Question

Scenario

Michael is an accomplished middle-level manager in your organization. He is very good within his functional area, but has been told that he will not be promoted further unless he learns how to manage people more effectively. When you speak with Michael's administrative assistant, he complains about Michael's constant sarcasm and insincerity. In speaking with Michael yourself, it seems as if he is not really listening to you as you seek to discuss this issue with him. His facial expressions and body language come across as quite negative.

Questions: 1. If you were seeking to coach Michael, where would you begin? What types of actions and activities would you engage in? 2. Are there any communication tools or exercises that you would recommend for Michael? 3. Does it matter whether you are coaching Michael as their immediate supervisor, or as an outsider?

Answer 1

Answer:- In this question, it seems that Michael lacks seriousness towards the career. In order to overcome this problem, in place of directly hitting Michael with a lot of suggestions and opinions, I would rather have a free and open discussion with him in order to create a good reputation. This will initiate by knowing his future career plans, what motivates him, what are the different assignments at family and professional front and how he thinks about his job.

This kind of open discussion will help in understanding whether Michael is having some attitude issue related to the job, or he is not sincere on the job because of some other factors. In fact, by knowing the different factors which he likes and dislikes about the job, the coach can focus more on positive aspects of the job and try to make the negative aspects of the job to be more interesting and appealing for Michael.

In fact, I will ask Michael to come up with the probable solution of different issues faced by him which hinders his performance and sincerity. This is because If I would impose my way of doing things on him, things will not work as Michael is lacking sincerity.

Answer:- In order to deal with this issue, open discussion, free talking, and introspection are the best tools which can be suggested to Michael. In fact, the brainstorming and free communication with seniors and juniors can also be recommended. Michael can be told to participate in open discussion and expressing his opinions about various job-related activities.

Answer:- Yes, being outside and within the organization will really make a huge difference in this context. As Michael is not open to the office employees so if the coach will also be among one of them then he may not be free to communicate. Being outside might help in this situation as he can express himself more candidly in front of an outsider.