The Action Plan (AP) tool is designed for effectiveness in your coaching sessions so that you can spend More Time on More coaching for More Impact.
Follow this step-by-step guidance and watch the demo video below.
Why Use the Action Plan Tool:
Move beyond Awareness and Acceptance to drive real change through Action planning toward Achievement.
Speed up coaching discussions by transitioning swiftly from awareness to action.
Empower coworkers by giving them a voice in the coaching session and involving them in action plan implementation and accountability afterward
Boost coaching efficiency, allowing you to dedicate more time for more coaching.
When to Use:
During a coaching session.
How to Use:
1. Setting Up the Action Plan Before the Coaching Session:
Within the engagement, select the session for Action Planning (usually the same session as Feedforward collection, allowing FF to prepopulate in the draft AP).
Create and Open the Action Plan tool.
Set the (approximate) date for the next session.
Set the launch date or utilize the 'launch now' option after concluding your coaching session.
Schedule reminder dates to prompt the leader to complete their AP survey for effective AP implementation and tracking.
Click on 'draft Action Plan' to continue.
2. Crafting the Action Plan During the Coaching Session:
The draft action plan will display the list of feedforward suggestions on the left side of your screen.
Guide the leader in defining action plan items.
Encourage the leader to review the suggestions and choose one for discussion. You can drag and drop suggestions into the action item box.
Discuss the chosen suggestion, outlining the intended action, its visibility to coworkers, and the expected impact on coworkers.
Ensure that actions are set with daily or weekly frequencies for optimal effectiveness. There are no monthly or one-off frequency options as they typically don't lead to sustainable change perceived by coworkers.
Each LGA must have at least three action items.
You can reorder action items using drag-and-drop
To delete action items, empty the text box and click save. The empty action items then disappear.
Articulate the action plan as you progress, adapting your approach to your coaching style
For detailed coaching on defining action plan items, refer to your Coaching Tools training.
3. Publishing the Action Plan at the End (or After) the Coaching Session:
Confirm that the Action Plan is ready for sharing with their coworkers and select either 'publish now' or agree on the AP publishing date.
Confirm the date for the next coaching session (and adjust the AP close date accordingly)
Agree on the frequency of sending AP reminders to the leader. We recommend sending AP reminders on the first (or second) working day of the week to plan for success in the upcoming days and at the end of the workweek for the leader to reflect and update their AP survey journal.