By Neil Phillips.

Do you tell them the same thing over and over to no avail?

As a coach, I hear clients express frustration when their team members fail to follow directions or heed their advice.

The coach approach in these situations may serve you well.

Here are some typical comments from team leaders and managers:

  • My people must not be listening to me. I keep telling them what to do and they don’t do it.
  • My team doesn’t attend meetings and then they call me for information and answers to their questions.
  • I have someone on my team who keeps making the same mistake over and over – he talks too much on conference calls.
  • What do I do about the person I have shown how to set appointments and she still isn’t doing it?

Most people will not change a behavior until it is their idea or they recognize what they need to change. The coach approach limits you (the leader) to the role of asking insightful questions.

In several cases, some simple questions might help. Here’s an example:

“Belinda, you and I have worked on setting appointments and you are schedule is still not where you want it to be. Are you open to a conversation?”

“Sure.”

“When your schedule was full, what were you doing?”

Listen to the behaviors she describes. Then ask, “Which one of those sound like they might help in your current situation?”

Letting Belinda process what works for her and pick the actions that she recognizes as successful will put Belinda on the road to her success.

Of course, this is just a tiny sliver of conversations with Belinda, but coaching her to think of her best practices will often lead your team member to get back on track.

What other questions have you asked to support your team member to get it right?

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