When I worked for a state Baptist convention, one of my
responsibilities was to do annual “performance reviews” with staff both in my
office and in the field. I quickly came
to realize that many of our staff dreaded these annual discussions. One told me that when these reviews first
started (before my tenure) that he got physically ill prior to his annual
performance review!
After doing these evaluation sessions over two decades, I
learned a lot about taking the fear out of performance reviews—both for myself
and others. For one thing, I tried to
think of these as collaborative conversations in which I was an active
participant. As I talked with the staff
member about his or her work, my role as a leader and supervisor was also under
review. I tried to keep in my mind this
question: “What does this person need
from me to do a better job?”
As I think back, I realize that in many ways I was moving
toward a coaching approach in these meetings.
In Growing Agile Leaders, Bob Dale defines coaching in this way: “Coaching is a growth-oriented, strategic
relationship. Coaching links two peers,
equals who are in distinct roles, to collaborate as though partners and to find
the way forward for the person being coached.”
Good leaders know that they are only as good as the people
with whom they work. They seek to invest
in the abilities, gifts, and ideas of others.
Although in the strictest sense coaching is focused on the agenda of the
person being coached, supervisors can use coaching techniques to advance the
agendas of both the organization and the staff person in a collaborative
relationship.
Pastor Andy Stanley understands this. In a recent podcast titled “Five Questions to Help Leaders Perform More Effectively,” Stanley suggests the use of these
questions to guide and evaluate those one supervises:
1. What are you most excited about right now?
2. What do you wish you could spend more time on?
3. What's most challenging for you right now?
4. is anything bugging you?
5. What can I do to help?
1. What are you most excited about right now?
2. What do you wish you could spend more time on?
3. What's most challenging for you right now?
4. is anything bugging you?
5. What can I do to help?
Of course, Stanley’s approach is that every meeting with a
staff member is an opportunity to both evaluate progress and to coach that
person, so all of these questions are not used every time. They come into play at the appropriate time
in the work of the staff member.
By using these open-ended questions, the supervisor is
inviting the staff member to do deeper, be more reflective, and be more
vulnerable. This works only if the staff
member sees the supervisor as trustworthy, committed to the staff and the
organization, and willing to listen without judgment.
A good leader wants the best both for the organization and
for those who serve it. When seen as a
collaborative relationship, the conversations between supervisor and staff member
can be less threatening for both.
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