John
Eckberg
Cincinnati Enquirer
Monday, May 29, 2000
Coach will ask 'What's the story?'
When teen pop artist Britney Spears sings her new hit, “Oops,
I Did It Again,” she is articulating what executive coach Michael
O'Brien tells executives: Bad habits need to be broken.
Lack of thought management and uncontrolled emotions can spiral
through a company, leading to employee mistakes, higher turnover,
even reduced sales.
A Wyoming resident and co-author of Profit From Experience:
A guide to knowing yourself and influencing others ($10; O'Brien Group), Mr. O'Brien has had several workplace incarnations, including
10 years as a grocer/retailer and years as a teacher, manager and
university professor. He has a master's in education and a Ph.D.
in corporate training and human resources development from the University
of Cincinnati. He was interviewed by Enquirer reporter John
Eckberg:
Question: You've said that for the average executive, half
of what he is doing is great stuff, 30 percent of his habits
are not making any difference and 20 percent of his habits
are holding people back. It seems that something you might be able
to nibble at is the 30 percent that isn't making any difference.
Answer: Actually, what we usually start with are the habits
that are holding people back, causing trouble. Our coaching is focused
on helping people succeed within their business organizations, within
the context of the business's goals.
There are always revenue goals, but most sophisticated business
people realize that you have to have a whole lot of other goals
to get you to the revenue.
It's a little risky to say here are the five things that every
business person can use. We spend the bulk of our time with executives
in large corporations so the store manager in Dent probably has
a little bit of a different helping on his plate than the guy who
runs Cincinnati Bell or Convergys.
We start by saying what are the business issues, what are the
things getting in the way of being successful, and then we look
at what the executive is doing to contribute to that, his psychology,
his way of thinking.
We use the metaphor of stories: What is the story I'm telling
myself out of which this behavior comes that is not producing the
results I want? What are you telling yourself, what are you assuming
to be true?
We might observe a meeting, and we'll see where the executive
is not communicating well with the people. He is missing their points.
They are missing his points. They are on different planes.
He is not reading the emotions in the room. One of the things
we'll ask ourselves as coaches is: What must this individual be
thinking so that that behavior makes sense to him? He is doing this
behavior for some reason.
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