coaching: asking the right questions
TRANSCRIPT
Webinar
July 31, 2014
Lean Coaching:
Asking the Right Questions
Consultant / Coach / Facilitator / Trainer: Lean transformation & business performance improvement in all industries.
Teacher: University of California, San Diego
Author & Speaker:
Karen Martin, President
@KarenMartinOpEx
2013 Shingo Prize winner!
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For more Coaching information See Chapter 4 - Discipline
www.bitly.com/TOObk 4
Learning Objectives
• The role of the improvement coach
• Necessary skills for improvement coaches
• How to accelerate problem-solving skill building through asking the right questions at the right time
• When it’s appropriate to “tell” people what to do
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5 Observations & 1 Decree
1. There aren’t enough improvement “experts” to go around in an organization.
2. Improvement “experts” aren’t content experts (and, therefore, shouldn’t be the ones solving problems).
3. Problems aren’t being solved quickly enough.
4. Problems aren’t being solved well enough.
5. Managers don’t know enough about the improvement process.
6. Improvement can’t be delegated.
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Problem-solving capabilities developed?
Which target condition do you want to achieve?
OR
Problems solved?
Two Primary Responsibilities of Managers/Leaders
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Coaching Get work
done Develop People
Definitional Difficulties
Mentor
Coach
Teacher
Guide Counselor
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Improvement Coaching is more like sports coaching than executive or life coaching
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Employee Engagement – Gallup Findings
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2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
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ACTIVELY DISENGAGED
NOT ENGAGED ENGAGED
0% 100%
Experiential Progression?
Role Primary
Focus Objective
Practitioner Doing
Results
Facilitator Leading others in
doing
Primary - results; Secondary -
people development
Coach Teaching
others how to do
Primary - people development; Secondary -
results
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Attaining Mastery
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From The Outstanding Organization, p. 115
Coaching Skills Self-Assessment
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Assess your skills in three key areas
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Options for Developing PDSA Capabilities
• Strategy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri)
• A3 Management
• Kaizen Events
• Daily Kaizen / Kata
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Macro
Micro
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Develop hypothesis
Conduct experiment
Measure results
Refine Standardize
Stabilize
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Detailed Steps
1. Define and break down the problem.
2. Grasp the current condition.
3. Set a target condition.
4. Conduct root cause & gap analysis.
5. Identify potential countermeasures.
6. Develop & test countermeasure(s)
7. Refine and finalize countermeasure(s).
8. Implement countermeasure(s).
StudyEvaluate
Results 9. Measure process performance.
10. Refine, standardize, & stabilize the process.
11. Monitor process performance.
12. Reflect & share learning.
Adjust
Do
Clarifying the PDSA Cycle
PlanDevelop
Hypothesis
Conduct
Experiment
Refine
Standardize
Stabilize
Phase
Continuous Improvement
New Problem
Often 50-80% of the total time
Adjust
Adjust
Adopt Adapt
Abandon
Coaching: Dual Roles
REFLECTIVE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTIVE DEVELOPMENT
From The Outstanding Organization, p. 117
Heavy use of Socratic questioning to assess learning, develop critical thinking, and
build confidence
Here, the coach serves as teacher. Beware of the difference!
The Problem
with “Telling”
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Warning: The Expert Turned Coach
• Be aware of the juice you get from being the expert.
– Replace with the juice of serving others
• Avoid believing that everyone needs to think and behave the same way you do.
• Avoid “the way I would do it” thinking.
• Turn “THE” thing they need to learn to “A” thing they need to learn.
• Be aware of moving into “do-er,” “rescuer,” or “fixer” mode.
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Socratic Questioning
• Named for Socrates
• Based on his belief that the deepest learning results from a disciplined practice of thoughtful questioning.
– Way of assuring rigorous thinking
• Open-ended questions that cause the learner to think deeply.
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Socratic Questions for Problem Solving
www.ksmartin.com/subscribe pp 196-197 in The Outstanding Organization (pp 196-197)
Open vs. Closed Questions
• Open-ended questions begin with:
– What…?
– Why…?
– How…?
• Closed-ended questions begin with:
– Is /are…?
– Do / did…?
– Would / will…?
– Could / can…?
– Was / were…?
– Have / has…?
– Which…?
– Who…?
– When…?
– Where…?
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Serving the Problem Solver
If the problem solver… Potential Questions
…hasn’t clearly defined the problem. What’s the problem? Why is that a problem? How do you know it’s a problem?
…has framed the problem as a solution or a cause—or isn’t thinking high enough
What causes that to happen? What problem will that address? What larger problem does this smaller problem cause?
…operating without data or has unclear data.
What about the current state is not ideal? (What “should” it be?) What is the data telling you? How does the data support your conclusion?
…hasn’t uncovered the root cause(s) or hasn’t dug deeply enough.
Why does that occur? How do you know that? What else might explain the current state?
Only ask questions to: 1) Assess learning/understanding 2) Help the problem solver discover that he/she has more work to do.
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Questioning “Don’ts”
• Masked recommendations
– Disguising your recommendation as a question (and thinking that counts as a question)
– “Leading the witness”
• “Run on” questions
– Long questions that contain multiple questions
• “The inquisition” – asking question after question
– Instead of pausing and allowing the person to think
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Questioning “Don’ts” (continued)
• Harsh or judgmental tone
• Multi-tasking or half-listening instead of engaging the person in a focused dialogue
• If the problem owner asks, “What do you think?,” don’t take the bait!
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Closed questions and “telling” are acceptable when…
1. The person clearly has little or no experience with an improvement practice or tool that’s needed.
2. You’re clarifying your understanding.
3. Listen with respect and validation; listen without judgment.
4. Listen for unspoken fears, concerns, and aspirations.
5. Use all of your senses, not merely your ears.
6. Take a mental journey and walk in others’ shoes.
7. Listen without thinking about how you’re going to respond.
8. Listen with optimism and positive human regard.
9. Confirm your understanding. (“I think what you’re saying…”)
10. Listen for “why.”
11. Listen with two hats: teacher and psychologist. 28
10 Keys to Deep Listening
1. Be 100% present.
2. Listen without thinking about how you’re going to respond.
3. Listen with two hats: teacher and psychologist.
4. Seek to understand. Listen for “why.”
5. Listen with respect; listen without judgment.
6. Listen for unspoken fears, concerns, and aspirations.
7. Use all of your senses, not merely your ears.
8. Take a mental journey and walk in others’ shoes.
9. Listen with optimism and positive human regard.
10. Confirm your understanding. (“I think what you’re saying…”)
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Coaching Approach for Various Learning Stages Problem Owner’s
Problem-Solving Skill Level Goal What to Ask / Do
Problem-solving is spot on. Thought partner
“How’s it going?”
“What’s working well?”
“What’s not?”
“What have you learned?”
“What’s been most
surprising?”
“What are you doing next?”
“How can I help?”
Problem-solving is off course
and needs correction.
Get person back on
track
Probe using Socratic
questioning; turn to
teaching only when needed.
Problem-solving is on track,
but the problem owner is
having difficulty taking next
steps.
Build confidence;
remove obstacles;
create an action plan
Use Socratic questioning to
help person realize his/her
strengths & grow
competencies; provide
mentoring for knowledge
transfer (e.g. specific tools). 30
Building Organization-wide Coaching Capabilities
Executive Team
Senior Leaders
Middle Managers
Frontlines
Second Coach
Second Coach
Second Coach
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Skill Development Progression*
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Unconscious Incompetence
Conscious Incompetence
Conscious Competence
* Attributed to Noel Burch, Gordon Training International
Start Goal
Unconscious Competence
Co
nsc
iou
sne
ss
Competence
1 4
3 2
PDSA for Improvement Coaches
Prepare for Coaching Session
Hold Coaching Session
Reflect on Coaching Session
Adjust for Next Coaching
Session
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Attaining Mastery
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From The Outstanding Organization, p. 115
Karen Martin, President 858.677.6799
@karenmartinopex
Blog & newsletter: www.ksmartin.com/subscribe
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