Do It Now
What separates the most effective performance coaches from their less effective colleagues?
There are many factors that make a difference. These include: preparing in advance, establishing trust, analyzing for root cause, active listening, asking powerful questions, gaining buy-in, and following up – to name just a few.
Many of these critical success factors require coaches to master new skills. So, as coaches continue to focus on these factors they can make gradual and incremental improvements in their coaching effectiveness.
But one critical success factor is really a mindset – an orientation where a simple shift can yield an immediate and significant improvement in coaching impact.
What is this powerful factor? A focus on urgency.
Any coaching session should conclude with an action plan that specifies: who will do what, by when, and how will we follow up to assure success.
Less successful coaches tend to answer the “when” question with a date sometime in the future. “Let’s check in during our next one-on-one and see how it’s going” or “I’ll follow up with you toward the end of next week and see if you have any questions.”
The best coaches focus instead on what an employee can do right away that will make the biggest difference. “Let’s go take some calls right now and see how this goes for you” or “Try this now and I’ll sit with you this afternoon to see how it’s working.”
In today’s demanding and complex performance environment, most coaches have many things to do and not a lot of time to do them. If something: isn’t important, don’t do it. If it is important, do it now.
As the great sage Hillel asked, “If not now, when?”