There is nothing quite as stately as a sleek mega ship gracefully sailing from the docks and through the channel to the open waters that promise new adventures. Care to bet who is at the helm? I would bet it is not the captain! Even military captains who boldly lead nuclear armadas into the thick of battle know when to release the helm and defer to the advice of a harbor pilot. Care to wager on whether your favorite singer has a voice coach? Does Tiger Woods have a swing coach? You bet he does! So, where are the turnaround coaches who can help navigate the narrow turns and subsurface obstructions? Turnarounds are rapid-paced events, risking millions of dollars, environmental impacts and, yes, human lives. Would it not be prudent to have an objective coach who does not directly have so much skin in the game? Would anyone argue the value of coaching in Russell Wilson’s big game experience? So, where are the turnaround coaches who can help us to maximize our big games?
Some would argue the turnaround steering committee serves this role. Really? The steering committee may be a good accountability group, good gatekeepers or good armchair quarterbacks, but they are not play-by-play coaches who are in the trenches with you. Most of them have their own games going on, which is why they are so politely (surreptitiously) checking their BlackBerrys and iPhones during your meetings. So, where are the turnaround coaches who can get into the trenches with the turnaround manager and offer objective analyses and even spot his blind spots?
What is a turnaround coach anyway? I think Mike Jeansonne, WTMC chairman, said it best, “Most of us in the ‘plant world’ are not current with coaching as an accepted practice. Even if we are, we probably hold a misconstrued concept of the corporate disciplinarian ready to give me an ‘I gotcha’ versus the idea of a personal advocate with organizational, project management and communications expertise poised to help us be more effective, which in turn results in the organization performing at a higher level.” A turnaround coach is not a disciplinarian, nor a decision-maker nor a policemen nor a tattletale, etc.
Have you ever been in a situation where coaching would have been helpful? Several years ago, I was on a very large project that was threatening to push the end date out quite significantly. All kinds of explanations began to surface: “The workers are trying to get overtime”, “Fatigue has set in”, “The schedule was too aggressive”, “We are farther ahead than the schedule shows”, etc. We were all feeling the same tension but were not all aligned on the best path forward. What we needed was an experienced coach with an objective viewpoint who could sift through the details, cut through the haze and give us advice that was practical. We actually brought in a coach and happily had a workable recovery plan in a very short time.
One reason we can benefit from coaching is because we are not only creatures of habit, but we are often unaware of our very predictable habits. Why is it we keep seeing many of the same flags being raised at the end of our turnarounds? Could it be we still are doing some of the same adverse things we were doing five years ago? We are creatures of habit. We are hard wired to respond to our environments and circumstances in very predictable ways. Especially when under abnormal pressure, even the strongest leaders tend to default to their “wiring” and familiar patterns begin to emerge. A good coach will study our environment and will study us and spot our patterns. A good coach will keep us grounded in solid project science when we are tempted to default to instinct. Sometimes, a good coach will simply help us avoid exercising “management prerogative” to “adjust” the reporting to the steering committee and upper management. Instead, we let the data speak for itself and be the catalyst for open communication and effective project control.
The turnaround industry is long overdue for the concept of “the turnaround coach.” What was the terrible fallout of Tiger Woods getting Sean Foley to help fix his swing? The terrible fallout is that he is back on top of the world golf rankings! The magazine photos of disappointed Tiger shots have been replaced with pictures of Tiger kissing very large trophies. In the sports and entertainment industries, it seems there is no end to the new highs. It is time for that expectation to invade the turnaround industry.
So, what are your thoughts on the issue? Have you ever used a turnaround coach? If so, what was your experience? Would you want to use a turnaround coach? Why or why not?
For more information, contact Mike Bischoff at (281) 461-9340, email sales@tamanagement.com or visit www.tamanagement.com.
