We are in real trouble if we blur the line of what coaching is and what it is not when talking about discipline.
Last week someone shared with me that they might be receiving a report of employee coaching form. “What’s a report of coaching form?” I asked. I had never heard of one before being given in the circumstance she was describing. Well, it seems that her company uses an employee coaching form as a disciplinary write-up.
My first reaction – you have got to be kidding me. How wrong is that?
Let’s be clear – coaching is:
- A supportive environment where people can explore options, test new capabilities without the fear of reprisal or judgment
- An investment in personal and professional development
Now let’s look at what a disciplinary action is:
- A corrective action
- A process for communicating with an employee that their behaviors or performance is unacceptable
- Written warnings, sometimes accompanied with suspensions
It seems pretty clear to me that the two activities – coaching and disciplinary action are very far apart in what they represent and how employees would perceive being apart of each process. Why blur the line? To be honest, it reflects a cowardly organization.
Here’s the danger about blurring the line on coaching and disciplinary actions in your organization:
- Employees are confused – be clear about what is a positive moving forward action vs. a corrective action.
- Most managers do not know how to use coaching skills effectively. Coaching skills are different from management or supervision skills.
- Coaching will not be viewed as a development opportunity – they will think they have done something wrong.
It is impossible to soften what disciplinary action means and if you do soften it, the employee will not receive a clear message that they need to turn things around. Instead of trying to soften the action by using the coaching form term, invest and teach your managers how to handle disciplinary actions more effectively.
Thanks for your perspective. I find that the lines are getting blurred in many places on this subject. I am currently working on developing a training for the organization where I work with the intent to share the positive side of coaching and development. Unfortunately I keep coming across so much material on disciplinary actions, it truly saddens me.
Nicole,
Think about creating your own documents or work with a coach that has some already developed. The delinking process of development, disciplinary action and performance reviews has been a concept for a long time yet is poorly implemented in many organizations.
Lynn: So glad I found this post! My thoughts exactly. I’m wondering what you would do if you were in my shoes. I work for a young-ish company and have have been tasked with writing a course for our managers in the basics of management. Leadership has agreed that we should utilize a coaching model of management (without implementing anything formal for now.) One element of the class will also involve reviewing HR processes, like the discipline process. Currently we use a form called a “Coaching Form” to support the discipline process. I recommended changing the name of the form, but was told “no” because “that (coaching) is what it (discipline) is.” I can ignore the name and speak to the process, but I think class participants are going to bring up the disconnect. If that happens, what would you say if you were me?
Amy,
It sounds like educating your management team about what coaching is and is not may be a priority. Perhaps you can slow them down to think more strategically about how language and communication in the organizations affects the program outcomes. It will be very difficult to de-link the meaning assigned to coaching as they evolve. The approach they are taking is not creating a pro coaching climate, it is simply trying to disguise the progressive discipline process. Share some articles with them before approaching the subject so they have a foundation from which to decide differently. Good luck.