The Book Reader, Spring 1997
These two volumes capture all the pride and dynamism that can be ours with a proper approach to development


Personnel Psychology, Summer 1997
...in simple, common-sense language - basic approaches for managing one's own development as well as coaching others.


Book Description
'Leader As Coach' is a straight-forward, practical book that can help you lead your people and your organization to greater success. The tips and practices in 'Leader As Coach' will enable you to sharpen your coaching skills so that you can attract and retain the talent you need for success, foster growth in others, provide effective feedback, orchestrate learning opportunities, and groom high-potential performers. After all, your people are your most important asset. Within these pages you’ll find: --Five high-impact strategies for effective coaching. --Useful insights on how to deal with resistance and motivate others. --Hundreds of tips and action steps to make you a better coach.


From the Back Cover
Leader As Coach is the second in a series of books dealing with practical approaches to individual and team development. Its five coaching strategies enable leaders to partner with others to accelerate learning and development in a busy, demanding world. Personnel Decisions International is a global, multiservice, human resources consulting firm. Our goal is to help clients build effective organizations and gain competitive advantage through wisely choosing and effectively developing their most important asset - people.


About the Author
Mary Dee Hicks and David B. Peterson have devoted much of their professional careers to helping organizations and their people become stronger through the development of individual talents. Their consulting experience spans dozens of prominent international organizations, including FORTUNE 100 companies such as Hewlett-Packard, 3M, and Pepsi Co. David B. Peterson, Ph. D., is an executive coach and head of Personnel Decisions International's (PDI) global coaching practice.


Excerpted from Leader As Coach : Strategies for Coaching & Developing Others by David B. Peterson, Mary Dee Hicks. Copyright © 1996. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
A partial excerpt from Chapter 1: Forge a Partnership Trust Test 1: Do people know what to expect from you? People value predictability in their world so they can anticipate changes, make decisions, and set plans. Yet leaders often keep people in the dark about where they are going or what they are planning. In the absence of good information, people draw their own conclusions. Guesswork is a shaky foundation for trust. Test yourself. Test whether the person you are coaching knows what to expect from you: --How often do I try to protect the person by keeping information and concerns to myself? --How much do I keep special information to myself so I can feel in-the-know? --How often do I make decisions without sharing how or why I arrived at my conclusion? --How active is the grapevine or rumor mill among the people I work with? How often is it accurate? --To what extent am I concerned that the person can’t be trusted to handle sensitive information responsibly? --How willing am I to tell the person what I really think about their development needs? Based on your answers, evaluate how likely it is that people do not know what to expect from you. Then consider strengthening trust with the following: Offer status reports and forecasts. To avoid unnecessary guesswork, tell people what you do and don’t know, as well as what you can and cannot tell them. --"I haven’t heard anything about the next downsizing. As soon as I know something that I can share with you I will pass it on." --"I know we won’t fill that position until next year." --"Plans for the new contract are in the works, but I can’t give you any details yet." Convey consistent principles. Even when decisions cannot be predicted, you can cultivate certainty around the principles you will use to guide your decisions. Share your priorities. Let people know how you are trying to balance individual and organizational interests and the decision making process you will use. Give people plausible explanations for your actions. Sometimes your intentions are not readily apparent to others because you are taking multiple factors into account. Or, if the situation is obviously complex, people will often suspect simplistic motives. In the midst of major change, "I'm from corporate and I’m here to help you" gets laughed out of the room because everyone knows that more elaborate agendas are at work. --Make sure your intentions and priorities match the complexity of the situation. "I’m trying to respond to the divisional need for greater productivity. At the same time, I’m trying to be supportive because I know everyone is stressed." --Explain changes and apparent discrepancies in your actions. "I know that I haven’t taken coaching seriously in the past. With your new responsibilities, I realize that I have to pay more attention to your development." Balance candor with prudence. Common advice such as "Communicate, communicate, communicate" or "Just tell it like it is" betrays a simplistic understanding of the role of communication in a relationship. Complete disclosure of opinions, information, and confidences may erode trust and esteem just as quickly as secrets and hidden agendas. To ensure that your communications balance usefulness, respect, and honesty, edit what you say by asking these questions: --Does this information avoid breaches of confidence? --How sensitive is it to the person’s feelings and values? --When is the best time and place to share it? --Can the person use the information appropriately for making decisions and taking action? --Will it help the person anticipate their future or see the world in a way that benefits them? --If I have tough news, does the likely benefit of sharing it outweigh the potential harm? Is it motivated by genuine benevolence and a high likelihood of being helpful? --Is it intended to help the person, not enhance my control or stature?

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Leader As Coach is the second in a series of books dealing with practical approaches to individual and team development. Its five coaching strategies enable leaders to partner with others to accelerate learning and development in a busy, demanding world.

Personnel Decisions International is a global, multiservice, human resources consulting firm. Our goal is to help clients build effective organizations and gain competitive advantage through wisely choosing and effectively developing their most important asset — people.

About the Authors:

David Peterson and Mary Dee Hicks have devoted much of their careers to helping organizations and their people become stronger through the development of individual talents. As psychologists and leadership coaches, they have cultivated practical approaches to development that have been consolidated into workshops, presentations and publications, including Development FIRST: Strategies for Self-Development and Leader As Coach: Strategies for Coaching and Developing Others.

SYNOPSIS

A concise guide for managers and executives on the art of coaching in a time of escalating time pressures and constant change.

FROM THE CRITICS

Book Reader

These two volumes capture all the pride and dynamism that can be ours with a proper approach to development.

Personnel Psychology