When we ask a peer or subordinate to report on the completion of a task, have we heard “I meant to”, or “I need to do that”, or “I stated to work on that”. These kinds of replies are attempts to minimize the lack of action. But what really matters in taking on a task, or action step, is “was it completed? Or was it not?” Execution of a task is binary; either it was completed or not. In this continuation of the series, we will look at ASCEND COACHING METHOD: Step 5 – Execute the plan. Which is really completion of action steps that the Coach, and the Client previously agreed to. Part of this step is for breaking down the plan into action steps, or tasks and then monitoring progress on the tasks. As an overview, the goal in this series is to show how proven existing coaching practices can be integrated with certain frameworks, and methodologies I have seen utilized in software, and technology development to form a new Coaching methodology. Relating this step back to the software development cycle, we can think of this step as the “Build” phase, where developers write, and edit code, and begin to create, or modify system screens, and sourcing developers produce scripts to capture data that is needed to support the project “solution”. This methodology has been branded as the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. In this segment I will give some techniques to help with the completion of action steps, which is how we “Execute the Plan”. Before laying out my suggestions around “Execute the Plan” it is probably worthwhile to summarize the steps in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD we have covered so far.
PREVIOUS STEPS SUMMARY: This new Coaching method is based on sequence. And there is a best sequence to follow in working with this new coaching method. In the first phase or step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, the coach will “Ask Questions”. In this first step it is the job of the coach to interview the client to understand the client’s vision, current state, time-lines, and expectations. We have found that the best way to glean this information, which will be the foundation for future steps done, is by asking questions using a specific technique. The technique I suggest is to ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage clients to open up to discuss their dreams, or visions, their expectations, and any concerns. The goal of this first step is to understand at a high level, the client’s vision, or “future state”. In software development this parallels when the project owner first stakes out their high-level vision of the system’s future state. In waterfall methodology the document produced by the project owner, in this first phase is literally called a “Vision Statement” or “Vision” artifact.
After step one, the coach can move on to the second step in ASCEND COACHING METHOD the “Assessment” phase. This second step concerns evaluating the important information the coach has gathered from the client interview in step one of the methods, “Ask Questions” to map out what it means to the coaching process. The goal of “Assessment” is to understand the client’s vision (future state), and the client’s current state to determine how realistic the vision is, and approximate the effort that may be needed to deliver on the vision. In this second step, the coach also needs to determine if any limitations will block progress, and if so, if any of those limitations can be reduced, or removed. Also, under this step, the client’s time frame needs to be considered. Coach, and Client need to determine if the client’s time frame is realistic. The coach can provide value to the Client, and the process, if they call out time lines that are unrealistic. Deadlines that are too aggressive, and unrealistic can lead to frustration for the Client.
Once the coach has collected critical information from the Client in step one, and completed the assessment process in step two, coach and client can move forward to the third step in the method, “Set Goals”. The idea of setting goals is nothing new in coaching. But under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD we leverage processes pulled from software, and technology development, and we will see that in addition to an articulation of the client’s needs, and wants, goal setting under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD will also formalize, and introduce scope to the work to be done. SMART goal setting method provides a solid foundation, but one that is simplified in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. Under the new coaching method, a valid goal needs to be 1) specific, 2) measurable, 3) include a time element, and be 4) achievable. Writing down goals improves the Client’s success rate, and also sets the scope of the coaching work to be done. Once the client’s goals are captured, and agreed on, we are ready to move forward to the next step in the coaching method, Step Four, “Create a Plan”. In the previous segment I fleshed out the details of “Create a Plan”. A key point of “Create a Plan” are that ultimately the Client “owns” the plan. But it falls to the Coach to create the draft of the plan. Components of the plan include: 1) A re-statement of the client vision, and the client goals. 2) the plan should call out all the identified resources needed to support execution of the plan. 3) at a high level the plan should call out the action steps that need to be completed during execution of the plan. 4) The plan should contain an estimate of completion time for execution of the plan. 5) In addition, if the coach identifies any constraints, or block to completing action steps, they need to call these out, as well as suggesting ways to reduce, remove, or work around any blocks. The completed plan then needs to be shared and reviewed with the Client. The last step in the “Create the Plan step is agreement, or a “sign off” on the final plan. With the plan created, reviewed, and agreed upon by all important players, coach, and client can move forward to step 5, “Execute the Plan”.
STEP FIVE – EXECUTE THE PLAN: High level milestones will be contained in the Client Plan. In “Execute the Plan” these milestones, or high-level objectives are broken down into specific action steps by the Coach, and the Client. Once the action step, and a deadline is agreed to, there is a commitment made, and the action steps, or tasks need to be completed. This usually means there are recurring coaching sessions setup to track progress, and to keep the plan moving forward. Both Coach, and Client are responsible for tracking progress. To provide inertia the Coach needs to make note of the action steps agreed to, and keep the Client accountable. One of the first things I suggest in recurring coaching sessions, is for the Coach to review any open action items with the Client. If there are blocks to action steps, the Coach needs to discuss these with the Client, and work with the Client to come up with ways to reduce, or remove these blocks, or provide a work around. This may be one of the easiest steps in the new coaching method to understand, but sometimes the easy steps are the most difficult to do. The step could have been called “do the work, and track it”. Since many of us have trouble “getting off the dime” and actually taking action steps, here are some suggestions to help cure procrastination, and drive forward “Execute the Plan”.
THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE: I wish I could take credit for this technique, but I can’t. In fact, the origins of the “Five-minute rule” go back to a cognitive behavioral therapy technique. Here is how it works: Find a task to do that may be unpleasant for you to do, something you have been procrastinating on, get the tools you need to complete the task, (and here is the important element) give yourself 5 minutes to work on the task, if you find it too unpleasant to continue, give yourself the permission to stop doing the task, and move to something else. Most times we use this technique, if we make it the first five minutes, we will continue on, and may even complete the task! The five-minute rule is a powerful technique to get things done. Especially tasks we find unpleasant. Try the five-minute rule today! You will be surprised how well it works.
TIME VS. ACTIONS: When you have a larger task, or action step to complete, consider if you want to complete the work based on time spent, or number of actions. Some of us will do better with tasks if we block off a set time on our calendar, and have at it. These people probably feel some comfort in knowing “I’ll spend an hour on this, then I’m done for the day. Yippie!” They take comfort know the work, which might be unpleasant has a set end time. Others of us, like myself, would rather measure progress in the number of actions taken, and not the time spent. An example on how this would look under the two different scenarios might be the exercise of making sales cold calls. If you are a “time” person, you might block off an hour every day devoted to making cold calls. If you are an “actions” person, you would set the number of calls you will make per day, and try to meet the goal whether it takes an hour, 30 minutes, or 90 minutes. It does not really matter because your thinking is something like “I get these 25 calls completed, and I’m done for the day, Yes!” There is not right or wrong approach here. The important goal here is to get you moving to do the work. If you base this on time spent – great! If you base it on number of actions – great!
CELEBRATE COMPLETION: One fun way to make progress on action steps is to celebrate the completion of an action step. The “celebration” may look different from person to person, but even saying the phrase “I needed to get this done, and I completed it” are a kind of celebration. Any phrase that helps you to feel you are making progress is legitimate. Another example might be “that’s one off my to do list”, or even telling yourself, “you are making progress. Good Job!” A reward of some type can be part of the celebration. This might mean a dinner out, going to a sporting event, or glass of your favorite beverage. A good coach can join in the celebration. In fact, a coach should be doing just that. As the client completes an action step, the coach should be offering up a “Great Job!”, “Fantastic!” or “Great effort, congratulations!”. Having a celebration, whatever that looks like for you has practical value; it keeps you motivated to keep moving forward with executing the action steps.
Step five in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD is an easy enough step to understand. But understanding, and executing are two different things. The Coach can provide guidance in this phase by breaking down plan milestones, or goals into workable action steps. A good coach will review progress of action steps with the client. At its core, this step is about completion of action steps. Action steps are binary; either they are completed, or they are not. If the action is completed, coach and client can celebrate the completion. This is an important element as it keeps the client motivated, and keeps momentum moving forward. If the action step is not completed, the coach needs to work with the Client to identify, and remove, or minimize any block to completing the action step. Some techniques to help with procrastination are using the “Five-Minute Rule”, breaking the work down into time devoted or number of action steps, and a celebration of completion of steps. Despite best intention, and best planning efforts, there is usually a need to reassess progress, goals, and time-lines. This then becomes the next step in the new method, “NEXT STEPS”, which will be discussed in the next segment.
AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a Professional Certified Career, and Executive Coach.
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