The Coaching Role: Inspiring and Motivating
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- Allow the contest to continue. Don’t tell team
members at all. If anyone finds out, tell the truth: You
didn’t want to disappoint them. - Halt the contest. Announce the part discontinuance.
Tally the results of the contest so far and declare a
winner based on output to date.
Example Analysis
At this point, you may be saying, “Hey, what difference
does it make? It wasn’t Mike’s fault. This can’t be a big
deal one way or the other.” Can’t it? Think about it.
In this instance, team morale is definitely at stake. Nearly
two months of work would be for nothing. Additionally, if
competition is very close, calling the contest one day early
could penalize a team that believes it has a full day to
“catch up.” What might the effect be for other contests?
Further, the unfortunate fact is that the bearer of bad news
is often seen in a negative light. Some might question if
Mike knew all along. Blameless or not, Mike is not going
to be greeted with smiles at his announcement. In fact, for
the next several months he could be hearing “are you
sure?” every time he assigns a new production schedule.
There’s no way around it. The critical issue here is
honesty, as it is in any situation where you have a truth
that affects the team. Can your team count on you to “bite
the bullet” and level with them at all costs? Or are they
going to always wonder if you are withholding some
information on every project in order to spare their
feelings? Taking an “easy way out” never works for
a coach.
Tell your people the truth, even if it hurts. They will learn
they can depend on you to shoot straight with them — and
they will reciprocate. Honesty is part of honoring
and respect.
- Encouraging communication freedom
You’ve heard the expression, “My door is always open,”
yet the reality often is open door, closed mind. Regardless,
your team should be absolutely convinced that it is the
Tell your people
the truth, even if
it hurts.