Coaching for Optimal
Performance
Presented By:
Karla Berra
Senior Director of Recruitment
Bright Horizons Family Solutions
Coaching for Optimal Performance:
Goals
• After completing this training, participants will
understand:
– Why developing all employees is critical
– Their role as a manager in the development
process
– The differences in employees and how to best
meet their individual needs in the development
process
– The process and components for having
successful career development plans
Introductions
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•
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Name of your program
Your role
Number of people reporting to you
Why is Developing Employees
Important?
• Your center’s success depends on
developing employees!
– Key factor in attracting and retaining the best
employees
– Employees are inspired to work to their greatest
potential
– Prepare for the future
What People Want
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Trust
Challenge
Self-worth
Competence
Appreciation
Excitement
Terry Bacon: “What People Want: A Manager’s Guide for Building
Relationships That Work”
The Environment
Keys to a strong work environment
– Provide feedback & recognition
– Address performance issues promptly
– Be consistent and fair in holding people accountable
– Walk the talk
“We are doing serious and important work. We take
pride in what we do, and we must never lose sight
of the joy and fun in our work.”
- HEART Principle
A New Approach to Developing
Employees
• Everyone can be “developed”
• Employee development is every managers’
responsibility, every employee’s responsibility
• Focus on moving employees through new
challenges to strengthen their professional
abilities
• Development more likely means informal, onthe-job ways of learning
Addressing Developmental Needs:
A Manager’s Role
• Help guide your employees by helping to match their
skills, interests, and work values with job opportunities.
• Conduct frequent discussions of developmental needs.
• Give timely and specific feedback about an individual’s
performance against established expectations.
• Provide opportunities for coaching, when necessary.
• Act as informal teacher by being conscious of the
behaviors and attitudes you model.
• Work with your employees to draft individual
development plans.
Opportunities for Coaching
• Conduct formal performance reviews
• Have on-the-spot work progress discussions
• Follow up on a training session
• Help an employee to implement a work
improvement idea
• Work with an employee to meet job standards or
to manage their job better
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Acknowledging Employee
Differences
• Differentiating allows you to:
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Appropriately address performance expectations.
Draft suitable developmental plans.
Help direct reports manage their careers.
Build a better foundation for your center’s
success.
Motivation for Performance
• ______ % from me
• ______ % from manager
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Manager & Self-Motivation
• Give an example of something your manager
has done to tap into your motivation:
• Give an example of some of the things you
would like to see yourself doing as a coach:
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Coaching the Team
‘TO COACH’
Comes from the root meaning ‘to bring a
person from where they are to where they
want to be’
Top Priorities in Coaching
• Be consistent with expectations and
feedback.
• Walk the talk.
Coaching the Team
Most teams have three performance groups:
Super Stars (Above Target)
Middle Stars (On Target)
Falling Stars (Below Target)
Your Three Groups of
Performers
Super Stars or
Top Performers
Middle Stars or
Falling Stars or
Solid Performers Under
Performers
Tips for Motivating Top Employees
• Give your direct reports the opportunity to use
their unique strengths every day
• Respect individual strengths and differences
• Recognize employee contributions regularly
• Give employees the responsibility and freedom
to learn new skills and make their own mistakes
• Provide competitive salaries and benefits
• Provide mentors
Keeping Top Performers Motivated
• Starting a new project from scratch.
• Improving a classroom environment,
curriculum, “system” in trouble
• A job rotation in a different work environment
or classroom
• A high-profile special project assignment.
Develop Solid Contributors
• Identify the employees that have growth
potential and provide them with:
– “Stretch” assignments
– Coaching
– Training
Solid Contributors Need
Affirmation!
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Tell them they are valued
Listen to their ideas
Praise their accomplishments
Trust them
Tips for Nurturing Solid Performers
• Keep track of communications with your
employees to make sure that you are not
ignoring solid contributors
• Tell these employees they are valued on a
regular basis
• Accept that some people in your group will not
want to advance further in their careers
• Allocate resources to solid performers with high
potential
Acting on Under Performers
• Failing to address your low-performing
employees can have a detrimental effect on the
organization’s performance. These individuals
often:
– Stand in the way of the advancement of more
talented employees
– Hire other “C” players, which lowers the performance
bar across the board
– Tend to be poor role models who encourage a lowperformer mentality among their peers and direct
reports
– Engender a culture of mediocrity which repels highly
talented and ambitious people
Acting on Under Performers
• Provide them with clearly defined goals.
• Create a prescribed path and timeline for
achieving those goals.
• Be explicit about the ways in which they must
improve.
• Be willing to coach and provide candid
feedback.
Performance Coaching
• Measured against standards
• It’s your goal or the organization’s goal
• Usually a short term point of view
Notes on Performance Coaching
in Relation to Career Issues
• Many performance issues are career issues
in disguise!
– Skill/Competence/Knowledge = Performance
Issue
– Motivation/Attitude = Career Issue
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The Development Plan
• Include:
– SMART goals, along with a timeline for achieving
them
– Action steps, which may include:
• Training
• Coaching
• Challenging work assignments
Activity
• Write the names of 2 people at the center whom
you feel are:
– Super Stars (AT)
– Middle Stars (OT)
– Falling Stars (BT)
• Think back to their last performance review. Do the
ratings reflect the groupings you’ve just placed
them in?
The Development Plan
• SMART Goals
• Action Steps
The Development Plan
• Seek commitment from the employee
• Follow up regularly
• Monitor progress
Creating a Culture of Performance
Supporting Growth and Learning
1.
Goal Setting
What is expected
2.
Job Performance Appraisal
Results vs. Expectations “The What”
3.
Skills Assessment
“How” am I doing in my role?
4.
Growth and Learning Plan
Individualized to support performance and growth
5.
Succession Planning – Career Mapping
Organizational needs vs. individual career goals
Winning the Race
A great coach and leader:
– Accepts responsibility
– Invests in lifelong learning
– Acknowledges others’ good work and efforts
“We are accountable for our actions. We admit and
learn from our mistakes; we do not dwell on
them.”
- HEART Principle
Completion
• The most important thing you learned in this
program
• How will you apply it?
• Any questions?
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Contact Information
Karla Berra, Senior Director of Recruitment @
kberra@brighthorizons.com
www.brighthorizons.com
Giving Feedback for
Optimal Performance
Presented By:
Kendra Kett, M.Ed.
Bright Horizons Regional Manager
Feedback is the breakfast of champions.
Ken Blanchard
Giving Feedback for Optimal Performance
Goals
After completing this training, participants will
be able to:
• Name the goals of feedback
• Understand why feedback is important
• Use specific steps to give effective feedback
• Understand the mistakes of giving feedback
• Practice giving and receiving feedback
Feedback Topics
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Feedback Myths
The Goals of Feedback
Effective Techniques & Mistakes
The Three “A’s” of Performance
Handling Objections
Practice Activities
But It’s So Hard!
• Why is it difficult to give feedback?
• Brainstorm and Share
Feedback Myths
• It will hurt the other person’s feelings.
• Who am I to judge?
• Feedback demoralizes people and makes them feel
defeated.
• They didn’t mean it so we can let it go.
• I didn’t see it happen, so I can’t confront it.
• It wasn’t that bad. That’s just the way he/she is.
Giving Feedback to Falling Stars
Why does that seem easier sometimes?
• It is clear they did something wrong.
• They are not really trying so I begin the
documentation process.
• Most people are watching poor performers “get
away with it” so I have to confront this.
• Maybe I can help if I can get them to see how
they could improve.
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What are the Goals of Feedback?
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To Improve Performance
To Clarify Expectations
To Increase Learning
To Stop a Behavior
To Encourage Progress Toward Goals
Techniques for Giving Feedback
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Isolate the behavior
Speak at the Task Level not at the Self Level
Use Comfortable and Open Body Language
Have the Employee Explain Why the Issue
Might Be Happening
• Leave YOUR Solutions at the Door
• Make it a Dialogue
• Use the Feedback Recipe Card
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Some Phrases to Use
“This is what you did that was inappropriate…”
versus “You were inappropriate.”
“You are really effective when you do _______.
You would be more effective if you do______.”
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The Three “A’s”
• Ability
• Aptitude
• Attitude
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Activity: Practice Pairs
Find a Partner
Using the “employee” card, on which you wrote
what your employee needs to hear from you,
practice what you are going to say when you
return to the center next week.
Use the Recipe Card
5 – 3 – Switch
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Common Feedback Mistakes
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Rewarding “A” Behavior while Hoping for “B”
Not Separating the Behavior from the Person
Skirting Around the Issue; Too Vague
Needing to be Friends or Be “Liked”
Overlooking the Small Issues Until Later
Not Explaining the Goals of Feedback
More Common Mistakes
• Praising Employee 1 Hoping that Employee 2
will Change Their Behavior
• Using Group Meetings as a way for the
Individual to “Get the Message”
• Using Group Communications (e.g.,
newsletters, memos)
• Not Knowing Which of the 3 “A’s” It Is
• Hoping for Change to Occur on its Own
Did you know?
When giving feedback,
hope is not a plan.
Feedback Thoughts
• If you care, you will share….feedback
• Be specific, direct, to the point
• Be kind, professional and clear about your
expectations
• Feedback can be about checking-in and
monitoring progress, too
• Feedback can be affirming and offer praise. It
does not always have to be corrective.
How Loyal Should I Be?
• Employees Need Your Support to Grow and
Develop Professionally
• You Must Have a Trusting Relationship
• Trust Does Not Mean Blind Faith ….
• So….Trust, But Verify
• Keep a Bigger Picture in Mind
So How Do I Really Do This?
• Clarify for yourself how this person is
Important to the Center
• Explain the Frustration of Being Off Track
• Believe That They Can Change
• Identify the Behavior That Concerns You
• Ask Them to Problem-Solve With You
• Emphasize How Important Their Success is
to You
Food for Thought
• Leaders must make sure that employees leave
feedback sessions with a clear understanding of
how they will succeed.
What about those
Objections to Feedback?
• What are the typical objections to feedback?
• Brainstorm and share.
Typical Objections
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“I didn’t know.”
“Everyone else does it.”
“You don’t do it, so why should I?”
“I have a lot going on in my personal life.”
“I didn’t get trained on this.”
“I don’t agree with that policy.”
“This is the way I’ve always done it.”
“I am tired of being picked on.”
Handling Objections
• Go Back to the Feedback Recipe Card and
Restate the Goals for the Employee
• Do not Argue with the Employee
• Use “Nevertheless” or “That May Be….”
• Keep the Focus on THEIR Behavior, Not
Other Employees or Managers, or on the
Past
When it is going
to be really hard:
• Try this:
“This might be hard for you to receive this
feedback today and I also think it might be
hard for me to deliver it…
May I ask that we try really hard to be patient
and compassionate with one another as we
talk about this?
Ok, good, let’s get started…”
Activity: Practice Pairs
• Choose a new partner.
• Using the “me” card that has an area of concern or
development that you need to work on, let a new partner
give you feedback on that.
• Use the Feedback Recipe Card.
• 5 – 3 – 3 – Switch
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Really? Why do this?
y Avoidance Only Makes It Worse Later
y The Center Suffers When There is Poor
Performance
y Your Effectiveness as a Leader Suffers When
There is Poor Performance
y When You Avoid Giving Feedback, You Rob
the Employee of a Growth Opportunity
How can you NOT do this?
Source: John Maxwell’s Developing the Leaders Around You
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Next Steps to Coaching for
Optimal Performance
• Use the Feedback Recipe Card in All of Your
Feedback Sessions
• Copy the Recipe Card For All Leaders to Use
• Practice Giving Feedback Often
• Cultivate Courage to Give Specific, Clear
Feedback
• Believe in People
• Give Dignity, Respect and Compassion
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Did We Accomplish Our Goals?
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Name the goals of feedback
Understand why feedback is important
Use specific steps to give effective feedback
Understand the mistakes of giving feedback
Practice giving and receiving feedback
Activity: Feedback Wrap Up
Based on today’s CONTENT:
• Complete the STOP, START, CONTINUE
Worksheet
• Self-Address the Envelope
• Place the Worksheet in the Envelope
• Watch Your Mail in the Coming Weeks
Contact Information
Kendra Kett, M.Ed.
kkett@brighthorizons.com
Or visit me at:
www.pinwheelgirls.com
Facebook: The Pinwheel Girls
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