To Coach or Not to Coach
This leadership discussion focuses on helping an employee adjust performance before discipline becomes necessary.
What is coaching?
A manager addresses a performance concern immediately instead of waiting months, ensuring the issue is documented accurately and honestly.
What is Integrity?
This feedback framework helps leaders organize performance concerns into three clear components.
What is the SBI model?
This section of the corrective action form outlines how the employee is expected to improve moving forward.
What are future expectations?
This leadership document captures the details of a performance concern and the expectations for improvement.
What is the corrective action form?
When leaders observe repeated issues across several weeks or months, they have identified this key indicator for possible corrective action.
What is observable behavior?
A leader clearly explains the performance gap, outlines expectations for improvement, and communicates the timeline for follow-up so there are no misunderstandings.
What is Transparency?
This part of the model identifies the timeframe, environment, or operational context surrounding the issue.
What is the Situation?
The desired outcome of corrective action is not punishment but this lasting improvement in performance.
What is sustained performance improvement?
Strong documentation focuses on these observable details rather than assumptions or emotional reactions.
What are facts?
Leaders should be able to clearly explain previous conversations and guidance before initiating this formal process.
What is corrective action?
A service advisor steps in to assist a coworker who is overwhelmed with customers, ensuring the department maintains strong service levels.
What is Teamwork?
This section should describe observable actions without labeling the employee’s character or motivation.
What is the Behavior?
Leaders should clearly connect employee behavior to these operational results when explaining why improvement matters.
What is business impact?
This section of the corrective action form allows managers to identify the specific type of issue by selecting options such as attendance, tardiness, insubordination, or unsatisfactory performance.
What is a performance concern?
Corrective action should never come as this to the employee if leaders have been coaching properly.
What is a surprise?
While writing documentation, a manager replaces statements like “doesn’t care about the job” with objective descriptions of missed deadlines and incomplete tasks.
What is Professionalism?
This part of the model connects the employee’s actions to consequences for operations, customers, or team performance.
What is the Impact?
This step ensures the employee knows exactly what actions they must take to improve performance.
What is clarifying next steps?
Statements such as “The employee has an attitude problem” are considered this type of documentation.
What is subjective language?
Corrective action is not meant to punish employees but to support this business goal.
What is operational excellence?
During a difficult performance discussion, a leader listens to the employee’s explanation, acknowledges their perspective, and keeps the conversation calm and constructive.
What is Respect?
Writing “The employee doesn’t care about their job” would violate this SBI principle.
What is avoiding assumptions about intent?
This Group 1 philosophy represents the idea that operational excellence comes from clarity, consistency, and accountability.
What is A Better Way?
Strong documentation connects behavior to its effect on revenue, customers, or the team, demonstrating this key concept.
What is operational impact?