不要試圖拯救那些職場上的那些“無可救藥”

此文來自Marshall Goldsmith的部落格，此人曾任Peter Drucker Foundation 的Board  member（實在不知道怎麼翻譯），49年出生，生平中是一系列管理學方面的成就，是一位罕見的高產的，大師型的博主。

顯然，我所翻譯的標題有些誇張（原標題是“spotting the uncoachables”）。

職場上除了職位所確立的關係之外，還有一種重要的關係，那就是“師徒關係”。如果幸運，大家會遇到有人願意 coach 自己，給自己傳遞技能或者指點職場之道。等我們在一個地方呆久了，也會有時候 coach 一些新入道的同事，甚至有時候為了達到團隊目的，需要用自己的經驗和技能影響自己的同僚。

此文提到的了4種很難coach的情形，大家可以拿來參考。但是這並不代表我們遇到覺得“朽木不可雕也”的人的時候就應該徹底放棄。如果我們無可避免的需要影響他們的行為，我們需要更有技巧的選擇自己的方式。

四類不可coach的人：

自己並沒意識到有任何問題的人

其努力方向和公司戰略相左的人

入錯行的人（也許我們應該引導他們去發現自己才能所屬的領域）

怨天尤人的人（老認為別人有問題的人）

祝好

原文：

Spotting the “Uncoachables”

Even if you are the best coach in the world, if the person you are coaching shouldn’t be coached, the coaching isn’t going to work. The good news is that the “uncoachables” are easier than you think to spot. How do you know when someone is uncoachable? How do you detect a lost cause? Following are four indicators that you are dealing with one of these people:

1. She doesn’t think she has a problem.

This successful adult has no interest in changing. Her behavior is working fine for her. If she doesn’t care to change, you are wasting your time! Let me give you an example of a nice woman who didn’t think she had a problem. My mother, a lovely woman and much-admired first-grade teacher, was so dedicated to her craft that she didn’t draw the line between inside and outside the classroom. She talked to all of us, including my father, in the same slow, patient manner, using the same simple vocabulary that she used with her six-year-olds every day. One day as she graciously and methodically corrected his grammar for the millionth time, he looked at her, sighed, and said, “Honey, I’m 70 years old. Let it go.” My father had absolutely no interest in changing. He didn’t perceive a problem. So no matter how much, how hard, or how diligently she coached, he wasn’t going to change.

2. He is pursuing the wrong strategy for the organization.

If this guy is already going in the wrong direction, all you’re going to do with your coaching is help him get there faster.

3. They’re in the wrong job.

Sometimes people feel that they’re in the wrong job with the wrong company. They may believe they’re meant to be doing something else or that their skills are being misused. Here’s a good way to determine if you’re working with one of these people. Ask them, “If we shut down the company today, would you be relieved, surprised, or sad?” If you hear ‘relieved,’ you’ve got yourself a live one. Send them packing. You can’t change the behavior of unhappy people so that they become happy: You can only fix behavior that’s making people around them unhappy.

4. They think everyone else is the problem.

A long time ago I had a client who, after a few high-profile employee departures, was concerned about employee morale. He had a fun, successful company and people liked the work, but feedback said that the boss played favorites in the way he compensated people. When I reported this feedback to my client, he completely surprised me. He said he agreed with the charge and thought he was right to do so. First off, I’m not a compensation strategist and so I wasn’t equipped to deal with this problem, but then he surprised me again. He hadn’t called me to help him change; he wanted me to fix his employees. It’s times like these that I find the nearest exit. It’s hard to help people who don’t think they have a problem. It’s impossible to fix people who think someone else is the problem.

My suggestion in cases like these? Save time, skip the heroic measures, and move on. These are arguments you can’t ever win.

Life is good.

Marshall