Success Story #7:
Mastering Self Discovery
The Benefits of Using Self-Discovery
The process of self-discovery is one in which a person is guided, through open-ended questioning, to reach his or her own conclusions regarding how chosen actions and behaviors influence particular outcomes.
In high quality and impactful coaching conversations, the process of self-discovery is valuable in that the person being coached must stop and think through how he approached, or would approach, a given situation, and if the chosen path resulted in, or would result in, optimal achievement.
A number of Monarch Performance Group, LLC (MPG) clients have learned to effectively use this skill-set, and have enjoyed the advantage of a more collaborative, empowered, creative, and self-aware workforce. A workforce equipped to produce results!
Clients who have used this process have offered their input as to the specific ways they have used self-discovery, and the particular benefits they’ve realized as a result. A summary of the client's feedback is as follows:
Client: Retail Banking Regional Manager at a large West Coast financial institution
1. How did you implement self-discovery coaching with your team?
We instituted it as a part of the overall sales culture development. It was a concept that was presented as part of the MPG training curriculum, and we were encouraged to put it in place with our teams during coaching conversations.
2. What was the initial reaction to self-discovery questioning and coaching?
At first, managers complained because they felt that the process took too long. It’s much easier and faster to just tell someone what to do and how to do it. However, they were also frustrated because the things they were telling employees to do just didn’t stick, and behavioral change didn’t occur. As a few managers began to try the self-discovery process they found out that more and more employees were coming up with their own ideas, tactics, and plans to increase their performance levels, and resolving many of their own problems and issues as well.
The process was a change for employees too, because they were used to just coming to the manager for help and being told what to do. However, when they were allowed and encouraged to start coming up with their own ideas and solutions, there was much greater buy-in to the whole sales initiative, and skill-sets definitely improved.
3. Which self-discovery questions seem to work the best and garner the greatest action from your team members?
It seems as though when we role-play through a situation that the greatest amount of learning takes place. So for example, if an employee offers an idea for how he wants to work with a customer and what product solutions he’d like to offer that customer, we use self-discovery questioning and role-plays to have the employee think through the outcome of the situation. We can ask something as simple as: “Why do you think that would be the best solution for this customer?”, or “If you choose to present this solution over another, how might the customer react?” This type of practice really allows the employee to think about how his actions – or non-actions – will impact the outcome of a conversation with a customer, or fellow-employee.
4. How has the process of self-discovery helped your team members grow?
Our team is showing much more creativity, enthusiasm, and energy for the day-to-day issues they face in their branches. Their confidence level when dealing with customers has increased and they consider themselves more professional. Individual team members have come up with tremendous ideas for team meetings, product presentations, training sessions, and ways to enhance the customer experience. There is a great deal of pride and ownership for branch success that is now being felt by each member of the team.
5. What business results has your team experienced as a result of self-discovery coaching?
We’ve experienced significant results, because our employees are asking better and deeper questions of our customers and prospects. Our team members are taking the time to think through the best questions to ask their customers, and as a result they are discovering a wealth of opportunities to be able to build and expand those customer relationships.
6. How has self-discovery helped you grow as a coach and manager?
It’s made life much easier in that employees are thinking through issues and not just walking into my office with a whole litany of problems for me to solve. They know that I’m going to ask them some self-discovery questions to see if they’ve thought through the situation on their own, so many times they just take it upon themselves to work through the problem or question. Now, they’ll often just check with me to see if their solution makes sense; and it almost always does. Self-discovery has reduced tensions in the branches, and in fact we have not had any significant employee situations in the past six months!
It’s also made it easier for me to address performance issues. Using self-discovery questioning can help an employee see that the position they are in may not be one best suited for their skills and talents, and they can self-select into a role that may be more appropriate.