Paying Attention to Organisational Frogs

(A way to establish your priorities amongst the resources available in this website)

When placed in water already too warm, frogs will
leave immediately but if placed in cold water, will
accommodate gradually increasing heat
(smiling all the while), until they die, because the
rising discomfort is almost imperceptible.

I can't swear this is 100 per cent true about frogs. The story may be apocryphal, an urban legend, but it's a good analogy for many workplace crises and challenges: you may not know you're in trouble until it's too late. Every day, thousands of organisational frogs move on to The Big Swamp in the Sky because it's alarmingly easy to kill them.

We grow accustomed to incremental discordance, malperformance and dysfunction in our workplaces until damage-control is needed. We normalize irritating difficulties and unresolved challenges, gloss over differences or sweep them under the carpet and they worsen. We tolerate imprecision and ambiguity in communication, misunderstandings and confusion in our roles and negative feelings in relationships, generally keeping quiet about our disquiet until one day we are forced to confront the effects: gaps between the ideal and the reality so big that repairing them is really difficult or impossible. Then, typically, we claim that the crisis is a total surprise! At least, many of my clients do.

I'm not advocating intolerance of unattainable perfection, or of not finding room for give-and-take and forgiveness. Nor do I suggest lowering high standards. There's a difference between having too few boundaries and insisting on practices that are essential to useful functioning.

When my clients and I have done a bit of digging into the causes of these challenges (their presenting problems), they say things like this:

Things were going so well fiscally and there was lots of goodwill . . . we imagined we were bullet-proof.
Well, I thought, What can you do . . ? It's how things are 'round here and I'll have to put up with it.
I knew it couldn't go on for ever . . . I guess we tried to pretend it wasn't happening . . .
I was hoping we could keep the lid on it all, but in the end it just blew up!
We sensed something was wrong but I couldn't put my finger on it.
We didn't really see this coming!
Things were pretty desperate at times but we figured they'd improve.
We were papering over the cracks. It had to end some day.
We just hoped it wouldn't happen to us.

The very good news . . ? No matter how many frogs you've already despatched or are currently warming, there are very simple things you can do to reduce or eliminate the phenomenon - at least, in very many cases. They're not rocket science but they're not common practice, either. Here's where you can start:
We've identified the following common indicators of organisational frog-warming activities under these headings:

Strategic Planning
Governance & Operations
Leadership
Organisational Culture
Planning
Priority Management
Decision-making
Performance Development
Problem Solving
Meetings
Conflict Resolution
Teamwork
Interpersonal Communication
Self Management
Coaching & Mentoring

Work through them until you identify those true of your own workplace. Of these, select those of most interest to you because -

    (a) They cause you most stress; or
    (b) Your hunch is that they generate the greatest or most pressing problems; or
    (c) They seem to represent easily-taken opportunities for improvement.

Select no more than three items to work on at once.

Follow the links to articles in which the issues are examined. In each you'll find the problems posed and discussed, further warning signals listed, causes identified, and recommendations made for remedial steps and "start here" ideas. For many of the topics, we provide self-analysis and planning tools.

Wherever possible, get together with other people affected by the problems to discuss the effects, implications and probable causes. Get help where you need it but don't rush into solutions; tackling problems far too close to the tip of the iceberg is probably the most common way of endangering organisational frogs. Much more digging may be advisable to gain certainty about the causes of problems and of those, the root causes whose elimination will produce the greatest return on your investment.

For additional help and support call EncourageMentors, the site through which we provide personalised support - online and (wherever possible) in person. EncourageMentors specialise in saving organisational frogs. We'll help you make the difference that makes the desired difference. Go to www.encouragementors.com

Strategic Planning

Organisational warning signals:

The strategic plan is rarely or never referred to. We improvise, making it up as we go along. The outcomes of strategic planning efforts are usually idealistic statements of vision, mission and values that have no real, everyday meaning, and attract a lot of derision from those who actually do the real work. A few meaningless statements about them are placed around the organisation but whatever else was planned falls by the wayside until the next formal planning event, preceded by a time-consuming "survey" or a series of staff meetings.

It's widely understood that although considerable efforts are put into annual strategic planning, certain key groups of people in the organisation are not guided by those plans. The direction and strategy of some important matters is dominated by the wrong people. Those who are responsible for organisational governance become inappropriately involved in organisational leadership and operational matters. The organisation's leadership becomes inappropriately involved in matters of governance. Those responsible for governance avoid or become confused about their governance responsibilities.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

My colleagues and I are usually left out of the strategic planning loop; the outcomes have little relationship to our views of things. When we are consulted, it wastes time because our views appear to be disregarded or watered-down. If there is an active strategic plan driving the direction of the organisation, I don't know what it is or how it affects me. Fundamental "big picture" reference-points for my work are missing. Plans I make, end up unsupported and fail.

For articles on Strategic Planning, follow this link »

Governance & Operations

Organisational warning signals:

Senior managers make disparaging remarks about the governing body or individuals within it. The CEO clearly wishes to hold the influence of the governing body at bay, confining its role to a rubber-stamping of pre-determined decisions. Meetings of the governing body are characterised by a rigid, pre-determined agenda of administrative matters which does not allow for robust discussion of policy, direction or performance. The organisation's leadership appears to be at odds or at war with the governing body; their differences are public knowledge and sometimes fought ought in the media. The scope of the governing body's control and interference overrides the CEO's influence.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

Indirectly, I am asked to take sides in support of senior management in its battles with the governing body. Members of the governing body or its chairperson come on site or send emails in an attempt to influence my decision-making. I am concerned that the representative role of the governing body has been reduced to tokenism. I am concerned that the role of the governing body appears to be entirely focused on its own agenda to the exclusion of the interests of other stakeholders. The governing body complains about a lack of support (indicated by attendance at its meetings) but behaves in ways that discourage involvement. As CEO, I find that the governing body has insufficient knowledge, competence or competence to provide the strategic guidance I and the organisation need.

For articles on Governance & Operations, follow this link »

Leadership

Organisational warning signals:

There are insufficient or no organisational guidelines about what "leadership" is and no consistently methodical approach to "managing". Some leaders confuse leadership with managing, directing, manipulating or bullying. There's a leadership vacuum or indications of dysfunctional leadership. How they lead is the one thing (or one of a number of subjects to do with their practices) they're not open to discussing or getting feedback about: they never ask. When they ask for "staff input" on other issues, they either reject or ignore it.

Our plans keep changing. New priorities are added to our to-do lists before other priorities have been dealt with. We seem to be influenced by whatever is the flavour of the month. At times we all seem to be going in different directions. There are a lot of taboo subjects we never discuss, even though they're obvious. Plans we make end up unsupported and fail. There are clear factions here: some support the current ethos and others oppose it. We argue a lot about what we should be doing or where we should be going. At times we all seem to be going in different directions.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

There are some aspects of my managers' and leaders' management and leadership practices I find difficult but I'm not asked to comment directly on them. Although I'd like to give this feedback, the topic seems to be taboo. I don't feel confident enough to initiate and maintain a conversation with them about it.

I spend too much time down in the engine room. I want to get to the wheelhouse to sort out the direction. Developing my own leadership skill and style is important to me but our organisation has no clear models and guidelines. I'm not sure when I'm supposed to be "leading" and when I'm supposed to be "managing" or what it is I'll be doing when I am. I'd like to know how well I'm performing in these roles but the feedback people offer is unhelpful. When I ask directly for feedback, people offer little that is constructive.

For articles on Leadership, follow this link »

Organisational Culture

Organisational warning signals:

What the organisation claims to stand for or value is widely regarded in-house as a joke because of the differences between what is preached and what is practised. The gap between the ideal and the actual organisational culture is so wide as to be almost unbridgeable. We need a clearer picture of the desired organisation culture and how to monitor it. Our reference-points for direction-setting and monitoring progress are vague or confusing. Leaders and senior managers insist on one thing but breach their own guidelines in their actual behaviour: it then becomes impossible to correct others or difficult to call them on lapses in the generally-understood guidelines. The "generally-understood guidelines" are so vague or meaningless as to make measurement of their application impossible. Periodically, someone does an "organisational culture survey" but little that is useful comes from it.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

My manager criticises me for the very behaviours s/he applies, and seems incapable of personally modeling the requirement. Our leaders demand honesty and openness but are honest and open about some matters only. Although the organisation claims "respect", "trust" and "integrity" amongst its values, I don't experience myself being treated respectfully and at times there's an unacceptable lack of integrity. Some people and some of the organisational practices are untrustworthy. Our values and ideals are clear but we need to turn them into things I can recognise in daily practices.

For articles on Organisational Culture, follow this link »

Planning

Organisational warning signals:

We repeat too many of our mistakes. New priorities are added before other priorities have been finalised. Our approach to much of what we do is ad hoc, improvisational and arbitrary rather than methodical and well-planned. Systematic planning is something kept apart from everyday activities and reserved for special projects or special occasions. We are too busy to plan well. We seem to be doing too much, poorly. Some people prefer not to be involved in our planning processes, even when they know the outcomes will affect them. We often make plans but nothing much seems to eventuate from them.

Our direction or plans keep changing. At times we all seem to be going in different directions. We use vague reference-points for direction-setting and for taking stock of our progress. People make unsafe assumptions that plans made have others' support.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

I'm not sure how the plans we make fit within the Bigger Picture. I'm not altogether sure of how what I work at, fits into the big Picture. We make plans which affect others, without their input. We make plans and people say they'll carry out commitments but they don't. We fail to communicate plans to those who need to know. It is sometimes difficult for me to hold the focus on what is important. There is so much going on that it's hard to hold it all together. It's difficult to get people's commitment to important plans.

Plans I am involved in making, end up unsupported and fail. I don't like being overly-formal about decision-making in groups, but our processes are often too informal and messy.

For articles on Planning, follow this link »

Priority Management

Organisational warning signals:

We seem to manage in favour of crises, rather than strategies which avoid them. This means that we spend a lot of time fire-fighting, dealing with very familiar problems in the form of vitally important matters that have become incredibly urgent. We never have sufficient time to stop, take stock, figure out better ways of dealing with whatever it is that causes the pressure. We keep recycling the same old problems and issues, without ever solving them. There's more talk than action. New priorities are added before other priorities have been finalised. We know what we ought to be doing but we never seem to have the time to do it.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

I want simplicity but I get complexity. I'd rather we did less, much better. I can't get out of the frame enough to see the whole picture. I keep chasing my own tail, repeating too many of the same mistakes. I spend too much time down in the engine-room, not enough time up on deck to see where I'm going. I'm doing life at top speed with the lights out. I'd like greater alignment between my inner-world intentions and my outer-world experience. I need to get off the treadmill for a while but it won't stop.

For articles on Priority Management, follow this link »

Decision-making

Organisational warning signals:

There's no apparent rhyme or reason to way decisions are made in the organisation: matters over which consultation seems called for are resolved by direction and where decisiveness is needed, endless attempts are made at achieving consensus. Attempts to deal with important things become unproductive arguments or messily democratic indecisiveness.

Managers and leaders apply decision-making models which are vague, improvisational or arbitrary and at odds with stated intentions for collaboration, openness, trust, the encouragement of diversity, teamwork and creativity. Others vary their decision-making practices according to mood or whim. People affected become anxious and confused, overly-dependent, incapacitated, frustrated or angry. Time is wasted as potential initiatives are deferred or avoided and responsibilities left for others. Conflict is created when people act out of accord with whatever unexpressed expectations were held by those with greater authority. Decisions unravel, come unstuck. Efficiency falls off.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

Decisions I've been encouraged to make are over-ruled, watered-down or otherwise altered. I'm unsure how much weight will be given matters over which I should have autonomy and control. At other times I find it difficult to get a decision made by my managers and my progress is unnecessarily delayed. I avoid or become anxious about making important decisions. I get criticised for making decisions or for the ways I make them. I'd like people to take greater responsibility and stop running to me to check on their intended decisions. I'm uncertain which issues call for my unilateral action and which I should consult others about. My manager doesn't trust my decision-making: s/he tells me to make decisions but manages to indicate what those decisions should be.

At meetings, we resort to "let's take a vote" which ends up frustrating or annoying the minority. We are "consulted" but suspect that the important decisions have already been made. We consult and dither too much: someone should just decide and get on with it. We claim to use consensus decision-making but in reality it's "work out what the leader wants or has already decided" then acquiesce or keep quiet. Some people tend to dominate decision-making processes even though it's not their role.

Our decision-making sets out to please everybody and ends up satisfying no-one. People make unsafe assumptions that their decisions have others' support. It's too hard to work out where the boss is coming from: s/he applies inconsistent decision-making styles. Our attempts at decision-making often become battlegrounds for conflict. I find it difficult to influence decisions. We keep re-litigating earlier decisions.

For articles on Decision-making, follow this link »

Performance Development

Organisational warning signals:

Up-to-date and relevant Job or Position Descriptions are rare here and serve no useful purpose. We say that "people are our most important asset" but we put all our resources into developing other things. Performance Development as a discipline, surfaces only when someone is to be performance- managed because they have failed to perform. Routine coaching, mentoring or developmental supervision is unknown or rare, here. There are many taboo subjects we never discuss, even though they're obvious. A few people detract from the collective "energy": their complaining, antagonism or disruptiveness consumes too much attention. Our reference-points for direction-setting and taking stock of progress are vague or confusing.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

The support I need to perform really well in my job is reduced to a vaguely-stated position description, occasional perfunctory inquiries about "How's it going", and an unhelpful annual performance review (on which a lot depends) done by someone with little actual knowledge about my work and the challenges I face.

I need help to deal with new responsibilities. I've inherited a history of unhealthy discord, unhelpful alliances, disruptive practices and serious under-performance. Some people have been allowed to under-perform and I need help to bring them back on target. I want to better encourage the innovators and supporters of our vision. Some people take advantage of my goodwill and generosity. People try to manipulate me or play psychological games to avoid doing what I need them to do. I find it stressful to confront under-performance or off-target performance.

When I become very clear and direct, people complain that I bully them. I worry about being too directing and controlling. I worry about being too collaborative and consultative. I want to be tolerant, supportive and encouraging but I also need to direct or correct others' performance.

For articles on Performance Development, follow this link »

Problem Solving

Organisational warning signals:

There is a tendency in our organisation to avoid problems if at all possible, until they became serious and urgent crises. The ways we deal with problems, challenges and crises seems to make them worse or cause more of them. We deal with problems improvisationally, inventing the process as we go. We argue about solutions until someone's preference prevails. There are too many differing and incompatible approaches to solving problems.

We keep 'fixing' what seem to be different aspects of the same problem, never getting to the nitty gritty of our difficulties. We 'solve' problems but don't get commitments to implementing the solutions. The solutions we implement get insufficient traction or tend to come unstuck. There are many taboo subjects we never discuss, even though the need to do so is obvious. We often end up at the unsatisfactory point we're at now.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

Our approach to problems causes me and my colleagues more difficulties than it solves. I have difficulty getting others to agree that there is a problem. I have difficulty defining what the problem is. It's often difficult to establish when problems are worth solving and when they should be left alone. I get frustrated when people bring me problems they haven't thought through, expecting me to take up their problem-solving responsibilities. I am often confused about whose problem it is - mine or theirs.

My manager tells me, "Don't bring me problems: bring me solutions!" but when I do, s/he says, "What's that supposed to solve?" or argues against my ideas. What am I supposed to do with this? Our discussions of problems turn into arguments and unpleasant conflict. Sometimes, when I get involved in discussing difficult issues, I can't see the wood for the trees. I tend to make others' problems my own.

For articles on Problem Solving, follow this link »

Meetings

Organisational warning signals:

Although meetings occupy a large percentage of each working week, they waste time, create more problems than they're worth and seldom achieve much that is useful. We muddle our way through agenda, often in highly competitive ways, creating high levels of stress or confusion. At best, our meetings are a token attempt at participative management and decision-making. Those who lead them ask for input but resist, reject or put-down the contributions offered and seem determined to ensure their views hold sway.

Consensus is assumed but decisions are often not supported. Matters which could be better dealt with in other ways, waste the time available. We are asked or expected to make decisions without sufficient information or consideration. We deal with problems improvisationally, inventing the process as we go. Matters requiring careful consideration are given insufficient attention.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

Meetings wander non-productively, don't help me do my job and often seem pointless. Many agenda topics don't concern or involve me. I am reluctant to participate fully. They become competitions for speaking space. There are unpleasant clashes in personality or values. Hidden agenda get in the way of our effectiveness. Some people dominate the meeting process or direction while others' contributions are overlooked. Inappropriate assumptions are made about collective agreement.

What is said at meetings differs from what individuals say privately. Decisions made at meetings are sabotaged afterwards or re-litigated at further meetings. People fail to carry out responsibilities they commit to. Written records of decisions made are inconsistent with my recollection of what transpired. Arguments appear to make some people anxious or nervous. People "keep their heads down" to avoid being given additional work. Few people, if any, listen well to what others have to say. Those who conduct meetings lack the confidence or competence to do so skilfully. There are many taboo subjects we never discuss, even though they're obvious.

For articles on Meetings, follow this link »

Conflict Resolution

Organisational warning signals:

Conflict and important differences in the organisation are buried wherever possible or handled aggressively when not. Conflict generates considerable anxiety: people fear raising sensitive issues (those to which strong feelings or large egos may be attached). Differences are dealt with indirectly and covertly, in ways that spread gossip, rumours and discord. Negativity is obsessed-over unproductively rather than dealt with promptly.

Complaints are reported to people other than those complained of. People express negative labels and judgements (often very loudly) in the belief that this represents honesty and "telling it like it is"; they seem to assume that everyone is comfortable with this. Performance feedback is badly timed, over-loaded, avoided, or given in ways that confuse or make it difficult to hear, understand and motivate change. There are many taboo subjects we never discuss, even though the need to do so is obvious.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

I find it stressful to confront under-performance or off-target performance. I don't always feel confident enough to directly let people know I see things differently. I become defensive if I am challenged. I find it easy to overlook undesired behaviour or give tacit encouragement to break boundaries, and I react badly when my tolerance expires. I become defensive when given negative feedback. Although I usually handle differences effectively, I "beat myself up" when it doesn't go well. I get confused about whose problem it is - mine or theirs. Faced with conflict I am at a loss for words and I lose my way.

Sometimes I become anxious, defensive, avoidant or I give up on myself. I let others get their way even though this doesn't seem fair or right at the time. I usually end up "second best" in a conflict. Something about my style of communication seems to cause conflicts. I am told I am hostile, bullying, aggressive or manipulative. When people behave immaturely in conflict, I get drawn into playing tit-for-tat with them. I sometimes get overwhelmed by others' negative feedback about me. My work team doesn't deal well with differences: there is too much destructive negativity and conflict.

For articles on Conflict Resolution, follow this link »

Teamwork

Organisational warning signals:

We seem to be a fairly ordinary group, rather than an effective team. We talk about teamwork and consensus but in the end we all look to the leader(s) to make or approve of what we want and we often don't get that. Often enough, although individuals express their needs clearly, the preferences of the powerful, the strong and the noisily vocal prevail over everyone else's. There's more competition than cooperation. Our "team meetings" do little to enhance teamwork; they are just business meetings. The only evidence of our teamwork is the fact that we hold meetings.

We seem to have "gaps" in the team membership: some necessary qualities and competencies are missing. We have plenty of good ideas but seem unable to turn them into action. There are many taboo subjects we never discuss, even though it's obvious that we need to.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

Sometimes "teamwork" and "getting things done efficiently" seem like contradictory terms: it's usually easier to act independently or direct someone else to. What is said in team meetings differs from what individuals say privately. Members attend to their own responsibilities but won't share collective responsibilities. People fail to carry out responsibilities they have to the whole team. Some people in the team seem incapable of working cooperatively.

I find it difficult to influence the way the team functions. Team performance is encouraged but our systems allow only individual performance to be rewarded. We are so nice to one another that important things are avoided. I don't know the best way to bring out "teamwork". I don't sufficiently trust others in the group, to treat them all as a "team".

For articles on Teamwork, follow this link »

Interpersonal Communication

(See also Conflict above.)

Organisational warning signals:

Leaders and managers unawarely shoot themselves in the foot with self-expression (especially performance feedback) that is difficult to listen to, or with "listening" that makes the other's self-expression difficult. They avoid, resist, or shoot the messengers of personal feedback. Performance feedback is badly timed, over-loaded, avoided, or given in ways that confuse or make it difficult to hear, understand and motivate change. Defensiveness or distress arises when people given negative feedback. Inappropriately hostile, indirect or subversive ways of dealing with anger and unmet needs are common.

Some key people find it difficult to listen. There is often an exaggerated fear of the consequences of honesty; and fight or flight reactions when others are needy, hostile, distressed or distraught. Negative performance or behaviour is confronted in relationships of little importance (because "it doesn't matter very much") but avoided in important relationships (to avoid risks of damage) in which the relative importance of confronting unwanted behaviour is actually greater. Too many topics are off-limits.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

Too often I flag away or discount my own needs for the sake of peace, to avoid arguments or conflict: I need to become more assertive. Other people's demands cause me a lot of stress: I need to say No more often and hold boundaries more confidently. I find it difficult to give my staff and colleagues the honest feedback they need. I want to be able to make complaints or report dissatisfaction more confidently. Ways I express my feelings seem to make it hard for others to hear them. I speak up but my viewpoint is disregarded. My communication style is a problem for some people. I'd like to be more approachable. Too frequently, I misunderstand others. I'd like to become a better listener.

Other people tend to "dump" their problems on me. I tend to make others' problems my own. I'd like to know who owns the problem. I want to be better at supporting people to deal with their problems. Sometimes, when angry, I lose it and go over the top. People seem frightened to tell me the truth. I don't get the feedback from others I want and need. I find it hard to receive feedback or criticism. I want to be more effective when others become emotional, hostile or distressed. I want to be less "stewed-up" about things which bother me.

For articles on Interpersonal Communication, follow this link »

Self Management

Organisational warning signals:

New responsibilities are a struggle for you. You suspect that your career is going nowhere. You never have enough time, can't get your head above water or get out of the frame enough to see the whole picture. There's a sense of chasing your own tail; of being on an increasingly fast-spinning treadmill with no opportunity to get off. You want simplicity but keep getting complexity. There's no end to things that are incredibly important and urgent.

You want to be seen for who you truly are, rather than pretending you're someone else, in order to get along with others. Serious mistakes and annoying problems kept repeating themselves. You find it difficult to be as influential as you'd like to be; you have good ideas but they are ignored or overlooked. Too many important things you need to say remain unsaid.

There are too many options available to you; they just cause stress. It's been a long time since you last said, "I've done enough to earn a rest". You are often burnt-out and unhealthily stressed. You have a flash-point and when this is triggered you lash-out or freak-out. Stress-related illness is a common event in your life. If you think too deeply about the nature and purpose of things, you become despondent. Too often for your liking, you doubt your own self-worth, value or competence. You are easily annoyed and often uptight about what goes on. What to do with your life remains an unsolved puzzle. Your inner-world experience and your outer-world experience are out of alignment. You want to change but are puzzled about or don't know how to.

Although you are often very busy you are confused where you're heading. You want to "make a difference" but are not clear about the particular difference or about how to make it. You recognise that a personal development plan would be useful but don't know how to begin it. People often point out that your behaviours sometimes cause problems you were not aware of. You are often misunderstood. Your direction in life seems haphazard or directed by others. How you stack up against some worthwhile standards is unknown to you. Too often you compromise your own values and ideals, behaving in ways that contradict them. Although you promised yourself you'd live a particular kind of life, you find yourself living a very different one. If you think about it, you tend to believe that "things will calm down, soon" but they never have.

For articles on Self Management, follow this link »

Coaching & Mentoring

Organisational warning signals:

Although we claim that “people are our most important asset”, we put very little effort into methodically developing them – for their current or future roles. Routine coaching, mentoring or developmental supervision is unknown or rare, here. Coaching, when given, is imposed, irrelevant, irksome or regarded as an indication that the person being coached needs to shape up or ship out. Well-intentioned managers who aspire to guide and develop others do this poorly or seem not to have learned how to manage and develop themselves, so model qualities that differ from their own attributes. We need to train those in our organisation who have coaching or mentoring roles, to do it constructively and well. Our organisation is considering engaging external coaches and mentors and we need some guidelines to assess their competence.

At a personal level you may experience it like this:

My manager provides little routine interest in my work or developmental support for it, except to give corrective feedback when I’m off track. The support I receive amounts to occasional perfunctory inquiries about “How’s it going?”, and an unhelpful annual performance review (on which a lot depends) done by someone with little actual knowledge about my work and the challenges I face. Arrangements in place for me to access someone with whom I can discuss my progress, challenges and needs for guidance, function poorly. I am required to coach or mentor others, and I need reference-points to check how well I am performing in this role. Sometimes I strike challenges as a coach that are really difficult to deal with. As a coach, I need to regularly monitor and assess my performance. I want to know what is involved in coaching.

For articles on Coaching & Mentoring, follow this link »