Associates for Professional Development's Latest Articles:

The steamroller.  The one who never seems to consider what anyone else on the team wants or feels is right.  The one who is convinced of the rightness of his opinion or proposal and then rolls right over anyone who gets in the way.

When faced with a steamrolling employee, many co-workers simply lie down and let the steamrolling begin.  It is so much easier and less time-consuming, but it is also so much less risky than standing up to them.

The problem with this approach is two-fold.

1. The behavior continues unabated, leaving everyone feeling vulnerable.
2. Team morale steadily erodes to the point where the team can become non-functional.

Approaches. There are a couple of ways to deal with a steamrolling co-worker.

1. Label the behavior in a non-accusatory way.  For example: “John, when you disregard what the rest of us on the team have said, it really shuts me down.  And I know that isn’t what you want, is it?  What you are proposing has a lot of merit, but we really need to take into consideration what the rest of us believe.”
2. If the team has tried to address the steamrolling behavior without success, then it is time to move up the ladder and address it with a supervisor who has more authority.

Early and Often. The key is to not let the behavior continue to the point where it is seriously detracting from the team’s effectiveness.  Addressing it early and often will usually help bring it to an end.

Coaching is a bi-directional process.  What does that mean?  Simply that the most effective coaching process goes in both directions: from the coach to the candidate and from the candidate to the coach.  You need to know a number of key items about your coach, but for your coaching experience to achieve its greatest value, your coach needs to know some key things about you.

Coaching is not about one person imparting pearls of wisdom to another person.  It is about establishing a relationship with each other that leads to openness and trust.  There are 5 keys to this:

#1.  What is your story? The first step is for your coach to truly understand how you have gotten where you are.  That involves revealing your story—the start of your career through today.  This provides critical perspective to your coach’s understanding of who YOU are right now.

#2.  Who were the key people in your career development? This information helps your coach see the decision points in your path and who was there with you when you made them.  Over time, these individuals make up a kind of who’s who of your life.

#3.  What have been your greatest successes? Your successes are much more important to your ongoing development than your failures.  Your successes demonstrate where you have applied your best wisdom, your keenest insights, your most helpful partnering with others.  Above all, focusing on your success will help you build your confidence for future successes.

#4.  What have you left behind? All of us make decisions that involve leaving other people and places behind.  This is a crucial part of growth for most business professionals.  Recognizing the parts you have left behind can help your coach understand what might be holding you back.

#5.  Where is There? Setting goals is a key component in any coaching process, so having a clear idea of where you want to go is crucial.  Looking into the future, pointing at that goal and saying “In the next two years I want to be there” is helpful only if we really know what there looks like.

Making certain that your coach knows these 5 things about you will help ensure a truly satisfying and successful coaching engagement.

Have you had a conversation like this with yourself? “I am a very smart person, I have gotten along quite well with expertise in my field, common sense and drive. Coaches charge a lot of money. Expensive cheerleaders. What can they do for me that I can’t do for myself?”

Here is what a coach can do for you

A good coach listens. Fully. Really hearing. And while they are listening, they are connecting the dots – looking for nuances and fine points that will help to move you toward your goal.

A good coach questions. “What does that really mean?” “How did your boss react to that?” “What is the logical conclusion of your theory?” Probing and challenging your viewpoint and perspective.

A good coach provides new information. “Have you thought about….?” “What if you tried…?”

“Sometimes it helps to…”

A good coach holds you accountable. “Were you able to…?” Did you have that difficult conversation?” “What is your progress on…?”

A good coach gives you the gift of the truth – 100% of the time. Whether it feels positive or not.

A good coach is interested in your development and success and is focused 100% on you.

Development and implementation of a feedback process for employee evaluation

In June, 1998, Northern Hospital of Surry County implemented a new process for conducting employee evaluations organization-wide. This process, called a feedback process, was implemented as a result of extensive study of the needs of the organization, its employees, and the community it serves. The decisions to design, develop, pilot test, and implement an innovative form of evaluation were made in order to improve the congruence between the organization’s mission, vision, and values and the structures which communicate the mission, vision, and values to employees and which influence their understanding of and perspective concerning their work.

download the whitepaper (pdf)