Coaching, Mentoring and Managing: A Coach Guidebook

Recognize the Potential for Team Trouble ........................................................

To keep your team running smoothly, stay alert to signs of

trouble. These are similar to the signals to watch for with

individuals who may need counseling. If you notice them in your

team, they could be even more dangerous since they potentially

affect everyone’s performance.

Here are six common signals employees may send indicating

they are losing momentum on the job.

1. They are falling behind.
   When job progress slows down because team members
   can’t seem to get their work done on time, check your
   lines of communication! Either a) you aren’t inspiring and
   motivating through regular team meetings, b) your
   associates aren’t telling you about specific productivity or
   workflow stumbling blocks, or c) general unspoken
   resentment exists among team members. Immediately start
   a dialogue to discover what is happening.


2. Team member actions or plans are vague.
   Employees have difficulty explaining how specific jobs
   will be accomplished. If you aren’t getting clear
   explanations, immediately probe. Initiate a meeting to
   clarify actions through team brainstorming sessions, new
   job or project descriptions, or clarified expectations for
   procedures and deadlines.
   Coach:
   Well, this looks good, Barb. I think you should probably
   go with it. But how will you hand off to shipping when
   Donna has her job finished? That looks kind of critical.
   Barb:
   It really shouldn’t be any problem. Donna has had that
   part of the project under control for a long time.
   Coach:
   You’re probably right. But you’ve got a couple of new
   wrinkles that might confuse her. It sure would me. Does
   she know about them?

Coaching, Mentoring and Managing

6

When job progress

slows down, check

your lines of

communication.