Common Issues

If you discover water dripping from the ceiling after a heavy downpour, you know there is a leak. Before you fix it, you find the source. Ultimately, you decide what to do about the leak based on what you find and the available options.

What does a leaky roof in an organizational system look like? Here are 10 situations clients commonly describe to me (for examples of issues relating to individual coaching, see here):

1. Building & Maintaining Client Base. In the face of increased competition and shifting economies, organizations may struggle to adapt current services and move into new markets.
2. Maintaining External Perception. As organizations shift their focus to meet changing markets, they need to shift external perception as well.
3. Doing More with Less. The question of how to stay viable in the face of shrinking dollars often becomes the question of how to uncover and fully activate everyone's talents and abilities.
4. Getting Buy-In. When managers describe this as a problem, it usually refers to lack of follow-through on the part of their staff. The actual problem could be with the staff, with the management or both.
5. Dealing with management. Staff or lower level managers may accurately identify an underlying problem with their superiors, but be unable to constructively influence up.
6. Service Satisfaction. Problems with service satisfaction may relate to staff needs not being met, ineffective work processes or poor communication skills.
7. High Staff Turnover. This costly problem is typically caused by multiple factors, both internal and external to the organization.
8. Communication. Issues may include: diverse communication styles, inconsistent follow-through on agreements, or lack of effective meetings.
9. Fun. Wanting more fun usually relates to the desire to improve low staff morale.
10. Difficult people. In my experience, people become difficult when they find themselves in impossible situations.