The Performance Equation

Performance coaching doesn’t have to be complicated. Try this simple framework with your team to guide your approach:

Performance = (1) Potential – (2) Interference.

Introduce the framework to your team member. Keep it short, 60s max.

(1) Together identify the potential, or the ideal outcome. Stay firm to get as much detail as possible.

(2) Together identify the interference, or obstacles to achieving the potential identified. Focus on the coachee’s own areas of control/influence.

(3) Coach towards higher performance by addressing the challenges and minimizing interference. Brainstorm solutions.

Pro tip: Remember to focus on what the coachee can do, not external circumstances or other people. And watch out for your own role in the coaching process.

Here’s an example conversation how this COULD sound:

Manager: “I noticed that we have been struggling to meet our deadlines, and I’d like to work with you

to address this challenge. Can I share a framework that could help us in this process?”

Employee: “Sure, I’m open to any suggestions.”

Manager: “Great, I would like to suggest a simple framework to help us think this through: Performance = Potential – Interference. Shall we start by focusing on the potential? From your perspective, what would be the ideal outcome for our deadlines?”

Employee: “I think it would be meeting all our deadlines without any extensions, and having enough time for a thorough review before submitting the work.”

Manager: “I see it the same way, that’s what we want and seems harder recently to achieve it. Now let’s talk about the interference. From your perspective, what do you think is getting in the way of reaching that potential?”

Employee: “Frankly, I think it’s mainly the lack of clear priorities and time management. I often get caught up in other tasks, and I end up not working on delivering to the urgent deadlines.”

Manager: “I see. It sounds like we can work together to establish clearer priorities and improve our time management, is that right?”

Employee: “Yes, I agree.”

Manager: “From your standpoint, what strategies do you think would be most effective in addressing these issues?”

Employee: “I think it would be helpful to set specific deadlines for each task, and then to have regular check-ins to make sure we are on track. Even more importantly, I can we could break down tasks into smaller chunks and track them.”

Manager: “Those sound like two clear ideas. I can see how that would help. These are also things that we can control and influence. How about we schedule our regular check-ins around keeping us on track here?”

Employee: “Sounds good, let’s do it.”

Summary

As you can see (in the staged example), coaching a team member for performance doesn’t have to be complicated at all. Using the simple framework of “Performance = Potential – Interference” can help you and your team member zoom faster into the actual challenge that need to be addressed. By identifying and separating the ideal outcome and then the interference, you can work together to overcome the challenges and minimize interference.

“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance.” – John C. Maxwell said in a famous quote. In this issue, we added interference to the mix! Take action now and try out this framework in your next conversation with a team member.

Good luck!! Maik