Helping People Who Are Stuck Below The Line

If you don’t do anything about the people in your organization who are stuck Below The Line, they will not only remain there longer than your organization can afford—making excuses and failing to achieve the desired results—but they will also send a clear message throughout your team and the rest of organization that while you may “See It,” you don’t really “Own It” or “Solve It.” Or, ultimately, “Do” anything about it. Such a position can drain vital energy and productivity from your organization.

The CEO and founder of a small manufacturing company, I’ll call him Jim, had an employee who had been stuck Below The Line for way too long, (I’ll refer to him as Eric). After attending The Oz Principle Accountability Training workshop, Jim finally decided he needed to either reach Eric or let him go. Over the course of a two-week period, Jim had three coaching sessions with Eric. First, he helped Eric to identify the obstacles that were hindering his ability to achieve the desired and expected results (See It), and then he helped him identify the obstacles that he could influence (Own It). This step took two sessions and a lot of patience and genuine coaching on Jim’s part. Ultimately, he was able to guide Eric through a highly productive “What else can I do?” session before they jointly developed a plan for action and follow-up (Solve It and Do It). Within 30 days, Eric was tackling more obstacles and achieving better results than he had in years. Jim’s recap of the experience was short and sweet, “Most people can be reached if you have the right tools and an accountability mindset—but you can’t wait forever.”

If you really want to help people who are stuck Below The Line, you have to talk to them and be willing to coach them back Above The Line. Never try to solve their problems for them—it will only enable their Below The Line behavior. As a coach, you need to help them take accountability for themselves—and LIFT them Above The Line. Your focus must be on helping them achieve the results they are already expected to deliver. Once they make the personal choice to move Above The Line on just one obstacle, they will reengage and begin to experience a greater sense of reality, empowerment, ownership, commitment, solutions to problems, and results. Celebrate their movement and then reinforce their Above The Line behavior. Improved results will follow

To learn more about helping people who are stuck Below The Line, go to www.partnersinleadership.com.

Above The Line, Below The Line, Accountability Training, See It, Own It, Solve It, and Do It are registered trademarks of Partners In Leadership Inc.