Status: James' poor performance at work Erin (an HR professional in a large commercial organization) met with Susan, the vice president, to discuss an issue directly related to one of Swazen's reports. James's performance was quite impactful, but now he's in a new role and seems confused by it. Susan decides that James needs a competent coach and asks Erin to find outside help. Susan was in a new job and was not used to what she was doing and without leadership from the HR supervisor, so Erin complied with Susan's diagnosis and began the search for a qualified coach to help James. For those who provide performance and coaching advisory services, this is a very common case where we are called upon to diagnose the problem, intervene and hopefully improve the situation for all stakeholders involved. How can we respond to a request like this - when our customers ask to "fix" one of their employees? Difficult Choices In my first experience of doing business, I made very clear and decisive decisions about whether or not I would accept to deal with such a client. On the far left side of my brain (where the rational and logical judgment is) my brain was persuading me to participate in this cause as it is, because rejecting new business does not necessarily lead to the construction and design of successful exercises. Moreover, the voice within me tells me to "work with the customer wherever he is and whatever his condition." But the other side (which was my heart) was telling me to refuse to participate, because "fixing" the employee did not seem to me an honest option because I would not be able to identify the root cause of the problem. Remember that an individual's behavior is a byproduct of the system. This case clearly demonstrated the effect of the system and its relevance to individual behavior, specifically the reinforcement of repetitive behaviour. The CEO's need for authority, control, and accountability elicited a negative response to the employee as he distanced himself. The employee's behavior and isolation led to more control by the employer. As a performance and behavior coach and consultant, I've found my role to help identify these patterns and engage client stakeholders in this awareness.