Manager Tools Coaching Model - Updated - Part 2

Podcast: Manager Tools
Hosts: Mike & Kate
Date: July 8, 2024

Brief Overview

This episode continues the deep dive into the Manager Tools Coaching Model, specifically focusing on practical steps managers can use to coach their “directs” (direct reports) effectively. The hosts emphasize collaborative goal-setting using their Deadline-Behavior-Quality (DBQ) structure to drive real, measurable improvements in employee performance. The episode features detailed guidance, memorable real-world anecdotes, and clear, actionable advice designed to demystify coaching and make it immediately useful to professionals at all management levels.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Four Steps of the Manager Tools Coaching Model

• Emphasis on Collaboration:
  • The first three steps in the model all start with “Collaborate.”
    • "The first three steps of the model start with the word collaborate. We sit down with our direct and set goals and brainstorm resources and create a set of action steps we call a coaching plan." — Mike [01:48]
• Dividing Responsibility:
  • Coaching is most effective when manager and direct work as partners; managers know opportunities, but the directs do the learning.
  • Analogy: Both manager and direct are treasure hunters, each with half a map [02:01-02:44].
• Supporting Core Values:
  • One-on-ones and coaching reinforce organizational values like "collaboration."
    • "It requires a lot of collaboration to go through this process together... it's important and it could be part of your core values..." — Kate [02:45]

Step 1: Collaborate to Set a Goal

Importance of Goal Setting

• Goal Examples:
  • “By 1st December, you will attain CNE status.”
  • “By 30th October, you will run the staff meeting successfully.”
  • “By January 1st, you will submit the capital plan without errors.” [02:57]

The Collaboration Piece

• Intersection between what the manager/organization needs and what the direct aspires to—this determines coaching topics. [04:00]
• Sometimes the manager drives the need; other times, it comes from the employee.
• Room for growth is essential, especially in flat organizations [05:11].

Critique of Bad Goal-Setting

• Many organizations offer poor guidance; common mistake is setting vague, unmeasurable goals.
  • “I get pretty spun up about it because I think there's a lot of bad goal setting guidance out there.” — Kate [06:28]

The DBQ Model for Goals

Deadline (D)

• “Deadlines drive behavior. So we start there, we say the word ‘by’ and then a date. That's what a deadline is.” — Kate [06:40]
• Recommendation:
  • Default coaching period: 6 months (not less than four months).
  • Shorter-term improvements should be handled by delegation, not coaching.
    • “If you think that they could improve their skills in this area or ... less than four months, I would delegate something ... rather than coaching them.” — Kate [07:48]

Behavior (B)

• Should be binary—easy to say “yes” or “no” if accomplished.
• Avoid vague objectives like "learn about project management.” Instead: “read six books about project management.” [13:36]
  • "The behavior needs to be something that you can say yes we did it or no we didn't." — Kate [13:38]
• Avoid unmeasurable, uncrisp goals (great anecdote about “get more technical” spanning 3 years) [14:51–18:19].

Quality (Q)

• Quality standards should specify what “good” looks like.
  • Ex: For running meetings—starts on time, ends on time, has an agenda [19:44].

Key Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Deadlines:
  “Deadlines drive behaviors. We start with deadline, then coaching, because it's a more powerful tool, remember, than feedback. We don't set deadlines less than four months." — Kate [06:40]
• On Vague Goals:
  “The goal for the next year ... was to get more technical. And that's it. ... There was a deadline. Obviously that's awesome—awesomely bad." — Kate [14:49]
  • [Full story from 14:49–18:19: Three years of fruitless attempts to meet a nebulous “get more technical” goal, ending in frustration.]
• On the Importance of Measurability:
  "If what they say doesn't match what you say, it doesn't work. You need something else. You need to be more crisp." — Kate [15:40]
• On Behavior and Measurability:
  "Anything that you can observe, you can coach on." — Mike [22:46]

Writing and Tracking Coaching Goals

• Document Everything:
  • Write goals and coaching progress on or with your one-on-one form for easy access and performance review fodder [21:36].
  • Separate coaching progress from routine meeting notes.

Coaching Interpersonal Skills

• Coaching is Possible for Interpersonal Skills:
  • Example: Coaching someone on not interrupting is doable if you focus on observable behaviors [22:19–22:46].

Measuring Success

• Ensure behaviors and standards can be independently measured.
  • “If I measured this and somebody else measured it, would we measure the same thing?” — Kate [24:30]
• Use specific actions to define "success," not just book learning or passive absorption.

Notable Anecdotes

• Kate’s “Get More Technical” Saga:
  • Three-year odyssey attempting to fulfill a woolly performance review goal, only to have it removed but never truly completed [14:49–18:19; 25:19–26:41].
• Mike’s Story of the “Be More Communicative” Project Manager:
  • Failing direct turnaround by defining observable communication behaviors [26:44–28:39].

When to Plan Steps, and How Detailed to Go

• You do NOT need a step-by-step six-month plan up front.
  • Agile, adaptable planning works best; just set the finish line first:
    “We don't need that right now. We want this to be an agile process. We want it to be adaptable.” — Kate [30:38]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:02] Introduction to the four coaching model steps
• [02:01] Emphasis on collaboration in steps 1-3
• [06:28] Overview of DBQ and common mistakes in goal setting
• [09:01] When to use delegation vs. coaching
• [13:36] Defining behavior and avoiding soft goals
• [14:49–18:19] Kate’s anecdote about bad goal-setting (“get more technical”)
• [19:44] Defining performance measures for coaching goals
• [22:19] Coaching interpersonal skills
• [24:30] Ensuring behavioral goals are measurable by anyone
• [26:44–28:39] Example of turning around a failing direct via behavioral clarity
• [30:38] Final advice: set the finish line, don’t over-plan

Tone and Style Notes

The hosts balance humor, storytelling, and explicit how-to advice. Their tone is direct, practical, and laced with real-world managerial wisdom.

“Anything that you can observe, you can coach on.” — Mike [22:46]

Summary

This episode lays out the critical first step of the Manager Tools Coaching Model: collaboratively setting clear, measurable goals using the DBQ framework. Through relatable stories and sharp distinctions between vague and effective goals, Mike and Kate show how managers can drive meaningful change—whether the goal is technical, behavioral, or interpersonal. Specific, crisp, and collaboratively developed goals, tracked and measured over a sensible time horizon, are the groundwork for effective coaching in any organization.

The session concludes by reminding listeners that setting a clear finish line is more important than building a perfect six-month plan—the path will reveal itself as coaching progresses.