Performance Coaching – Focus on Improving Strengths

February 16, 2015, by HR à la carte | Performance Management

I had the opportunity to hear Jim Clemmer from the Clemmer Group speak on the topic of coaching last week.  I wasn’t sure what to expect and if I’d hear anything new on the topic.  As an HR professional I had been coaching both my own direct reports and the managers and leaders that I worked with throughout my career.  The typical scenario for coaching for performance usually went something like this:

• Employee has an area or skill they need to develop further
• This developmental area is usually brought to the attention of the manager by a performance miss of some sort
• A performance improvement plan is put together with an action plan and timing
• Employee works through the performance improvement plan with monitoring by manager
• Employee either succeeds or is given further opportunities to improve

Sounds familiar, right?  According to research by Zenger Folkman typical performance coaching is focusing on the wrong areas.  Only marginal improvement is gained by coaching an employee or leader on their areas of weakness.  If an organization wants to double its improvement rates, the key is to focus on building on strength areas.  

It seems like a simple concept; people like to work on things they are already good at and tend to procrastinate on the things they aren’t.  Of course, if the area of weakness is what Zenger Folkman term a “fatal flaw”, then it has to be dealt with.  But if it’s not, focus on the person’s areas of strengths instead.  For further reading check out “How to be Exceptional:  Drive Leadership Success by Magnifying Your Strengths”.  This one’s next on my reading list!