Coaching for Improved Work Performance, Revised Edition [Paperback]

Ferdinand Fournies (Author), Ferdinand F. Fournies (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1999

Managing employees in today’s rapidly evolving workplace can sometimes feel like negotiating a minefield. Such recent new trends as flextime, telecommting, 360-degree feedback, the flattening of hierarchies, and the increased use of temps and contract workers present tough new challenges for supervisors in every field. This timely, completely revised and updated edition of Ferdinand Fournies’s classic management coaching "bible" shows you proven ways to get workers to perform at the highest level while eliminating the self-destructive kinds of behaviors that have become increasingly prevalent in recent years.
In this book, you’ll be taught specific face-to-face interventions you can use to enhance performance in every kind of workplace situation--from sales to creative brainstorming. There are also interventions uniquely suited to resolving problems ranging from low productivity to absenteeism to conflicts between individuals. You’ll learn precisely what to say and do so that each person you supervise will want to give you his or her best work--even when that person was previously thought to be a "problem employee." Packed with brand-new case studies from Fournies’s latest research into the dynamics of the modern workplace, this classic guide takes all the guesswork out of becoming the kind of inspired, "hands-on" manager that every company today is looking for!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

A New and Updated Edition of the Classic Guide to Coaching.

Coaching has proven to be one of the most powerful one-on-one management techniques for getting the best out of every employee. And Coaching for Improved Work Performance stands as one of the most practical guides for effectively coaching all levels of employees in any workplace situation. For decades, managers around the world have turned to best-selling author Ferdinand Fournies for solutions to their toughest coaching problems. Now, this classic has been fully updated to help managers face the challenges of today's rapidly changing workplace, from absenteeism, high turnover, and teams to flextime, job sharing, telecommuting, and keeping employees up to speed on new technologies.

With brand new case studies and all new face-to-face interventions, this guide is the one must-have coaching reference all managers need on their desks to help them keep their employees more productive and more focused, as well as more satisfied and happier at work!

About the Author

Ferdinand F. Fournies is an internationally known consultant, speaker, and former professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 3 edition (November 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071352937
• ISBN-13: 978-0071352932
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Training

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ferd shows us how it is done on the line, every day, March 24, 2000

By 

Joe O'Hara (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coaching for Improved Work Performance (Paperback)

To me, this one is a classic. I have introduced the "Book of Ferd" to many of the younger managers in my department, with encouraging results. "Coaching" puts the problem of people management where it belongs, in the lap of the manager, but remarkably (and atypically) provides specific direction as to "what to do differently" in order to overcome the unproductive behaviors of either (or both) the manager or the subordinate. The author provides templates and practical examples on how to handle the actual interview situation (a.k.a. the "confrontation")-- one of the most useful aspects of the book. Some of these examples deal with especially surly and insubordinate employees, and the author shows in dialog form how they can be dealt with in real time-- something they don't cover in engineering school. The only criticism I would make is that some of the strategies described in the book are most directly applicable to managers who are dealing with production or sales people; situations where output can be readily measured. In the case of employees such as engineers or R&D personnel, where evaluating performance is not so simple, the author punts by saying that if you have a hard time finding an objective measure of job performance, it means that "you haven't found a way to measure it yet". Not too helpful. Having said this, however, from experience, many of the performance problems we encounter in technical management are not so different from those found on the production line. By applying the techniques described in the "Book of Ferd" any manager can feel much more confident and deal more effectively with problem--and high-performing--employees.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My success using Coaching., March 18, 2002

By 

John A. Wilson (Archbold, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coaching for Improved Work Performance, Revised Edition (Paperback)

As a consultant for small companies, I have found using Ferdinand F. Forunies' book,"Coaching for Improved Performance" an outstanding success. It has been very well accepted and an easy read for "Leads". The Coaching Analysis prepares them to then know when to use the Coaching discussion. New people to the supervision field come not knowing what to do. After reading the book and seeing the "Face to Face" video are ready to be trained in working with their employees for improved performance. I have not found any material that comes close to this material as a training vechical. I have used this material for over 15 years.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rarely in life can you find a management book you can use!!!, June 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Coaching for Improved Work Performance (Paperback)

This is one book that delivers exactly what it promises: a method for bringing non-performers off of the fence and in to the game. The coaching process as spelled out in this book takes all of the awkwardness out of the usual face-to-face discussions that we use in an attempt to improve performance levels. There are many themes that run throughout the book that many managers need to come to grips with: managers are not as effective at managing people as they are processes; employees fail because their managers have failed to give them more constructive alternatives in place of their self destructive behaviors; effective interpersonal communication is vital to improving work performance; and theories of motivation cannot help you increase the level of buy-in your employees have in your plan. This book is a must read for every manager who has finally realized that you win through people and sincerely wants to know how to do it.