COACHING

I was receiving a bit of personal coaching from an expert. Heaven knows, I needed it. We were talking about managing people and ways and means of achieving the best results from staff generally. The expert suddenly turned to me and said ‘What’s the matter with a member of staff who is constantly yelling and shouting at people?’ This threw me. I scrabbled around to find a semi-satisfactory answer. ‘He’s angry?’ I was rewarded with a withering glance. ‘Of course, he’s angry,’ came the reply, ‘What else?’ ‘Well, he’s angry and insecure,’ I ventured. ‘Of course he’s angry and insecure,’ the expert replied. ‘But what else is he, as well as being angry and insecure?’ ‘He’s scared?’ I replied. ‘I should imagine he is scared, if he’s angry and insecure,’ responded the expert, ‘but what is he?’ I grew increasingly desperate and then, from the inner recesses of my mind, I volleyed forth with an explanation that caused the expert to splutter and harrumph like a tapir. ‘He’s deaf?’ ‘Of course he’s not deaf, you imbecile – the matter with him is that when he’s shouting at staff, no-one’s listening to him!’ I suppose it was obvious, really.