April 12, 1999

Coaches draw out people skills

Executives benefit from interpersonal training efforts

Beth Mattson Contributing Writer

Executives are turning to professionals for help in fine tuning a very basic skill -- communication.

Management consultants are seeing a surge in demand among senior managers who need to improve their people skills. As companies continue to streamline their organizations, executives are coming face-to-face with employees. And many senior staffers are learning the hard way that they lack finesse when it comes to interpersonal communication. "I think, particularly with the fact that many companies are scaling down in their human resources departments, people are being spread very thin with multiple responsibilities," said Karen Lanson, an independent consulting psychologist in Minneapolis.

Companies are continuing to shift from a traditional hierarchy to a flatter management structure. "The difficulty is that the value middle management brought was filtering and dealing with day-to-day situations. Now senior managers are caught in the responsibilities of day-to-day management, and not just leading the company," said Anne Warfield, president of Impression Management Professionals Inc. in Edina. "I think that a lot of organizations got rid of middle management, and then they realized that middle managers had an intrinsic value that they hadn't recognized," Warfield said.

As companies have altered their management structure, the way firms communicate with employees also has changed. In some cases the restructuring and shift in management styles has lead to misunderstanding and conflict. Management consultants or "coaches" have stepped in to help a new generation of executives sharpen the communication skills needed to deal with those changes. "When personnel issues arise, because middle managers are not there, executives need to know how to deal with them, or call on a few select problem solvers on staff to deal with them," said Gerald Dahl, president of Strategic Team-Makers Inc. in Golden Valley.

Those employees who have been elevated to executive positions for the first time are also driving the appetite for additional management training. "A frequent phenomenon that we see these days, especially with technical companies, is lots of people ending up in senior management positions that have risen through the ranks based on their technical expertise. However, they have little background in being people managers," Lanson said. The rise of new senior managers is particularly common among many of the rapid-growth companies, she said.

The tight labor market is another factor prompting companies to be proactive in providing training for senior managers. Because of the labor shortage, more firms are opting to promote people from within the company. As those employees are elevated to senior positions, the firm needs to ensure that the individuals are equipped with the relevant leadership tools to handle their new positions. Companies need to be sensitive to management problems rather than risk alienating and losing valuable employees due to conflict or poor management, Warfield said.

Looking to improve

One misperception about executive coaching is that consultants try to convert clients into one type of leader. "Our goal is to work with individuals based on what that individual's skills and abilities are, and help them reach their maximum potential," Lanson said. Consultants also help executives understand how well they are suited to a particular leadership position. Some individuals may seek to improve their management skills, while others may decide they are not well-suited for the job. Instead, a consultant may help the individual to determine what alternative role would better meet their career objectives.

Consultants start by compiling information from a variety of sources to create a profile of the client. "We try to get as valid a picture from as many sources as possible," said Dr. John Fennig, a managing partner with DRI Consulting in Edina. Coaches interview the executives about their goals and motivations. Another technique is videotaping an executive in a meeting or conference with employees or customers. The videotape gives the client "proof" of what they need to change in their behavior, Fennig said.

Most consultants try to get the big picture by interviewing other employees, superiors, customers and even family members. Some consultants also conduct psychological tests to get a clear idea of the person's skills, interests, emotional intelligence and personality traits. Coaches typically spend considerable time on-site, watching the executive at work and interacting with staff. The emphasis is on raising awareness of where an executive needs to modify their behavior to be a better manager. "The first step is gaining insight into what is the issue, and how does that have an impact on day-to-day effectiveness," Lanson said.

Strategic Team-Makers conducts about 20 confidential interviews with people that know the executive in order to create a report on an individual's strengths and weaknesses. Oftentimes, the confidential feedback allows for more candid comments that can be used to create needed change. "One common mistake is that an executive tends to relate to people from the way they think or the way they feel," Dahl said. But executives need to learn who their audience is, and select their tone, vocabulary and what they say accordingly. "We teach people to read their audience and then orchestrate a response to that," Dahl said.

In the end, the analysis often finds that the message an executive thinks he or she is sending is not the same message that is being received by others. For example, an executive who puts his feet on his desk and leans back in his chair while meeting with an employee may be trying to appear relaxed and informal. However, the employee may perceive their boss as being arrogant and bored, Warfield said. Impression Management Professionals helps clients understand the importance of body language, vocabulary and overall image when communicating in the workplace, she said.

Modifying behavior

The single biggest reason why executives derail is due to poor interpersonal skills, and how the individual interacts with subordinates, peers, bosses and customers, Fennig said. Executives also frequently ask for assistance to improve general communication skills for presentations. Another common problem is that executives are overly emotional. Coaches are often called upon to help clients better manage their emotions. "There is an appropriate emotionality and energy that is put forth around others," Fennig said. Coaches help executives understand how to use the appropriate emotion in certain situations without "flying off the handle," he added.

Executives may not realize that even the little things they do can impact communication. For example, some managers might need to work on improving their vocabulary to include more positive words. Asking what would enhance a project, rather than what is missing from a project, creates a positive versus a negative tone, Warfield said. "One approach is to teach the executive how to communicate from the employee's perspective and not just their own," she said.

Once an individual realizes what they are doing wrong, they can address making changes to improve effectiveness in communication. Changing behavior -- and ultimately management style -- involves acquiring new skills. Those skills can be learned through a variety of means such as targeted reading assignments, role playing and rehearsals, as well as creating simulations of particular situation. "The preference is to minimize the homework where they have to read or do exercises," Fennig said. The most powerful tool is applying the awareness and new behavior to day-to-day situations, he said.

The most successful transformations are motivated by compelling business reasons. For example, the executive might be required to improve communication skills for an important presentation, or to change management style to reduce high turnover, Fennig said. However, modifying behavior is not accomplished overnight. Typically, the process requires six to 18 months. "Ideally it occurs in little bits and bytes on a regular weekly or every-other-week basis," Fennig said. The coaching process slowly builds a behavior change and then weaves that into day-to-day practice, he said.

Coaching can be affordable to large and small companies alike. Costs range between approximately $4,000 to $9,000. In addition, most executive coaches are available for hire at an hourly fee.