Coaching the Uncoachable

Everyone can benefit from increasing their coachability

Over the last 26 years of coaching salespeople, I’ve found most are open to coaching at some level.  Often, they are more open to coaching than me.  However, occasionally I’ve run across that really stubborn individual that just doesn’t want to receive coaching.  For easier understanding, I’ll refer to them as the Uncoachable.  As a sales manager, you have to make the call.  Do I keep trying to coach in hopes this person will eventually change?  Do I help them transition to another company and replace them with someone that is more coachable?  Or do I allow them to stay and continue on their current path because “They’re doing ok without coaching”?

And that’s why they pay you the big bucks, to make those tough decisions.  I want to offer up a different solution to those three options.  In my experience, the Uncoachable people are often uncoachable by me.  Certainly, this might be due to my coaching skills. It can also be due to a strained relationship that is going on between me and this Uncoachable person.  Either way, continuing down the same path will most likely net the same results – frustration for both me and the uncoachable.  So, we need to make a change in order to get different results.

Coaching has two critical components: self-awareness and accountability.  It’s holding up the mirror and then establishing accountability to make the changes agreed upon.  In my experience with this uncoachable person, too much time is spent on the self-awareness piece.  The uncoachable person simply cannot see themselves and how their behavior is helping or hindering them.  During coaching sessions, it may even boil over into arguments over details of how their behavior is a problem.  This is especially true when sales managers coach their salespeople.  Relationship biases come into the discussion and the session can turn unproductive quickly.

What to do?  Use assessments.  And as the coach, do not be a participant in these assessments.  By not being a part of the assessments, the coaching discussion can never come back to being your view.  The views expressed in these assessments are theirs and their co-workers.  Below are several of the best for this particular situation.

1. 360 Feedback: If not familiar, this is an assessment that is completed manually by 10 or so co-workers, peers, or others that interact with this uncoachable person.  These 10 individuals complete their answers and send them to you or an HR person.  The feedback is compiled by question with no individual names attached to the comments.  This has the potential to be the biggest eye opener for the uncoachable.  These aren’t your opinions anymore.  This is how their peers see them.  It’s a very powerful message and needs to be handled properly.  Especially if the feedback has deep personal issues involved.
2. DISC: While this is good for anyone, the online DISC assessment is helpful for the uncoachable person to gain more understanding of themselves.  You can pull from their profile and brainstorm how their style might be helping or hindering their development.  As the coach, it gives you insight into ways that you can connect better with this person.
3. Clifton Strength Finders: This is another online assessment similar to DISC, but expanded out into 34 themes.  Again, this is a great assessment for any of us.  However, for the uncoachable, it gives them a little more insight into their personality and ways to build on their strengths and mitigate their weaknesses.

Enter on this link from two weeks ago to understand the importance of coaching and how it can help you grow your sales. 

5 REASONS SALESPEOPLE NEED COACHING

Enter on this link from last week to understand the importance of setting up a coaching environment with your sales team:   6 Reasons Sales Managers Fail at Coaching

Last note on coachability.  Hiring for Coachability is much easier than trying to establish it.  After all, it’s easier to coach when the desire is already there. Characteristics to look for in the interview?

1. Candidates that understand they don’t know everything
2. Candidates that work hard to continue to improve
3. Candidates that are not stubborn
4. Candidates that collaborate more successfully
5. Candidates that seek out feedback
6. Candidates that treat failure as a learning experience
7. Candidates that are more enjoyable to be round

If you would like to learn more about establishing a coaching environment with your team or conducting the assessments mentioned above, contact me directly at (608) 751-6971 or  Greg@GregMartinelli.net

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Make your next meeting memorable by bringing in a speaker who’s been there.  Contact me to find out how Greg@GregMartinelli.net  (608) 751-6971

For more Ag Sales Training, Ag Sales Coaching and Leading Ag Sales Teams, go to http://www.GregMartinelli.net/