Introduction
Coaching is a process that encourages an employee to improve job skills and problem-solving. One of the problems that can occur in a workplace is interpersonal conflict. In this assignment, a coachee will be encouraged to commit to specific actions that would ultimately improve their job performance. For that purpose, a plan was drawn, and a meeting with the coachee was conducted. The meeting results, successes, and failures are analyzed to improve managing skills.
The Plan for the Session
This coaching session aims to solve the problem of the employee’s interpersonal conflict. The employee is known to have heated arguments with other workers during the work shift. The conflicts decrease all workers’ moods, morale, and ultimately job performance. The employee chosen for the session is the one who initiates the arguments; the conflicts started on the day they have been employed. The goal of the session is to find a solution that would work for this employee to cease unnecessary fights. If the session results in success, the employee will acknowledge the need to avoid conflicts and agree on a suitable solution.
Performance coaching with 360-degree feedback will be used for the session. After the greeting and initial questions about the employee’s well-being and mood, the session’s topic will be mentioned. The situation will be explained objectively, without judgment or harshness. It is best to display friendliness and understanding of the employee’s situation to maintain the lightness of the conversation and avoid tension. The focus of the problem will be on behavior and events rather than personalities (Beitler et al., 2018). After the problematic situation and the reason for the session are explained, the employee will be given a 20-30 second silence period in case they have anything to add or explain themselves (Clark, 2011). If they do not attempt to reason for their behavior, they will be asked about it.
After attentively listening to everything they have to say, with no interruptions, their story will be rephrased to ensure mutual understanding; additional questions can be asked. The points of agreement and disagreement will be summarized and agreed upon with the employee. While modifying the assessment for mutual agreement, the areas of conflict essential to resolve will be discussed. Consequently, the plan to resolve the conflicts and prevent their future emergence will be drawn. In the case of several important conflicts agreed upon, further discussion will start with the most important one. The plan-building will be focused on the future of the employee’s job performance and well-being at work.
Some workers can be more challenging to coach, especially resolving an interpersonal conflict. If the employee will not agree to attempt and solve the problem initially, it is most important to stay calm and polite; avoiding an argument during the coaching session is vital. It is critical to be understanding and make them feel comfortable rather than tense. However, the issue still needs to be agreed upon and resolved; for that, 360-degree feedback will be used. The employee will be asked to give examples of what they think the best days of their job are, their best performance, together with the worst instances. In addition, what they think are the reasons for it. Next, their self-assessment will be supported or undermined by their peers, superiors, and clients’ feedback, prepared in advance (Heathfield, 2014). Again, with no judgment or harshness, ensuring their willingness to cooperate. After the performance assessment, the need for a comfortable and healthy work atmosphere will be evident to the employee. They will realize the need to work towards resolving interpersonal conflict.
The Session and Its Results
The session with the coachee was conducted and could be considered successful. The meeting went along the plan; I managed to remain calm, respectful, and polite, which, in turn, made the coachee more open and relaxed during the session. They answered the questions and attempted to explain their behavior. The employee did not oppose the reasoning behind working on resolving the problem; however, they showed a lack of interest and motivation. Due to this, I decided to use 360-degree feedback to draw the employee’s attention. After asking them to self-assess, they mentioned that working feels easy, and their performance is better when there is no tension in the workplace. Based on peers, supervisors, and clients’ feedback, I assessed their performance to support their views. Right after, the employee was more enthusiastic about solving the problem, and we continued discussing the areas of agreement and disagreement. In the end, we were able to come up with a plan to resolve interpersonal conflict in the workplace.
I believe the session was efficient for both the employee and me. The employee willingly agreed to solve the problem and engaged in drawing a plan. However, they were initially not enthusiastic about the session, viewing the meeting as a mandatory task rather than a self-improvement exercise. To avoid similar situations in the future, the meeting could start with 360-degree feedback and self-assessment to make the employee interested in immediate solving the problem. In addition, after conducting the session, I realized that an issue like interpersonal conflict at work is a complex situation that requires more than one meeting. Next time I would invite the employee to conduct one or two more sessions to reinforce the positive change and encourage the worker to continue self-improvement.
I think that the success of a coaching session lies in establishing a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The employee known to start heated arguments did not show any hostility toward me during our meeting. Being most respectful, polite, and understanding of their situation made them see me as an ally and a friend. If such an atmosphere was not established at the beginning of the conversation, the session results could be much more unsuccessful. As such, in the future, I will never forget to make the employee feel comfortable during a coaching session.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the coaching session can be considered successful due to the willingness of the coachee to commit to solving interpersonal conflict at the workplace. The meeting plan was drawn ahead of time and included performance coaching and 360-degree feedback to inspire the employee to work towards resolving the issue. The meeting went easily in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The employee did not start engaging in problem-solving until after the 360-degree feedback and self-assessment. In the end, the areas of agreement and disagreement were identified, and the plan for resolving the issue of interpersonal conflict was drawn. In this coaching session, I learned that establishing a comfortable atmosphere is one of the key elements to success. Additionally, there is a need for future meetings to reinforce the positive change in the employee.
References
Beitler, L. A., Scherer, S., & Zapf, D. (2018). Interpersonal conflict at work: Age and emotional competence differences in conflict management. Organizational Psychology Review, 8(4), 195-227.
Clark, D. (2011). Performance coaching. Big Dog and Little Dog’s Performance Juxtaposition. Web.
Heathfield, S. M. (2014). 360-degree feedback: Even more about the good, the bad, and the ugly. About.com. Web.