This presentation helps managers develop coaching strategies that bring out the best in their employees, by understanding the psychological needs that people bring to the workplace.

1. January 2016
kevin.r.thomas@williams.edu
413-597-3542
Manager, Training and Development
Office of Human Resources
Presented by Kevin R. Thomas
Dining Services
Coaching for Engagement and
Performance

2. • Think about someone who brought out the best in you.
Can be personal or professional.
• What specifically did they do?
• What was the impact on you?
Warm Up

3. • Understand the importance of getting positive
commitment to success from staff
• Use strategies from positive psychology to incentivize
high performance
• Give constructive feedback in a way that
communicates respect and positive regard
• Choose the right management style for the situation
and person
Objectives

4. 1
2
3
4
Principles of Employee Engagement
Positive Psychology Tactics for Managers
Resolving Performance Gaps
Situational Leadership

5. 1. The threat response
2. Psychological needs in the workplace
3. Employee engagement
Principles of Employee
Engagement

6. • Brains evolved for survival
• Scanning for threats
(esp. symbolic threats)
• Amygdala hijack
• Fight/flight/freeze
• Hasty judgements
The Threat Response
Principles of Employee Engagement

7. • Noticing what’s wrong
• Control struggles
• Ladders of inference
• Reactive behavior
• Escalation
• Labeling people
Consequences for business
relationships
Principles of Employee Engagement

8. Noticing what’s wrong
Principles of Engagement Threat Response

9. Labeling People vs. Describing
Behavior
Principles of Engagement Threat Response
Labeling the
Person
Describe the Behavior
Bad Attitude • Uses sarcasm
• Crosses arms, frowns, avoids eye
contact
• Makes comments that undermine
morale
Lazy • Delays or ignores certain tasks
• Disappears and cannot be found
• Arrives at work tardy, returns late
from breaks.
• Takes longer than needed to
complete tasks
• Performance suffers without
frequent direction and oversight
• Ignores obvious problems
• Leaves work for the next shift

10. Ladders of Inference
Threat ResponsePrinciples of Engagement

11. • Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs
• Pink’s Elements of
Motivation
• Self-determination Theory
Psychological Needs in the Workplace
Principles of Employee Engagement

12. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Principles of Engagement Psychological Needs

13. Pink’s Elements of Motivation
Principles of Engagement Psychological Needs
• Autonomy
• Mastery
• Purpose

14. Self-Determination Theory
Principles of Engagement Psychological Needs
• Relatedness
• Competence
• Autonomy

15. Employee Engagement
Principles of Engagement
• Defined
• Impact of
engagement
• Engagement drivers

16. STRIVE
3
STAY
2
SAY
1
Have an intense
desire to be a
member of
the organization
Consistently speak
positively about the
organization to others
Exert extra effort
and engage in
behaviors
that contribute
to organizational
success
A state of emotional and intellectual commitment to an
organization or group.
Principles of Engagement Employee Engagement
What is Engagement?

17. Impact of Engagement
Principles of Engagement Employee Engagement
• 28 research studies show a correlation
between Employee Engagement and:
– Service
– Sales
– Quality
– Safety
– Retention
– Sales, Profit and Total Shareholder Returns

18. Drivers of Engagement
Organizational Practices
• Diversity
• Performance Review Process
• Organizational Reputation
(Workplace)
Total Rewards
• Pay
• Benefits
• Recognition
People
• College Leadership
• Immediate Manager/
Supervisor
• Coworkers/Workgroup
Opportunities
• Future Opportunity
• Learning & Development
Quality of Life
• Work/Life Balance
• Work Environment
• Day-to-Day Work
• Resources/Processes
Work
Engagement
1
2
Principles of Engagement Employee Engagement

19. • Captive (disgruntled & toxic) – employees do not feel that the company provides for their basic
physical, economic and psychological needs.
• Basic (security & equity) – employees feel that the company provides for their basic physical,
economic and psychological needs.
• Enabled (achievement & esteem) – employees feel challenged and capable of doing their work
well, and they feel valued for their efforts.
• Connected (relationship & loyalty) – employees have a strong affiliation with their manager, and
camaraderie with their coworkers.
• Engaged (identity & passion) – employees feel like they are a trusted, integral part of a winning
company with a compelling vision.
Employee Engagement Continuum

20. 1
2
3
4
1 Principles of Employee Engagement
Positive Psychology Tactics for Managers
Resolving Performance Gaps
Situational Leadership

21. 1. Positive Reinforcement
2. Celebrating Tiny Successes
3. Meeting Psychological Needs
Positive Pyschology Tactics

22. Using Positive Reinforcement
Behavior Impact
Best
chance for
repeated
behavior

23. Celebrating Tiny Successes
http://www.slideshare.net/tinyhabits/dr-bj-
fogg-ways-to-celebrate-tiny-successes

24. • Communicating safety
• Creating a sense of
belonging
• Fostering self-esteem
• Encouraging competence
• Providing practical
autonomy
• Making work purposeful
Meeting Psychological Needs –
Brainstorming Session

25. 1
2
3
4
1 Principles of Employee Engagement
Positive Psychology Tactics for Managers
Resolving Performance Gaps
Situational Leadership

26. 1. Analyzing performance gaps
2. Communicating performance gaps
3. Involving the employee in the problem,
and the solution
4. Reinforcing improvements
Resolving Performance Gaps

27. • Describe the current behavior
• Describe its impact
• Rate the severity of the problem
• Describe the desired behavior
• Describe the predicted impact of the desired behavior
Analyzing Performance Gaps
Resolving Performance Gaps• Analyzing Performance Gaps

28. Describe the Behavior
Resolving Performance Gaps Analyzing Performance Gaps
Labeling the
Person
Describe the Behavior
Bad Attitude • Uses sarcasm
• Crosses arms, frowns, avoids eye
contact
• Makes comments that undermine
morale
Lazy • Delays or ignores certain tasks
• Disappears and cannot be found
• Arrives at work tardy, returns late
from breaks.
• Takes longer than needed to
complete tasks
• Performance suffers without
frequent direction and oversight
• Ignores obvious problems
• Leaves work for the next shift

29. Directive Communication – may work in simple cases
Communicating Performance Gaps
Resolving Performance
Gaps
Communicating
Performance Gaps
Behavi
or Impact
Positive
Future
Alternativ
e
Best
chance for
changed
behavior

30. • Neutral, troubleshooting
tone
• Questions to help them
acknowledge the problem
• Collaborative action
planning and follow up
Involving the Employee in the Problem
and the Solution

31. • “Do you know what happens when you arrive late to work?”
• “What could be the result when you ignore food handling
guidelines?”
• “When you are socializing with coworkers, are you doing your
assigned work?”
• “When you are sitting around while others are working, do you think
others ignore that, or do they complain?”
• “Do you think I have a choice to permit you to behave differently than
everyone else that works here, or not?”
• “Do you know what is going to happen if this behavior continues?”
• “If you don’t do what you say you are going to do, what basis do we
have for an employment relationship?”
• “Will the personal problems that you have right now get better if you
lose your job, or will they get worse?”
• End with “Do you agree we have a problem?”
Sample questions

32. • Make SMART Goals
• Set a time to check in
Action Planning and Follow Up

33. 1
2
3
4
1 Principles of Employee Engagement
Positive Psychology Tactics for Managers
Resolving Performance Gaps
Situational Leadership

34. Situational Leadership

35. Links coming via email:
Contact Kevin Thomas at 413-597-3542
or email kevin.r.thomas@williams.edu
Supervisory Training Series
Communication & Self-Management
Questions?
• Course page link to all course materials
• Program evaluation link, feedback welcome