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Author: Evan Hackel

A dynamic, innovative, thoughtful and inspiring leader with 30 years of experience in franchising, distributed networks and cooperatives. Successful history of: (i) turning around a $700 million distressed franchise system into a $2.0 billion revenue business in four years, (ii) reviving and re-energizing a $3.5 billion revenue franchisor and (iii) founding three franchise systems. Experienced corporate board member.

Currently, a consultant to some of the largest franchise systems in North America. A franchise industry leader, widely published, keynote speaker, member of the New England Franchise Association Board, and Co-chair of the International Franchise Associations Knowledge Share Task Force.|A dynamic, innovative, thoughtful and inspiring leader with 30 years of experience in franchising, distributed networks and cooperatives. Successful history of: (i) turning around a $700 million distressed franchise system into a $2.0 billion revenue business in four years, (ii) reviving and re-energizing a $3.5 billion revenue franchisor and (iii) founding three franchise systems. Experienced corporate board member.

Categories
Advice Best Practices Strategy

Unleash the Power of Curiosity in the People You Lead

“Model the behavior you would like to inspire in others” is a familiar leadership axiom. It simply means that to encourage specific attitudes and behaviors in the people you lead, you should start by practicing them yourself. For example, a kind executive will cause kindness to extend through the ranks of his or her organization, leading to a kinder overall atmosphere system wide.

Similarly, you can encourage curiosity in others simply by being personally curious about the world. As a leader at any level in your organization, you can encourage curiosity by . . .

  • Explore everything that is new in your sector, in your region and in the wider world, and then talking about it in every appropriate setting – from meetings with your executive team to one-on-one sessions with the people you supervise.
  • Speak openly and enthusiastically about what you are exploring and learning. Your enthusiasm about being curious is a force that can spread throughout your team and organization – but only if you let your passion show.
  • Make it clear that research and inquiry are part of your job, not something you hide away or do in your off-hours. When you show you are an executive who learns, other people will follow suit.
  • Take part in executive development programs, certification programs and other activities that demonstrate your eagerness to learn and grow.

Make Research Projects Part of the Work You Delegate

Assigning research projects to your team is one effective way to encourage curiosity in your organization. And with the right kind of curious mindset, you can position more projects as opportunities to learn. You can say, for example . . .

  • “I would like your task force to investigate and recommend the more forward-thinking systems for inventory control and report back to us” instead of, “Go pick a good inventory management product.”
  • “Please talk with representatives from our five biggest customers and discuss five things we could be doing better for them” instead of, “Go find ways to sell more to our customers.”
  • “Please visit the business locations of five other companies in our sector, see what they are doing, and report back to us on facility best practices” instead of, “Call a real estate agent and find some new facilities we can consider.”
Categories
Advice Best Practices Leadership

How to Get the Most Out of Being a Member of Your Franchise’s Advisory Council

America’s Leading Franchise Consultant Shares Wisdom for Franchise Owners . . .

By Evan Hackel

If you have been asked to join your franchise’s advisory council, congratulations on your new opportunity. You are about to enjoy some significant benefits.

One of the most important advantages is that you will have a more direct line to your franchise’s upper management. You will be able to communicate your suggestions, ideas, discoveries – and maybe even your problems – directly to the top executives of your franchising company. You will also be able to form closer ties with other franchisees who will be only a phone call or text message away when you need them. You have been tapped to be a leader. Another advantage is that you will probably enjoy traveling to attend meetings.

Getting the Most from Being a Member

I have supervised franchise advisory councils. I have been a member too. Here is some advice on how you can get the most from your membership and give your very best to your franchise.

Remember that Collaboration Wins the Day

We all have goals and lists of things we would like to achieve by joining a council. But I have seen it time and again that the people who get the most from council membership are those who focus first on asking other members what they would like to achieve. People who talk only about their own goals, or who push too hard for them, can alienate others and fail to get what they most want.

Empower and Nominate Other People

If another franchisee you met over dinner last night would be a great addition to a new task force that will investigate a particular issue, nominate that person to take part. Perhaps that council member is too modest to put up a hand and volunteer, but that doesn’t prevent you from making a nomination.

The more you can shed a positive light on other people and help them shine, the more you build your own profile as a contributor – and the likelihood that other council members will listen to you and support your needs and opinions.

Do Share Some Hard Truths with Management

Some people who join franchise councils believe that the way to get the most from their membership is to approve everything that the franchise company wants to do. They think that if they smile and pretend, management will return the favor and give them what they want.

In my experience, that approach doesn’t work. The franchisees who earn respect from franchise leaders are those who have the guts to be truthful when other people are not. It is the person who says, “I think that ad is completely wrong” or, “our competitor has a better product” who gets noticed. So my advice is, speak up and stand out.

Listen, Listen . . . and Listen Some More

In my experience, the people who try to listen and understand other people are the people who stand the best chance of being heard. Again, putting other people first is a practical way to achieve the most. It is funny it works that way, but it does.

Stay Away from the Negative Team

Chances are that other franchisees on the Council have gotten there because they are positive. But I have also seen times when that is not the case. I have, in fact, seen Councils where certain groups of negative people have bonded together. They don’t want to support upper management, they want to undermine it. They don’t want to try to develop great new ideas, they want to complain about what isn’t working.

Stay away from them. Their negative way of viewing issues can infect you and make you negative in the way you frame ideas and express your views. And being seen as a negative person will never win you recognition from the people who run your franchise.

Know How You Will Stay in Touch with the People You Meet

I have noticed that sometimes, people only think about this critical step when they are leaving a hotel or getting into a cab at the end of a meeting. They then ask each other, “How can I contact you” and start to write their contact info on a scrap of paper or start texting each other.

One of the greatest benefits of being on your franchise council will be making contacts, so treat this critical activity with the care it deserves. Take a stack of fresh business cards with you to your meeting and give them to people when you meet them – not when you are saying goodbye.

And then when you get back home, email the people you have met. Let them know how much it meant to you to meet them. Comment on one of the issues you discussed. And say how much you are looking forward to being in touch in the days, weeks and months ahead.

Your new contacts are worth their weight in gold, so treat them like golden valuables.

Categories
Best Practices Leadership

Top Challenges in Franchisee-Franchisor Relationships and How to Overcome Them

By Evan Hackel

The relationship between franchise companies (franchisors) and franchisees can be complex and fraught with challenges. Here are some of the biggest problems that I have seen arise, along with suggested strategies for overcoming them:

Lack of Communication

We have all heard franchisees say, “The franchisor never really talks to me, they only contact me if there is something I am required to do.” That’s a common complaint. Another one is, “They talked to me a lot when they were trying to sell me my franchise, but not anymore.”

Those quotes show that communication can often break down, leading to misunderstandings and frustration. The solutions are relatively simple, but you have to do them . . .

  • Have someone from headquarters visit and spend time at your locations regularly, once a month if possible.
  • Don’t only communicate when something is wrong, also share the news when one of your franchisees does something notably good, or when you have other good news to share.
  • Make your annual franchise conference an occasion for franchisees to speak openly with you. Discuss not only operational issues, but the big picture and your vision for the future.
  • Establish franchise councils where franchisees can make suggestions to you and share what they have learned.
  • Provide ongoing excellent training. People don’t always think of training as communication, but it is. In fact, it is one of the most powerful forms of communication ever invented.

Costs and Royalties

Franchisees may feel burdened by the ongoing costs and royalties they must pay to the franchisor. These fees can add up and become significant financial strain. Costs and royalties are part of the franchise picture. But there are ways to prevent them from causing frictions with your owners .  . .

  • Spell out costs before franchisees buy your franchise, so you eliminate surprises.
  • Apply the “WIIFM” (“What’s In It For Me”) approach, in which you carefully discuss exactly what your franchisees receive for the fees they pay.
  • Make it clear that fees are non-negotiable. There are issues you want to negotiate with your franchisees. Generally, fees are not one of them because without them, your franchise could cease to exist.

Compliance Issues

Franchisees are required to adhere to the franchisor’s established procedures and standards. However, this can sometimes lead to conflicts if franchisees feel these standards are too rigid or not suited to their specific market. Here are some solutions . . .

  • Establish a variance committee where franchisees can ask for approval to modify or set aside your rules if they feel they are not fair. The variance committee should be made up of other franchisees. If 60% of them agree to allow the applicant to modify a rule, that request for a variance is approved.
  • Behind closed doors, discuss which of your rules and requirements are negotiable and which are not. This is a crucial step in deciding which rules are flexible. As a result, your communications with franchisees become uniform and clear.

Lack of Support

Franchisees may feel that they are not receiving adequate support, guidance, or assistance from the franchisor. This can lead to feelings of isolation and frustration. But this problem too can be solved with some simple steps . . .

  • Keep lines of communication open so that your franchisees can ask questions or request support. One example? When franchisees call, answer the phone, and respond to their needs as quickly as you can.
  • Provide ongoing training. Nothing else works so well to show your franchisees that you are behind them every step of the way.
  • Have a great annual conference that your franchisees really love to attend. Make it fun, educational, and compelling. At it, recognize and reward top-performing franchisees. And follow up afterwards with ongoing, encouraging communications.
  • Don’t wait for franchisees to ask you for help. Be proactive by calling regularly to ask, “How is it going . . . where can we step in to help?”

Resistance to Change

Franchisees sometimes resist changes proposed by the franchisor, especially if they feel these changes are not in their best interest or are too costly to implement. The change could be the introduction or discontinuation of a product, a new way to accept payment from customers, replacing one vendor with another . . . the list goes on and on. Yet there are ways to minimize or eliminate conflict . . .

  • Minimize frustrations by explaining in detail what the change will be and how it will be implemented.
  • Create a special hotline or another line of communication to answer questions and provide support.
  • Clearly explain the reason behind the change.
  • Again, Apply the “WIIFM” (“What’s In It For Me”) approach by carefully explaining exactly how your franchisees will benefit from the change. Example: “Franchisees who have used this new marketing program report that sales have increased 15%. It will work for you too.”
  • Provide training that helps franchisees learn and use what is new. In this article, I know I keep returning to the importance of training. But training is the most important tool for reducing frictions.

Financial Disputes

I have saved the greatest challenge – financial disputes – for last. They can be the most difficult conflicts to address. There is no doubt that disagreements over financial matters, such as marketing fees, management fees, and other costs, can create tension and conflict. Yet again, there are solutions . . .

  • Include clear financial statements in your franchise agreement and in your franchise operations manual. Go over all costs and fees carefully as part of the sales process and have new owners sign “on the bottom line” to be sure they understand costs.
  • Have a clear process in place for dealing with financial disputes. You could have a committee in headquarters to deal with them or designate one executive to oversee them.
  • Remember, not all financial disputes are the same. Sometimes a franchise doesn’t want to pay an annual royalty fee. Sometimes he or she cannot pay because of financial difficulties. Those situations are not the same. Establish different protocols and ways of supporting – not disciplining – your franchisees.

In Summary . . .  

Understanding these common issues can help both franchisors and franchisees work towards building a more harmonious and productive relationship.

Categories
Advice Growth Leadership

Pre-Onboarding Your Franchisees

By Evan Hackel

There is such a thing as pre-onboarding. Let me make this statement about it . . .

If you want your entire franchise to achieve high levels of success from top to bottom, pre-onboarding is something you absolutely have to do.

So, what is this activity that I am recommending so strongly, pre-onboarding? It is a process in which you enroll serious potential buyers in a program that teaches them everything about your franchise that you possibly can. You give them a complete onboarding experience, omitting only the signing of final agreements and legal papers.

Why Is Pre-Onboarding Essential Today?

In the old days, individual owners often had an imperfect idea about what they were getting themselves into when they bought franchises. They went ahead and bought anyway. Many had high expectations, became disillusioned, and got out fast.

In today’s more competitive climate, franchises realize that allowing that to happen can cause irreparable damage to the entire franchise at every level, because . . .

  • Communications between the franchise company and individual owners are weak, because they were not established early on. In your franchise, you want to make sure that your relationship with every franchisees is strong, positive, and ultra-effective. That can’t be an afterthought. It is something you need to establish and cultivate with your owners through pre-onboarding, even before they become owners.
  • Customers stay away if they see one location close, and stop shopping at franchisees that are not well run. The strength of the entire franchise brand erodes.
  • It becomes dramatically more difficult to sell franchises, because potential buyers won’t consider buying one where there is a known chance of failure. And if individual franchises are failing, make no mistake about it, potential new owners will find out.
  • The owners of failing franchisees sell their locations at low prices, or at the bottom of the scale their franchise agreement requires. That devalues the entire franchise, with crippling results.
  • Unskilled, ineffective franchise owners become the norm in a franchise. Again, the results of that are crippling. Poor sale revenues, low customer loyalty, high employee turnover and other problems become the norm.

Some Keys to Effective Pre-Onboarding

Have your strongest potential buyers . . .

  • Attend your annual franchise convention, where they can take part in seminars, hear talks from successful franchisees, and get an informed inside perspective on what their experiences as owners will be like.
  • Enroll in the same training programs that you offer do your franchise owners.
  • Get to know with your current owners, become part of their community, and share information and insights. This helps assure that new owners come on board with realistic expectations, and helps build a community in which all your franchisees are part of something that they see are critically important to their success and to their lives.
  • Sit down with members of your franchise’s leaders, with successful franchisees, with members of your sales team, and other important people in your enterprise.
  • Visit and spend a few days working in successful franchise locations, so they see first-hand how your franchise works, what makes it successful, and more.

Does offering a great pre-onboarding program take time? Yes, but in the end it saves time because your franchise owners are more knowledgeable, more enthusiastic, more skilled, and much more likely to succeed. Plus, a great pre-onboarding program makes each of your franchise locations more profitable.

So as I close this article, let me offer one final word of advice about pre-onboarding. If you do it, and do it well, it will completely transform your franchise.

Categories
Advice Sales Training Strategy

The Importance of Being a Good Listener

Are you a good listener? A “real” good listener?

The fact is, most people have to train themselves to be good listeners. And it is not a simple process, because there are so many things that cause people to be bad listeners.

Are you a good listener? Perhaps distracting thoughts make your mind wander, or defensive thoughts cause you to try to find fault with what you’re being told. Perhaps you are only listening for the ammunition that you need to disprove the other person’s opinion, or to prove that they are wrong and you are right. When you are confronted with such blocks to good listening, it takes a concerted effort to become good at listening.

A good way to overcome those inhibitors is to be purposeful in your conversations by cultivating these practices and habits . . .

  • Think consciously about the conversations that you are having, while you are having them.
  • Engage people so you can fully understand the situation, problem or issue that they are discussing.
  • Recognize all the good ideas and opinions that people are expressing highlight them, and “pull them out” for further consideration. Look for those little nuggets of value, and strive to build the conversation around them. You can then dig deeper, build on good ideas, and make suggestions to make them even better.
  • Reflect on conversations when they are finished to determine how things could have gone better and differently.
  • Make changes during your next conversations and strive to continuously improve your listening and the overall quality of your communications.

When you do these things, it will result in better conversations, deeper relationships and better outcomes. So start looking for the little nuggets of high value during your conversations and use them to stay focused on positive results.

 

Categories
Advice Best Practices Leadership

Assign Work to Multi-Functional Teams Whenever Possible

I have found – and I am sure you have discovered too – that multi-functional task forces can do a better job of completing many projects than can teams made up of people with similar skill sets.

When a group of salespeople are charged with the task of increasing sales revenue, for example, they will come up with a sales solution. When a group of social media marketers are charged with the same task, they will devise a social media strategy. And when a group of programmers is given the assignment, they will suggest a programming/software solution.

But sparks really start to fly when you bring together members of different disciplines, with different skill sets, and assign them to a project. (If you can, describe that project as “fact finding,” since those words spark a curious outlook.)

When members of different divisions who have different disciplines coalesce and work together, curiosity will start to infect and inspire people across your organization.  So my advice to you is, break down the silo walls and bring people together.

Action Step: Look at the work and projects that are being completed by your department, division, or other structural unit. Is there a way you can bring in more participants from other units or divisions – in effect, transform it into a multifunctional team?

Today’s article is adapted from my new book Ingaging Leadership: The Ultimate Edition

Categories
Best Practices Growth Sales

Millennial Franchise Buyers Have Changed . . . Have You?

Millennial Franchise Buyers Have Changed . . . Have You?

By Evan Hackel

More and more of your potential franchise buyers today are millennials. Do you know who they are? Do you understand them? Are you sure you are selling to them in the most effective ways possible?

Just to review, millennials (who are also known as Generation Y) were born in the 1980s and 1990s and are roughly between the ages 30 and 40 today.

If you think back on the people who have been talking to you about buying your franchise, you will realize that a growing number of them belong to this group.

But are you talking to them in the right way?

What Has Changed?

A great shift has taken place. Millennials shop for franchises and make their buying decision in a much different way than member of older generations did. Here is the most important thing that has changed . . .

  • Millennials do a much larger percentage of their buying research online. They prefer this method. They are likely to know a lot about you before they even talk to you.
  • Members of older generations will review online but will still prefer to learn about you by having conversations with real, living people.

Potential millennial franchisees will usually know a lot more about your franchise before they contact you. Then they will often tell you, “I have read everything on your website, and I need you to tell me more.”

The other difference is that millennials will give you low marks if you’re not providing enough information. In fact they may not ever make the call, if you haven’t satisfied their need or if you have presented yourself poorly.

How can you do a much better job recruiting those Gen Y buyers?

Provide a Deeper Level of Information Online

On your website and your social media channels too, be sure to provide:

  • Testimonials from your current franchisees. Make them videos, and have them really tell a story
  • Deeper information about who you are, what you sell, how your systems work, and more.
  • Information about the unique technology you use, because technology “speaks” to millennials.
  • In-depth information about the training you offer, because when potential franchisees understand that you offer exceptional training, they feel more confident that they will know how to succeed if they become franchisees. Let them test out some of your eLearning, by letting proactive franchisees take a few courses.
  • Still more information about your annual franchise conventions, the systems you use to communicate with franchisees, and more. The more information they know, the more confident they will feel about coming on board.

One Last Thought . . .

The more information you provide before the conversation starts, the more serious your prospects will be when the conversation starts. You will have fewer tire kickers.

Categories
Human Resources Leadership Management

Replace Annual or Semi-Annual Job Reviews with Frequent Touch-Base Meetings

Manager/employee touch-base meetings were created to be better than yearly or twice-yearly job reviews; they are especially effective when you are leading younger employees.

Why are touch-base meetings more effective than old-fashioned, standard job reviews?

First and foremost, they take place monthly, or even every few weeks, and therefore, they provide the frequent feedback that younger employees value. (Again, they dislike working in a vacuum.)

What was wrong with traditional job reviews? Most are unmotivating. A supervisor usually pulls up a document that was created in the last job review and says, “Here are the to-dos we talked about last time. Have you done this? Have you done that?” Followed by the next killer question: “Well, why not?”

If you conduct reviews like these, you are sending the message that you, the manager, know everything and that your supervisee must prove him or herself. You are older, you know better, and your younger generation worker feels stifled. He or she leaves the session feeling blamed, pressured, and maybe even threatened.

There are simple, highly effective ways to turn touch-base meetings into opportunities for mentoring, coaching, and positive motivation for younger employees.

The strategy is to reverse the process so you’re letting your employee take responsibility, rather than “catching” what they’re doing wrong.

  • Start with a simple question. Questions like “Has it been a good few weeks since we last talked?” or, “Have you been enjoying work lately?” kick off a give-and-take conversation that allows you to then talk about anything in a safe way. They also offer you a chance to get a general feel for how things are going for your employee.
  • Replace “Let’s see how you’re doing on your to do list” with “What do you feel good about accomplishing since we last talked?” If you follow this advice, you will start out focusing on positive changes and accomplishments that the younger generation worker has made. Next, give positive reinforcement for what they’ve gotten done and let them feel proud of their achievements. Then, move on to any items that are still undone, which you can now discuss in a positive and upbeat way. This approach drains the blame from your meeting and creates positive and motivational conversations.
  • Ask, “Are there areas where you need help?” This is where you can coach and assist employees. Your offer of help prevents them from feeling bad about something that is undone and lets them feel comfortable about getting the help they may need. Be sure to listen for underlying reasons why your employee might not be tackling certain tasks. The issue could be time, meaning they don’t have enough of it to do everything. Perhaps others in the organization could help? It could be that they lack some piece of technology that would help them, the services of a consultant, or possibly something else. By offering assistance, you are helping someone avoid feeling guilty about not being able to get something done. Under the old system of job reviews, people would often feel shamed and want to mislead or try to divert blame from themselves—that is very unhelpful. Having a frank and honest discussion is much more effective.
  • Let the employee set his or her own “to-dos” and priorities. As a supervisor, there will be times when you need to make firm assignments. But as often as you can, allow your younger generation employee to set his or her own priorities and projects, building a sense of ownership and enthusiasm.
  • Observe the “five to one” rule when meeting with supervisees who could benefit from an extra dose of positive inspiration. How does it work? For every one thing you say that could be interpreted as criticism, say five things that are positive and encouraging.

After the steps I recommend above, ask your employees how they’re doing on their career plan (a better name than a “to-do list”) to see if anything has been overlooked. Then, ask if they have anything they would like to add to the list. You can follow up with questions like, “Why do you think this is important?” and, “How do you plan to tackle it?” If there’s something you would like them to put on their list that they didn’t already think of, now’s the time to mention it. Most of the time, it is likely the employee has already thought of the new idea you suggest.

 

Categories
Advice Leadership Management

Discovering Ingagement

A key insight from my book Ingaged Leadership: The Ultimate Edition

by Evan Hackel

 

Ingagement is a leadership philosophy for those who believe that it is not enough to tell people what to do, but to involve their minds, creativity and even their emotions. In this chapter, we will get a first glimpse at how Ingaged leadership works and how powerful it can be. 

 

 

What is the philosophy of Ingagement? It all starts with a belief that:

 

When you align people and create an organization where everyone works together in partnership, that organization becomes vastly more successful.

 

Ingagement isn’t a single action that you take just once. It is an ongoing, dynamic business practice that has the power to transform your organization, your people, you, and ultimately, your success.

 

Everyone in a company can create Ingagement—company leaders, members of a top leadership team, middle managers and people at many organizational levels. Ingagement goes beyond the management you will find in many companies today, where top executives and middle managers believe that effective leadership means giving instructions or offering incentives.

 

Ingagement is different—it offers a way of moving from good to great. Ingaged leaders trust people to participate actively in the creation and development of a strategic vision. They openly involve key stakeholders in an ongoing conversation about the organizational vision and how it can be put into action through planning and follow through.

 

You develop Ingaged leadership when, through your Ingaged attitude and open listening,  you let people know that you are partnering with them and that you truly listen and believe what they are saying has value.

 

Authenticity is key to Ingagement. When you listen sincerely, you cooperatively create plans and practices that are supported by everyone in your organization, not only initiatives that have been developed at the top.

 

To be clear, Ingagement doesn’t mean having a democracy. In most organizations, it is the role of senior management and the board to ultimately make the best decisions for an organization in the long term. Yet when people at all levels feel heard, they are more likely to support company plans, even if their own ideas might not have been utilized completely. When people know they have been heard, they are more likely to become invested in their work; they become more eager to continue to share ideas and to cooperate. As a result, the entire organization improves and grows.

Ingagement is a highly effective way to lead members of the millennial and Generation Z groups—a cohort that I will refer to in this book as the “younger generation.”

Ingaging Your Key Stakeholders

 

Ingagement is not limited to internal operations. When successful Ingagement extends beyond company walls, it can help you multiply your success. You can achieve such success by involving your customers, vendors, distributors, and other stakeholders in open conversation.

 

From a management perspective, the result is that you build an organization in which more people focus on executing the right, productive things. But getting everyone’s priorities and to-do lists directed toward your organization’s immediate goals is only part of the picture; both the power and the reach of Ingagement are transformative, not just habitual or “standard practice.”

 

Categories
Leadership Management

My Proven Process of Interactive Coaching

by Evan Hackel

A key concept from my book Ingaging Leadership: The Ultimate Edition

 

 

I would like to recommend that you use the following methodology of coaching in your coaching relationships. I have used it with younger workers, with workers who are my own age, with workers who are older than I am. And I can tell you, it works.

Please bear in mind that the process I am about to explain is flexible. You are welcome to adapt and change it as you refine it and use it to produce great coaching results with a wide variety of the people you supervise in your organization.

The process usually starts where the person being coached has an issue or problem that they need dealt with. I would recommend taking the following steps.

Step One: Start by defining the issue . . .

Define the largest issue you will be addressing in your coaching. What exactly is it?

Start by having the learner state what the problem is. As the coach, make sure they clearly delineate the difference between fact and opinion in the issue they define. Keep asking them good questions until the person you are coaching has clearly identified the issue. Good questions to ask after they’ve stated the initial problem are:

  • Can you tell me more about the situation?
  • Why do you think this is happening?

 Step Two: Decide why the issue matters . . .

Have the learner explain and share why the issue you will work on is important. Then take your exploration one step further by explaining why it is important from the perspective of different parties that are invested or impacted on by the issue. And discuss its value to your organization too.

Step Three: Decide what is possible . . .

Encourage the learner to brainstorm all the possible solutions to the issue that is under discussion. Then have them choose several solutions that you will explore. After exploring, have the person you are coaching choose what they believe to be the best option. It’s especially important you do not do this for them.

Step Four: Decide what steps to take next . . .

Have the person being coached find the next steps and have them commit to the process that they’re going to move forward with.

This process is designed to enable the learner to self-discover the answers. It is important that you, the coach, avoid the temptation to answer the questions. You are facilitating discoveries, not making them yourself.

This process assumes, however, that the Person being coached has the knowledge to define a problem, answer the questions that surround it, and identify reality-based solutions that address it. If the learner does not bring that level of knowledge to the process, the coach should step in and assume a mentoring role that helps the learner acquire new knowledge and move ahead with finding and implementing solutions.