If an Employee You Manage Knows More About the Work Than You Do

WHAT TO DO WHEN

3 STEPS TO ESTABLISH YOURSELF AS A CREDIBLEPERFORMANCE COACH TO AN EXPERT

AN EMPLOYEE YOU MANAGEKNOWS MORE ABOUT

THE WORK THAN YOU DO

IT’S NOT AT ALL UNCOMMON

TO FIND YOURSELF MANAGINGPEOPLE WHOSE WORK

YOU ARE NOT SUFFICIENTLYEXPERT IN

BUT HAVE NO FEAR,THESE 3 STEPS WILL HELP YOU DEVELOP MEANINGFUL PERFORMANCE METRICS AND PUT YOURSELF IN A POSITION TO PROVIDE REGULAR COURSE-CORRECTING FEEDBACK.

STEP 1:START LEARNING

“When it comes to managing your expert employees, learnlike you care.”

SHADOW THE EXPERT & WATCH THEM WORK.

SEE WHAT THEY DO AND HOW.GET CURIOUS. READ.

WATCH VIDEOS. ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

STEP 2:THINK OF YOURSELF AS A CLIENT.

YOU ARE THE SHREWD CLIENT &YOUR EMPLOYEE IS A PROFESSIONAL

THAT YOU’VE HIRED.KNOW WHAT THE PROFESSIONALAND INDUSTRY STANDARDS

ARE FOR PERFORMANCE.

STEP 3:MAKE SURE THEY ARE HIGH PERFORMERS. OR AT LEAST ASPIRING TO BE SO.

YOU CAN’T HAVE LOW PERFORMERS ON YOUR TEAM

WHOSE WORK YOU DON’TREALLY UNDERSTAND.

ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEES TOWORK SYSTEMATICALLY ANDCONSISTENTLY ON TRYING

TO GET BETTER.

REGULAR ONE-ON-ONE CHECK-INS:

NOW THAT YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TOBEING A CREDIBLE PERFORMANCE COACH

FOLLOW THESE SUGGESTIONSFOR BEING THEIR COACH DURING

YOU DON’T KNOW OR UNDERSTANDEVERYTHING THE OTHER PERSON IS DOING.

THAT’S OK! BUT IT’SNOT OK TO STAY IN THE

DO YOUR OWN RESEARCHAND SELF-EDUCATION.

During regular one-on-one check-ins:

DARK AND TRUST.

FOCUS ON DESIRED OUTCOMES.

ASK GOOD PROBING QUESTIONSEVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

ASK FOR DETAILS. IF ANSWERSARE VAGUE, PRESS FOR MORE.IF ANSWERS ARE COMPLEX,

ASK FOR EXPANATIONS.

During regular one-on-one check-ins:

STAY FOCUSED ON DESIRED OUTCOMES, STANDARDS, AND BEST PRACTICES.

ENGAGE THE EXPERT:DID YOU DO WHAT YOU SAID YOU

WERE GOING TO DO? WHY OR WHY NOT? HOW DID YOU DO IT?

HOW LONG DID EACH STEP TAKE? WHY?

During regular one-on-one check-ins:

DOCUMENT THE FUNDAMENTALS

OF YOUR CONVERSATION.ASK YOUR EMPLOYEE

WHAT THEY THINKYOU SHOULD DOCUMENT

AND WHY.

During regular one-on-one check-ins:

OVER TIME, YOU MAYNEVER BECOME AN EXPERT.

BUT YOU WILL KNOW MORE.

FIND 26

OTHER SOLUTIONS TO YOURMANAGERIAL CHALLENGES

LEARN MORE ABOUT Bruce Tulgan’s The 27 Challenges Managers Face www.wiley.com/buy/9781118725597#27Challenges