Have you ever thought my team are fine but they could be better?
This was the case recently for one of my coaching clients, it occurred to me that this is a common issue, so I thought I would share the support provided and the feedback from the business owner.
I had the pleasure of working with a small business owner in the retail sector recently. The business is profitable and well established, however, the business owner believed that performance could be better.
We chatted initially about the support he felt he needed to increase performance. The business owner had attended a leadership programme in the past and he didn’t feel that this was the right intervention this time. We agreed that 1 to 1 coaching would be beneficial.
When we started working together the goal was not completely clear. The owner knew that he had a good team, the working environment was positive, staff turnover was low and business performance was good. By the end of the first session we had discussed the challenge and it became clear that staff had established ways of working. The established ways of working had led to the development of informal performance standards which had been accepted by the team over a period of time.
The business owner explained that the team knew the “red lines” in relation to performance, so things that will not be accepted, but over time the overall performance levels had become more average than good or excellent. This discussion helped to shape the goal which was “to create a performance orientated culture”.
The first task was to establish a process for performance management. We chatted about whether staff were aware of how their jobs impact on business performance, what performance measures could be defined for each of the roles and how these should be communicated and reviewed with the team. After several coaching sessions the business owner had developed a process which worked for his business.
Anyone who has experience of performance review processes will know that the design of a good process is key but to create a performance orientated culture it is important to have valuable and regular performance discussions. We worked together over 6 months to reflect on how these went which resulted in actions in relation to refining the process but also in relation to the right management style to help foster a performance orientated culture.
My client commented: “Working with Alison was a pleasure. Insightful and perceptive, she was simultaneously understanding and direct in her approach. Each session led to an actionable outcome that directly contributed to the overall strategy. It will take some time for the ultimate assessment of the success of the project, but the initial goals have been met and the trajectory is very positive”.
If you think that you would like to focus on improving the performance of your team please feel free to get in touch with me to discuss how 1 to 1 coaching could help.
This was the case recently for one of my coaching clients, it occurred to me that this is a common issue, so I thought I would share the support provided and the feedback from the business owner.
I had the pleasure of working with a small business owner in the retail sector recently. The business is profitable and well established, however, the business owner believed that performance could be better.
We chatted initially about the support he felt he needed to increase performance. The business owner had attended a leadership programme in the past and he didn’t feel that this was the right intervention this time. We agreed that 1 to 1 coaching would be beneficial.
When we started working together the goal was not completely clear. The owner knew that he had a good team, the working environment was positive, staff turnover was low and business performance was good. By the end of the first session we had discussed the challenge and it became clear that staff had established ways of working. The established ways of working had led to the development of informal performance standards which had been accepted by the team over a period of time.
The business owner explained that the team knew the “red lines” in relation to performance, so things that will not be accepted, but over time the overall performance levels had become more average than good or excellent. This discussion helped to shape the goal which was “to create a performance orientated culture”.
The first task was to establish a process for performance management. We chatted about whether staff were aware of how their jobs impact on business performance, what performance measures could be defined for each of the roles and how these should be communicated and reviewed with the team. After several coaching sessions the business owner had developed a process which worked for his business.
Anyone who has experience of performance review processes will know that the design of a good process is key but to create a performance orientated culture it is important to have valuable and regular performance discussions. We worked together over 6 months to reflect on how these went which resulted in actions in relation to refining the process but also in relation to the right management style to help foster a performance orientated culture.
My client commented: “Working with Alison was a pleasure. Insightful and perceptive, she was simultaneously understanding and direct in her approach. Each session led to an actionable outcome that directly contributed to the overall strategy. It will take some time for the ultimate assessment of the success of the project, but the initial goals have been met and the trajectory is very positive”.
If you think that you would like to focus on improving the performance of your team please feel free to get in touch with me to discuss how 1 to 1 coaching could help.