Coaching for Improved Work Performance by Professor Ferdinand F. Fournies - Book Report/Review Example

• Coaching for Improved Work Performance

Introduction

Coaching for Improved Work Performance by Professor Ferdinand F. Fournies is an effective business management book that provides the most practical guides for coaching employees in all work situations. The author, Professor Fournies, is an internationally known consultant and speaker who have also lectured at the Columbia University Graduate school of Business. He, therefore, has the qualifications and experience on the subject. He gives an impression that targets audience who need to know how to manage employees and boost employee performance without causing conflict. The study shall provide a report of the influential management book by Ferdinand F. Fournies.

Why Managers Fail As Coaches

Management is the process of getting the desired result without one having to carry out the task by him or herself. It involves achieving the results through others. According to Fournies, managers attain their required results by giving directives to employees, mentoring, and even coaching them. In this section, the author looks into the reason why managers still fail to achieve results despite the fact that they are trained to do so. He puts it that the reason for such failure is because managers are taught what they should do rather than how they should do it (Fournies, 2000). He, however, blames this failure on the theoretical training that managers undergo. He claims that the training only increases their knowledge but does not teach them how to apply that knowledge.

Fournies defines management as a system of intervention; the things one does to get others do the works that will lead to the achievement of the ultimate goal. He makes clarifications that managers are paid for getting things done and not for doing things. As such, he believes that managers fail for doing too much and not enough through others. Fournies finalizes the chapter with a discussion on ‘who needs who’ between the manager and the employee. He concludes that the manager needs the employee more than the employee needs the manager.

What All These Mean

In this next chapter, the author continues the discussion from the previous chapter by listing three facts that ‘a people manager’ must recognize. The facts brought him to the conclusion that the manager only succeeds when the employees succeed. However, despite the view that the failure by the worker means failure by the manager, the author holds preservation for situations where the failure is caused by inherent limitations in an individual employee.

The author continues the chapter by discussing the self-destructive behavior. He gives some of the self-destructive behaviors as doing what comes naturally and failing to recognize people as business resources. Others include having a belief in self-development and failing to appreciate the cost to replace employees. The author also argues that the managers do not have the luxury to do what comes naturally (Fournies, 2000). He says that most managers fail to appreciate the fact that it is more costly to replace a nonperforming employee than training him or her to improve.

The Theories You Can and Can’t Use

• In the book, Fournies went ahead to discuss and prove ways to get the workers to perform to the highest level while eliminating the kind of behaviors that may lead to self-destruction. He discusses the theory X and theory Y as well as factors that cause satisfaction and dissatisfaction among the workers in a company. Among the factors of dissatisfaction include company policies, supervision, work conditions, and salary. He warns the managers that those factors should never be used to motivate employees. On the other hand, the factors of satisfaction include achievement, recognition, responsibility, and the work itself. The author recommends these as the best tools for use to motivate employees.
• When discussing the theories that one can use and those that cannot be used, Fournies identifies achievement as the strongest motivator. He recognizes that no person can be motivated by failure whereas small achievements act as a motivator to go on (Fournies, 2000). He describes achievement as a perception that one has done something better for the first time and thus, identifies it as a tool to be used by managers to encourage employees. He advises that managers should recognize even the slightest achievements by their employees and use them to motivate the employees to aim higher. Fournies further describes recognition as the method of identifying the slightest achievement by employees. He places recognition as the second strongest motivator.

An Alternative to Psychotherapy

Most management pieces of training require managers to become psychologists before becoming managers. However, there are situations where psychotherapy is not applicable. Fournies, in his book, provides alternatives that can be employed to increase productivity. He argues that productivity can be improved by providing opportunities for achievement to occur. By providing the opportunity for success, the manager would have an opportunity to apply recognition. The author then outlines what managers should do to facilitate performance and recognize the employees’ achievements. He further argues that managers can influence or promote the achievement by doing something during the work progress (Fournies, 2000). By getting involved, the manager can be able to recognize what have been achieved in every step and appreciate the employees in every small achievement along the work.

A Theory You Can Put To Practical Use

In this chapter, Fournies continues to offer applicable alternatives that can be used to improve the work of the employees apart from psychotherapy. He starts by recognizing the fact that people do not do what they do because of attitude but rather, they develop an attitude afterward. He goes ahead to encourage the coaches to focus on the behavior and not individuals since people change behavior based on their importance to them. Also, he insists that the coaches should use behavior because it is measurable, can be seen when wrong, can be seen when it changes, and can be talked about unemotionally.

If a consequence that follows an action increases the frequency of such action, then it is referred to as a positive reinforcer. On the contrary, consequences that reduce the frequency of actions are called negative reinforcer. Fournies, therefore, classifies achievement and recognition as positive reinforcers. Moreover, Fournies claims that adverse actions can be intentional or spontaneous. He refers to intentional negative behavior as attention. However, he encourages the managers to develop a habit of meeting with their employees whether they show negative or positive behavior. He further gives the reason for that whereby the manager’s intentions have the greatest influence over their employees.

In concluding the chapter, the author identifies the three sources of reward and punishment. The three sources consist of the manager, the work, and the employees' colleagues. He further informs that believing wrong things about people leads to self-destructive behavior while believing the wrong things about the employees leads to doing the wrong thing (Fournies, 2000). The author argues that employing someone is like renting their behavior, and all their success and failure reflects on the manager. As a piece of advice on how to avoid the failures, he suggests that managers should include behavior standards in the job descriptions.

Avoiding the Communication Problem

Coaching employees is a one-on-one management technique that requires the manager to seat with the employee and discuss measures that can be put in place to improve the employee’s performance. The most crucial tool for coaching is communication. In this chapter, the author explains how communication in a business set up works. He starts by emphasizing that for communication to exist, there must be three components. The three components are the sender, receiver, and the transmission. He acknowledges successful communication as a function of thought transmission since there is a possibility that the listener can hear the message but think of something else.

Practical Approach to Managing People in Business

Most managers have knowledge on how to manage the employees in business but not how to manage people. In this chapter, Fournies gives the practical approach that the managers can use to effectively manage their employees. He argues that managers can only manage people's behavior but not the results they produce, hence the only way to influence the results is by managing the employees’ behaviors during the work progress. He further claims that most people do what they do because of the consequences they face.

The Magic of Feedback

Good performance or an improvement from an employee previously thought to be a "problem employee" is an example of feedback that a manager's supervisory work was effective. Fournies describes feedback as the most critical requirement for a sustained high-level performance that permits employees to see the results of their actions (Fournies, 2000). He argues that it is necessary to help one make an effective correction since employees will have no reason to change if they have no idea of what they are doing. He, therefore, encourages the employers to provide feedback to the employees since lack of accurate and frequent feedbacks are responsible for the inappropriate behaviors and performances. Providing feedback is the quickest and most effective way to improve the employee performance.

To clarify on the importance of feedback in business, the author discusses the three types of feedback including neutral, negative, and positive. He also describes an effective feedback as immediate, neutral or positive, and specific; and that it should be between the worker and the work. Further, he suggests that the coaches need to develop feedback systems to help measure the performance of the employees. These feedback systems include a scoreboard, forms and reports, and metrics.

Coaching Analysis

In coaching analysis, Ferdinand believes that the process of identifying what influences performance is the first and the most important step of the analysis. The other factors that he claims may affect the performance include lack of knowledge by the employee on what to be done, how it should be done, and why it should be done. According to him, managers should identify these issues that may lead to unsatisfactory performance and get rid of them.

The Face-To-Face Discussion

The author also discusses the face-to-face coaching discussion as a means to redirect behavior after identifying that the employee behavior has a role in the unsatisfactory performances. He, however, advises that the method is only effective if the other factors of deficient performance have been eliminated (Fournies, 2000). He argues that the method can be used to reach an agreement to fix a problem, to discuss an alternative solution, to come to an agreement on what cause of action to be taken, to follow up to ensure the agreed action have been taken, and to reinforce any achievement.

If It Doesn’t Work

There are several reasons why the face-to-face discussion may fail. One of the possible reasons is where the employee is over-defensive and holding the view that his or her approach is the correct one. Other causes include lack of confidence by the trainee or lack of trust from both sides. The author advises that the manager should assume that the change is possible, manage his or her emotions, and take an alternative view if such a scenario arises. For example, in cases where the employee is pessimistic and over-defensive, the coach should give up the need for the worker to see things their way and find an alternative neutral means. Also, in the cases where the employee lacks the confidence, the manager should motivate him or her by giving them compliments instead of pointing out only on the negatives.

Fournies suggest that if the first face-to-face discussion does not work, then the manager should have another face-to-face discussion. However, he warns that the manager should not focus on the original behavior. The manager should repeat all the steps but should bear in mind that it is possible to have an employee who is just not satisfied with the company regardless of what the manager does. In such scenarios, he says that firing is inevitable.

Coaching Cases

Coaching, defined as a discussion focused on achieving behavioral change, can be used to enhance performance ranging from sales to brainstorming. In this section, Fournies presents cases where coaching is necessary. Some of the cases that Fournies mentions that require coaching include low productivity, absenteeism, and conflict between individuals in an organization. Another case that he presents that requires coaching is in a situation where the employee is working on many tasks, and he or she seems to differ with the manager on which one to prioritize. Besides, the author suggests that the manager needs to have a coaching session with an employee when the employee’s morale is low. He suggests that the boss need to provide positive feedback to the employee to make him or her feel the need to work properly.

Requirements to Be Successful in Eliminating Employee Unsatisfactory Performance

For the manager to be successful in eliminating the unsatisfactory performance by his or her employees, there must first be an association between the employee's behavior and the affected results. Moreover, the manager must accurately identify the behavior change that needs to be employed and have a face-to-face discussion with the employee. Nonetheless, the manager must also communicate the need for change to the employee and make them understand that they are responsible for their behavior. Also, the employees must perceive that the discussion is for their interest and be encouraged to communicate specific feedbacks. As a way of engaging the trainee, the employer must acknowledge and appreciate the employee's achievements.

Conclusion

Good interaction between the employees and the managers creates a conducive environment in which the employees are free to seek guidance or raise complaints directly to their bosses. On the other hand, the bosses should be free to correct the employees’ mistake or commend their achievement. Fournies believes that the important part of management is the creation of a friendly working environment between the manager and the employees. He further believes that coaching can help improve the workplace performance by encouraging the provision of quality work and thus, is very crucial for the long-term survival of the company. He identifies some of the ways to increase the productivity of the workers while eliminating the self-destructive behaviors. The book, therefore, describes specific intervention tactics and as well provides their practical application.