Counseling as a Component in Self Awareness and Learning
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."Not so long ago, a member of the Atlantic Area staff learned that I wanted to speak with him; immediately, he thought he was headed to the woodshed or, as he put it, to a quick and painless keelhauling. Truth is, I only wanted to dip him in the water.;-)
~ W. Edwards Deming (1900 - 1993)
In all seriousness, it's time for all of us to consider counseling, performance counseling that is, as something positive rather than something negative, as something that helps rather than something that hurts. As I stated on Tuesday: "...it's one of the toughest jobs a leader can perform…" but it’s of great value to you.
One online resource notes that counseling is "something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action." Another notes, "Counseling may be an informal or formal intervention that consists of a discussion between an employee and his or her supervisor [about] work performance, behavior, and/or conduct." While my staff member, and others, automatically thought the counseling was negative, it's not always. And, the more we can use counseling to accentuate the positive, to provide positive feedback, the more we will really be performance focused.
As Mary Lou Higgerson notes in Performance Counseling: The Cornerstone of Professional Development:
Effective performance counseling is a key ingredient in building an effective organization. When organization members perform at optimal levels in behavior that supports the organization mission and objectives, they contribute to the organization's success. Further, performance counseling serves as a vehicle for leaders to make sure that every individual member understands how their job contributes to the welfare and success of the entire organization. Through performance counseling, leaders can clarify the organization mission and individual job responsibilities.Dr. Higgerson writes for an academic audience (and I've changed the term department in the above quote to organization), but the substance is exactly the same for those of us in the Coast Guard. Dr. Higgerson reminds us that the "ultimate purpose is to help individuals succeed." To get us to that end, she provides an excellent primer with several noteworthy strategies:
* Make performance counseling a year-round (not yearly) activity.
* Offer both formal and informal evaluations of job performance.
* Make job performance expectations clear.
* Make performance goals specific and manageable.
* Focus evaluative comments on the person's performance, not personality.
* Link evaluative comments to specific examples.
* Link self-evaluation and goal setting.
* Offer specific suggestions for improvement.
* Establish a time frame for achieving goals.
* Recognize and reward positive achievement.
As you counsel your subordinates, keep these strategies in mind. And, as you receive counseling, know that it's not about keel hauling but about success for both you and the larger organization.
Tomorrow, I'll close out this series of posts on iCommandant with a brief discussion about mentoring. Until then, take care of your shipmates.
~ VADM Bob Papp
