Chapter 2
Prosell’s Performance Improvement Approach
An overview of Prosell’s Procoach programme
Introduction
“Coaching is unblocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn, rather than to teach them.” TIMOTHY GALLWEY
Key chapter points
- Summarise the Procoach Model of performance development.
- Identify why an individual may have development needs.
- Outline the components that comprise the Procoach programme.
DEFINITION
Procoach:
An effective coaching approach that delivers continuous performance improvement.
We have created this programme by building on the experience of our customers, coaching experts and coachees.
So far we have considered the importance of performance improvement, the influences on individual development and growth and the components that contribute to performance.
This chapter introduces the Procoach model, the result of nearly 30 years of experience of working with sales and customer service teams around the world.
In the following chapter we examine the rationale and principles that form the basis of Procoach. In later chapters we specifically move onto a detailed examination of the Procoach model and how, with some key coaching tools, this provides an effective approach to continuous performance improvement.
Procoach for performance improvement coaching
Prosell’s performance improvement approach, Procoach, is a robust performance coaching methodology that allows managers to continuously develop the capabilities of people within their team.
Procoach is centred on our A-E model. We explain what happens at each of the model’s five steps in more detail in later chapters.
The Procoach A-E model
“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
Performance gaps and coachee potential
In a business context, we describe performance gaps as the difference between an individual’s current performance and what is required of them. This creates an opportunity to build on an individual’s current performance.
Expectations of an individual will change as experience in the role grows – so performance gaps need to be continually monitored.
Performance gaps might result from a need to develop a skill, improve motivation or increase activity levels.
Prosell’s Procoach approach helps coaches identify the underlying cause of a performance gap and provides a means of:
Case Study
Emma receives support during her attempts to work on a performance gap:
Emma has now been with David’s team for three months.
She is progressing well and is delighted with the positive comments both David and her colleagues have made.
At their monthly catch up David asked how she was coping with the increasing need to write reports. Emma is pleased that David raised this question, as she recently took on a responsibility to prepare and distribute a weekly report to several departments. Emma receives a lot of calls about the report, impacting the time she now has available for other tasks.
Emma explains the issue and David acknowledges that he has noticed this also. He asks “What do you think is the reason for these calls?”.
Emma is unsure but after some discussion she concludes that the callers are looking for clarification about how she reached conclusions rather than questioning the validity of her data. She explains to David that she has been writing the report as best she can, but struggles to explain in a logical sequence how she has used her data to reach a conclusion.
Next David asks what could help improve her report structure. Emma thinks for a moment and then suggests she talks with Jan, a team colleague. She has noticed that Jan has a ‘way with words’ and Emma already turns to her for a phrase or description. David agrees this is a good idea. Emma agrees to arrange a formal session with Jan, to help her present her thoughts in a more structured way.
Emma promises to put any tips from Jan into action and let David know about her progress.
Effective performance improvement
Within our Procoach Programme we place emphasis on:
“What to coach”
DEFINITION
What to coach
The skills and processes needed by individuals
to produce outstanding performance.
“Analytical Skills”
DEFINITION
Analytical Skills
The diagnostic skills of the coach applied to specific information /data in any given situation.
“How to coach”
DEFINITION
How to coach
The actions a coach take that bring about effective behavioral change.
“Never, never, never give up.” WINSTON CHURCHILL
Tangible, continuous results through coaching excellence
Our Procoach programme has a clear focus on tangible and continuous performance results. It is not just about the coaching conversation, it is about incorporating and embracing all facets of performance development and continuous improvement.
We believe that any development programme should have at its core a method by which learners can transfer their newly developed skills into their workplace. We therefore combine development of skills and processes with workplace support and reinforcement.
We also set out the standards that participants will achieve in order to be certified at the end of the programme. We ask participants to provide evidence during the programme to show they have reached these standards, to achieve certification.
We implement Procoach in partnership with our customers, reinforcing skills through development activities such as practice and feedback. We encourage the coach to review their skill and knowledge levels once they have completed each scheduled part of the programme.
This helps participants to make incremental adjustments to their approach as necessary. We support this approach through an annual re-certification to check that each coach continues to deliver coaching, which is effective and impactful.
During our Procoach programme we integrate processes with skills. This ensures that as participants build their competence, it is evident to them what to do and when. Beyond the foundation programme, as they progress to different levels, the emphasis shifts to building an appreciation of how to develop intuitive and instinctive forms of performance coaching.
Skills for effective performance coaching
Procoach ensures participants possess the skills they need to identify gaps and blocks to an individual’s working practice.
In some instances it will be skills or knowledge, in other instances, it will be attitude or motivation. Procoach gives the participant the skills and confidence to handle any given situation.
In the following chapters, we look at how we achieve this.
Case Study
David reflects on his performance coaching experience:
Although initially skeptical of its impact, David has been putting performance coaching into practice for almost a year.
With a formal re-certification looming, he is keen to evaluate how he has progressed in helping his team grow. He is also interested in assessing the business results he has observed.
David acknowledged to himself that he was pleased with the way he had coached Emma so far. It was the first opportunity he had had to coach someone new to the team. He felt that he had built rapport quickly and that Emma was relaxed during their review meetings.
He thought back to his recent meeting with Emma. How had that impacted her growth and the business results?
Well, he had uncovered the cause of the difficulties she had with report writing. He had been particularly pleased that the questions he had asked helped Emma to reach her own conclusions. He had been tempted to jump in and offer his own ideas all too often in the past. Not too bad on the coaching front then.
David recognised his own limitations though, and he knew that Jan was far better at structuring reports than he was. It was a good decision to ask Jan to support Emma with this, after all, he could not be an expert at everything.
He would have to make sure she knew what Emma needed of course, but Jan was great at coaching other team members, he was sure she would help Emma.
When Emma’s report writing skills improved, it made a real difference to her productivity and confidence. Together with the time saved by the teams who were currently questioning Emma’s reports, David reckoned this resulted in increased efficiency and improved profitability for the company.
He would have to quantify the impact when Emma began to take on more work.
Chapter check
What have you learnt in this chapter?
Check your knowledge by answering these questions:
Self-assessment questions
- How would you define the purpose of the Procoach approach?
- Which model is at the centre of the Procoach approach?
- What steps are used as part of our Procoach approach to reinforce and support the learning?
Chapter 2 – Summary & Actions
In this chapter we:
- Summarised the Procoach Model of performance development
- Identified why an individual may have development needs
- Outlined the components and elements that comprise the Procoach programme
Your action plan
Consider the actions you will take to encourage performance improvement in your team, department or company.
Ask yourself:
How am I currently facilitating performance development?
What causes do I typically identify for these development needs?
Make a note of any aspects that you feel you can improve. Then plan how to make a start on the areas you’ve identified.