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Helping, negotiating, directing © 2006, Coert Visser and Gwenda Schlundt Bodien The goals continuum is a model reflecting in which situation you can apply which skill. The extreme left of the continuum describes situations in which the goals of the employee are the center of the discussion. In these situations helping (coaching) is the most suitable approach. The extreme right is about situations in which the goals of the manager are central. Between the two extremes on this continuum are situations that require negotiation. Managing people is not always an easy thing to do. Take a look at this example: A manager told us recently: “One of the people in my team, Bert, does not perform well. Time and again he does not meet the deadlines. As a consequence the delivery to our customers is frequently delayed. This has to stop! But no matter how much I try to help him, I can’t seem to get through to him. He gets irritated, he tries to avoid me and he dismisses my suggestions. What am I to d...

© 2004, Coert Visser “While we pursue the unattainable, we make impossible the realizable.” - Robert Ardrey One of the most important reasons why individuals and organizations fail to change effectively is that they formulate change goals ineffectively. Well-formulated goals are an important key to realizing successful change. Effective change goals are achievable, ineffective change goals are not. Unachievable and achievable change goals There are three ways in which the formulation of change goals can stand in the way of effective change. In the first place, change goals are often formulated negatively: they are formulated in terms of what one does not want instead of what one does want. In the second place, goals are formulatied in terms that are so abstract or vague that it is impossible to determine whether and when the goal is achieved and whether progress in the direction of the goal is made. In the third place, goal and means are often confused: people often focus their attent...