Coaching for agreement
Do you wonder why an individual does not seem to get done items that you assign them?
During a coaching session, I had an individual express frustration that a direct report on their team routinely states things like, “I did not know I was responsible for that” or “when did I say I would do that” with an end result of the deliverable not being completed on time. Through our coaching discussion, we learned this leader has to work more with this individual to gain agreement and buy-in and follow up with some validating questions before assuming the task will be done as desired.
Here are some methods you can use to get agreement and buy-in with a direct report.
1. Clarify the goal. Start by clarifying the goal or objective you want your direct report to agree with. Ensure they have a clear understanding of what you are asking them. An example of a question you might use is, “What can you tell me about the objective of this project?”
2. Explore their perspective. Once you have their thoughts on the goal, you can ask them some follow-up questions to explore and gain a deeper understanding of their perspective. Here are some questions to consider. “What are your thoughts on this objective?” “What do you mean by that?” “What might be some potential challenges to achieving this?”
3. Identify potential problems. Once you understand your direct report’s perspective, ask questions to help them explore the task further and understand any problems. For instance, you could ask, “What is causing the problem, in your opinion?” or “What may be some underlying issues we need to address?”
4. Explore possible solutions. After identifying the problem(s), work together to generate potential solutions. Ask questions that lead to your direct report seeing a way to overcome the problem. “What ideas do you have for solving this problem?” “How do you think we could approach this issue differently?”
5. Agree on a course of action. Now you are working to encourage their ownership and accountability of the task. You will ensure your direct report is fully committed to the solution and clearly understands that it is their responsibility. Questions to consider. “What steps will you take to implement the solution?” “How confident are you in this solution?” “How can I support you in this effort?”
By using coaching questions to gain agreement and buy-in, you encourage their participation and engagement, help build their problem-solving skills, and promote the ownership and accountability you seek.
One last tip, follow up with your direct report within a couple of days and check in to see if issues have come up or insights have been gained that you can further explore to keep them moving forward.
Written by Steven Schultze