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths go to Work, Harper Collins, 2007.
- J O’Toole, Leading Change: Overcoming the Ideology of Comfort and the Tyranny of Custom, Jossey-Bass, 1994.
- B Tracy, Eat that Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, Hodder and Stoughton, 2004.
Volume 3, Issue 6