Home » Coaching Conversations » Suppose an employee comes to you to complain that coworkers are not helping him when he asks for direction on complicated tasks. He wants you, as their supervisor, to make them be available to answer his questions and generally be more helpful to him. Which of the following is the best approach to take?

Suppose an employee comes to you to complain that coworkers are not helping him when he asks for direction on complicated tasks. He wants you, as their supervisor, to make them be available to answer his questions and generally be more helpful to him. Which of the following is the best approach to take?

Direct the conversation away from what he cannot control – other people – and toward what he can control – his own thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

Ask him to tell you specific stories of how his coworkers are letting him down and what their problem behaviors that are bringing down productivity in the workplace.

Tell him that you will make his coworkers be more helpful and accommodating when he has questions.

We can’t control another person or other people. Reinforce this whenever you are coaching someone and their thinking reveals that they think the solution is to get someone else to change. This is huge in coaching! We can coach our employees to recognize that which is beyond their power to change, and then refocus instead on what they can control.