What’s hypothesis-based coaching? What are ways to coach your employees to success?
Claire Hughes Johnson says that hypothesis-based coaching—which we’ll call inquisitive coaching—is when you informally share your observations of your employees to guide them to better performance. Inquisitive coaching has three steps.
Keep reading to learn how to coach employees using these three steps.
Step #1: Observe Your Employees
As part of her advice on how to coach employees, Hughes Johnson advises you to carefully observe your employees’ performance in various situations. She explains that, because different strengths and weaknesses will emerge in different circumstances, waiting until you’ve seen your employees across these circumstances can provide you with a fuller picture of their tendencies.
(Shortform note: Experts point out that when you observe your employees, it’s crucial that they don’t know that you’re observing them. After all, many employees will grow anxious if they know that their performance is being monitored, which ironically leads to worse performance.)
Step #2: Identify Shortcomings
Hughes Johnson writes that after enough time spent in observation, you’ll be able to identify consistent shortcomings that afflict individual team members, as well as certain strengths. For example, you might find that one of your team members excels whenever they work on projects without strict deadlines but tends to become inefficient whenever you impose a deadline. Further, Hughes Johnson explains that the longer you look for patterns among your team members, the more effective you’ll become at identifying them.
(Shortform note: Business leaders note that you should write down specific observations when identifying shortcomings that you’ll later discuss with your employees, rather than more general musings. If you can point to specific instances, your employees will be more likely to understand the suboptimal behavior that you’ve been observing. By contrast, when you provide overly general feedback, it’s more difficult for employees to understand what exactly the problem is.)
Step #3: Share Your Thoughts
After you’ve identified possible shortcomings that hinder your employees, Hughes Johnson recommends that you share your observations with them so they can continue to grow. However, she clarifies that you must be tactful to do so: You shouldn’t frame your observations as a judgment about them as a person, but rather about their behavior and its effect on their performance. For instance, rather than telling someone “I’ve noticed that you consistently underperform when you’re under time pressure,” try saying, “I’ve noticed that time pressure can make it difficult for you to finish projects on time.” By focusing on an external circumstance rather than an internal failing, you remove any semblance of blame from your observation.
Additionally, Hughes Johnson advises you to work together with your team members to investigate problems, rather than telling them what to do. She explains that when you order someone on your team to address a personal shortcoming, they’re often put on the defensive and become reluctant to help. By contrast, when you position yourself as a mutual investigator of the problem, you become a collaborator, making your team members more receptive to your thoughts and suggestions. For example, instead of simply telling a team member who struggles with time pressure to implement a daily schedule, you could instead ask, “What measures do you think you should implement to address the time pressure?”
