Opportunities to Counsel

Knowing when to counsel is as important as knowing when to move to a coaching or mentoring approach. Many times, it is a first step in the coaching process, and will evolve to a motivating and instructing approach. When you can identify situations that require your expertise for immediate behavior change and you can act swiftly, you become more effective.

Counseling doesn’t only address behavior that is beyond bad. It is not the precursor of discipline and termination. Counseling can sometimes eliminate the need for formal discipline, and certainly it is a form of disciplining or correcting performance.