Comments on: How to Coach a Know-It-All

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 11:37:26 +0000

I liked the idea of a verbal game film.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 04:28:06 +0000

In reply to Terra. Excellent point! I want my team to be accepting of different personalities in the workplace. People have different communication styles and different mastery of social norms. I won’t tolerate unprofessional or abusive behavior but if you just don’t like someone to the point you’re negatively impacting the team, I see that as immature and unacceptable. Assuming good intent in others and not assuming you know their motives goes a long way!

By: Tanya

Tanya — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 04:00:07 +0000

In reply to Gary Davis. I struggle with these situations sometimes because I want to promote acceptance of different personalities. I love your strategy! You didn’t try to change her personality but rather showed her how to make it an asset.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 03:47:19 +0000

Thanks for a clear explanation of the differences between managing, mentoring & coaching. I found it very helpful!

By: Max Choi

Max Choi — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 02:07:48 +0000

Everyone knows at least one, so-called “competent jerks” are “konw-it-alls” in the workplace. They don’t realize they are not explaining themselves or taking people along with them, less-self-aware. I like the approach on coaching like mirroring and finally their success ultimately depends on how they interact with others. Thanks!

By: Laurie

Laurie — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 00:48:16 +0000

In reply to Terra. I totally agree Terra. This was my first thought as well. It’s equally important to build resilience in the entire team to adapt to all personality types. Also to learn to see one’s own triggers and approach those they find “annoying” with curiosity verses labeling and assumptions. What new dynamic might be created if everyone is being encouraged to look at their own inner dialogue and reactions rather than focusing on getting someone else to change? This ensures a much stronger team in the end I believe.

By: Julia Fell

Julia Fell — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 21:48:34 +0000

In reply to Terra. Great point. I'd also mention that it's quite telling that it was a woman in several examples. So maybe the situation needed to be looked into deeper

By: Terra

Terra — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 16:38:02 +0000

What I didn’t get in the article was what actually constitutes being a “know it all” and why that is a problem with the individual, and not also a problem with the rest of the team? Should the leader also be coaching the other team members on how to adapt themselves to work with the “know it all”. Maybe there is a miss match in the role the “know it all” is in and they would be better in a customer service role, than in an entirely internally facing role. Sorry, I don’t see this as being just a one team member issue to be coached. It is a team issue that needs to be coached.

By: Stefanie Costa

Stefanie Costa — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 15:03:27 +0000

I really liked the summary “Too often as leaders we look for a quick fix. We insert ourselves too quickly. … Leaders are sometimes hesitant to step into a coaching role because they worry they don’t have all the answers. You don’t have to have all the answers. You just need to care.”
I think reminding yourself also that this is what you need to convey to the person you are coaching will also help. Often it is hard to accept that there might not be a “quick fix” for every situation but there will or would be a long-term effort needed to change certain behaviors in individuals and teams. Also, I found that sometimes, we don’t need to have a “fix” for every situation that is triggering us. Sometimes, things happen because we are human and we also have to learn what to let go and when to take meaningful action. I find that sometimes, more junior team leaders are striving for perfection and getting hung up on a human error resulting in constant micromanaging which can really alienate our team members or reports. But maybe this is getting away from the Know-It-All-Personality a little bit.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 14:50:27 +0000

Sometimes we encounter someone who is madly in love with their own intellect. They often don’t realize this, and either do not know or do not care how others perceive them. When confronted, they often become defensive to the point where it becomes near impossible to get them to open their eyes. Having been down that road myself, it is a long and sometimes difficult process to come around and understand the difference between reality and perception. It takes various carrots and sticks and while I recommend more carrots than sticks, sometimes you need a stick to get the point across. This could include writing it into a performance metric for review time, then offer classes or counseling to help them change their viewpoint, to become more aware of the perception and reality.