Page 411 - The Handbook for Quality Management a Complete Guide to Operational Excellence

398 M a n a g e m e n t o f H u m a n R e s o u r c e s

command authority over any other party. For all the talk of formal
training, policy, and proce dure manuals, etc., the truth is that in
the real world, most “training” takes the form of a co-worker
telling the employee “the way it’s really done around here . . .” Peer
coaching recognizes that this approach has tremendous value.
Among the advantages is that there is less hesitan cy in asking a
peer for help for fear of revealing ignorance or bother ing one’s
superior with a minor problem. Peer coaching can be facilitated by
putting people together for the purpose of learning from one
another. Peer coaches are provided with training in the skills of
coaching.
• Executive coaching. By its nature a command hierarchy discourages
upward communication of “bad news.” The result of this is that the
higher one’s position in the hierarchy, the less feedback one obtains
on their performance. This is especially true for negative feedback.
Employees quickly learn that it is not in their best interest to criticize
the boss. While these problems are partially alleviated by such
innovations as anonymous 360-degree performance assessments, it
may also be useful for the executive to have a coach. The executive
coach is usually a consultant hired from outside of the firm. The
coaching role is typically to act as coach to the executive team, rather
than to a particular executive.

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