Hindering believe systems

 

 

A crucial task of a coach is to locate and define existing drivers of the coachee. Drivers are belief systems or behavioral codes which are passed on from parents to their children and subconsciously influence the children's’ behavior to a great extent. Each of this driver may - if noticed - be purposely used for the success process, in case the possible pitfalls that are part of each inner belief system are seen and bypassed and can therefore be avoided.

 

If a manager is equipped with a different driver than the employee, it may lead to misunderstandings and insecurities. Those situations can only be resolved if all parties involved analyse and share their own feelings and expectations on the counterpart. The more constructive the exchange the easier the strengths of both drivers can be utilized as a common benefit.

 

Each driver has its strengths and pitfalls. Today I would like to focus on three drivers and explain it in more detail.

 

 

Inner belief: „I still have to improve, I’m never good enough.“

 

Strengths: accuracy, reliability, delivers excellent work, plans accurately, patient (to ensure that he/she does everything right)

 

Pitfalls: needs (too) much time to finish the work, doesn’t like to delegate, is always dissatisfied with the work, can hardly admit to mistakes and doesn’t accept mistakes of others.

 

Tip: Managers who constantly want to have everything done and completed perfectly are best motivated by recognition of their performance and the creation of structures such as timetables.

 

 

Inner belief: „I have to hurry up, otherwise I won’t be able to finish.“

 

Strengths: completes jobs or tasks in no time, works on more projects, very dynamic, carries the work group along, inspires and motivates, always stays on top of things, delegates and is flexible.

 

Pitfalls: prone to mistakes, impatience, doesn’t listen, can’t adjust to other (slower) colleagues, deficient transfer of information, hectic.

 

Tip: A manager with this driver is in constant need of new challenges and can’t perform without ‚action‘.

 

 

Inner belief: „I always have to work hard. No pain, no gain.“

 

Strengths: dutiful, very reliable, even in difficult situations capable of keeping on task, versatile, working at various projects at the same time.

 

Pitfalls: success can only be reached (also by others) through hard work, otherwise it isn’t accepted as such; chooses the path with the most resistance; can’t accept simple solutions; hardly carefree; complains; tendency to take over too many tasks; aren’t pleased with success.

 

Tip: If the manager lives by this belief, the manager may tend to do work for others and allows them to delegate tasks to him or her. The greatest need of those is the recognition of efforts and endeavors.

 

 

Source: Haberleitner, E., Deistler, E., Ungvari, R. (2009); Führen, Fördern, Coachen: So entwickeln Sie die Potentiale Ihrer Mitarbeiter. Frankfurt/Wien: Piper Verlag