Coaching

Coaching is helping people get better at something.  Done right, it’s a form of giving.  It usually involves observation and feedback on how to improve a certain skill or behavior. If something’s not going well you can ask for coaching or you can figure it out for yourself. The former is usually quicker, but not everybody’s up for it.

Sometimes it’s easy to see issues in other people we can’t see in ourselves.  After years in business, we can usually figure out why someone is struggling in an area.  Sometimes we can effectively coach them to improve and sometimes we can’t.  What NEVER WORKS is trying to coach someone that doesn’t want coaching.  We don’t coach people who shouldn’t be coached.  Who shouldn’t be coached?

• We can’t coach people who don’t think they have a problem.   If someone doesn’t want to change, then trying to change them is a waste of time and probably insulting to them.  If they don’t think there’s anything wrong with what they’re doing, trying to coach them is an exercise in frustration.  If we think something needs to change and they don’t, that’s not a coaching conversation.

• We don’t try to change people who shouldn’t be in the job.  If you feel like you’re in the wrong job or profession, trying to coach you to be more successful at the job you’re in is a waste of everybody’s time.

• We don’t coach people that think everyone else is the problem.

•  We don’t coach people who’s ego won’t let them be coached.

If you want to change or improve something, we’re here for you.  We’ll offer suggestions, present opportunities if we can, and tell you what other people have done to move past whatever you’re having issues with.  This can be done in the quarterly meetings or an impromptu meeting.  All you need to do is ask. 

If you are interested in helping coach people talk with owners. An owner or manager may come to you for help in coaching someone too. If you’ve gone through something that someone else is struggling with, relating your experiences can be very helpful. It’s always more effective to give advice when you’ve been there, done that. 

Most coaching is done in quarterly meetings. In these meetings managers and/or owners will review your numbers with you and look at performance trends over time. Depending on what challenges you may be having, an experienced stylist that is part of the coaching team may be brought in to offer advice. The goal is to try and identify any areas you may be having challenges with and come up with some helpful ideas for improvement. Employees are encouraged to come up with their own ideas too. These meetings must be positive and solution oriented. They’re not supposed to be “beat up the employee” meetings. They’re supposed to be “what can we do to help you progress and be more successful?” meetings.

If you’re having challenges or issues that don’t fit well in a quarterly meeting or you feel can’t wait until you’re next one, feel free to request a separate meeting to discuss it.