The SEC Coaching Model
Overview & General Concepts
Every employee on your team is unique. This means that every time you approach an employee to provide feedback or coaching, you need to make sure you’re tailoring your coaching. Tailoring your coaching to each employee will increase the likelihood of the feedback being received and acted upon.
The SEC coaching model (developed by Bill Joy) provides a flexible framework you can use as a first step to tailoring your coaching. It’s based upon three factors, each tied to a simple question:
- Skills — How skilled is this employee?
- Engagement — How engaged is this employee?
- Coachability — How coachable is this employee by me?
Answer these three questions and you’ll be able to decide what the right approach to your employee is. According to the SEC model, there are four general approaches you can take to a coaching conversation:
- Direct — Directing is the most hands-on method of coaching. When directing, you’re telling your employee(s) what needs to be done and how to do it. Directing can look like micro-management, but — when used in appropriate situations — it’s actually a positive, helpful way to coach and lead your team.
- Coach — Coaching is exactly what it sounds like. Consider an NBA coach. They’re working with professional athletes who don’t need to be micromanaged. Instead, their focus is on providing feedback, encouragement, and strategic direction to help the player (and team) achieve their goal. Similarly, when you coach your employees you may still provide feedback and direction at times, but they’re the prime actors and you’re there to help them achieve their goals.
- Engagement Coach — Engagement coaching is focused on employee engagement. This is probably the most difficult type of coaching, as the “right” approach can be difficult to master. With engagement coaching, your goal is to figure out why an employee’s engagement is low and how to help increase their engagement. To get there, your focus should be on asking a lot of open-ended questions and letting your employee(s) do most of the talking.
- Delegate — Delegation is a well-known tactic. While you may provide some guidelines and structure around a project you’re delegating, the essence of delegating is that you’re trusting your employee(s) to own the work/project.
Let’s look at a fictional example to see how this would work in practice.
Putting it into practice
The first step in using the SEC model is to score your employee(s) based on your perception of their skill, engagement and coachability. There are a couple of important things to note:
- This is based on your perception. While you might have data to back-up certain judgments, remember that you’re fallible and biased, meaning your judgments aren’t necessarily 100% accurate
- For consistency, I’d recommend using a Low/Medium/High scoring scale. If uncertain you can mix the categories (e.g. “Low/Medium” or “Medium/High”), but try to keep them clear and distinct when possible. When in doubt, trust your first impression.
- You don’t necessarily want to show your scoring to your employee(s). This is meant to be a personal preparation exercise you do before approaching someone to provide coaching. The one exception in sharing may be with employees who you score as “High” in all categories. This information, shared appropriately, might be a great encouragement to high-performing employees.
Here is a sample table scoring several beloved members of Middle-earth using the SEC model:
While you may disagree with the scoring (to each their own), below is the logic I used and the recommended coaching approach that I would recommend taking:
Samwise
At a glance, no one would rate Samwise as the most valuable member of the Fellowship (unless you’re talking about cooking, perhaps). He doesn’t bring any experience as a warrior or adventurer and his transition from his comfortable life in the Shire into broader Middle-earth is rough. Still, Sam is a picture-perfect example of high engagement — he’s 100% committed to supporting and caring for his master, even if it means following him into the depths of Mt. Doom.
Sam’s also a very coachable hobbit, learning and evolving as he encounters new experiences and characters along his journey. The brave and strong Samwise we see at the end of his journey is massively different from the soft, gentle hobbit we initially met.
With Sam’s combination of low skill, high engagement and high coachability, the right approach to coaching him would probably be directing. Sam is eager to learn and pull his own weight, and he’s open to feedback and input that will help him become a more valuable member of the team as quickly as possible. To that end, don’t fear giving Sam too much feedback or stepping on his toes. He needs your input and guidance if he’s going to survive and thrive as a member of the fellowship.
Frodo
Frodo is quite similar to Sam (as many hobbits are). He doesn’t seem to bring many valuable skills to the table, although his willingness to take the ring to Mordor counts for something (although he doesn’t even know the way…).
Unlike Sam, Frodo’s engagement is mixed. This is no fault of Frodo’s; it’s mainly due to the weight of the ring as he approaches Mordor. Avoiding the flaming eye of Sauron would be a challenge to the hardiest of warriors, and it proves an immensely difficult task for this small hobbit. Despite the difficulty and moments of weakness, Frodo shows a dogged determination and continues to press on.
Similarly to Sam, Frodo is also highly coachable (perhaps even more so). He spends time in Rivendell studying maps and preparing for the journey ahead of him, a clear demonstration of his desire to learn and participate. He also demonstrates a consistent desire for input from the wiser members of the fellowship, namely Gandalf and Aragorn.
Given all these factors, the right approach for Frodo is probably a mixture of directing and engagement coaching. Frodo needs directing due to his inexperience. Without direction, he won’t be prepared for the moment when he needs to strike out on his own. However, it’s also important that those around Frodo are cognizant of his challenges with the ring and provide a listening ear and support to help him bear his burden.
Aragorn
Elessar. Strider. Aragorn. The King of Gondor.
Whatever name you prefer for him, Aragorn is a prime example of nearly all that is good in Middle-earth. While still human, he consistently demonstrates his skill and wisdom. While he knows the road will not be easy — particularly the Paths of the Dead — he’s been preparing for this moment for many long years and is ready to meet the challenge head-on.
Despite his heritage, his title and his value to the fellowship, Aragorn also demonstrates a humility that makes him coachable. He recognizes the value of wise counsel from people like Elrond and Gandalf, and he regularly submits to their wisdom and decisions.
Aragorn’s combination of high skill, high engagement and high coachability means the right approach to coaching him is to delegate. If you’re looking for someone to lead you through the plains of Rohan or to battle an army of orcs, you can delegate the task to Aragorn without fear that he will let you down.
Boromir
Boromir is one of the most complex and interesting characters in Middle-earth. He’s a good example to keep in mind when interacting with most employees, because he’s a very mixed bag (aren’t we all?).
Without a doubt, Boromir brings a ton of skill to the fellowship’s company. He’s an excellent warrior and has spent months on the road alone in the wild. His life experiences have made him a great fit for the task, allowing him to make an immediate impact in Moria and on Mt. Caradhras.
But even the eldest son of Denethor still has his struggles. Both his engagement and his coachability are among the lowest of all the members in the fellowship. While he acquiesces to the council’s plan to take the ring to Mordor, he’s constantly voicing his doubts and challenging the leaders of the group. This comes to a head when, overcome by his desire, he seeks to steal the ring from Frodo and use it to achieve his own ends. The son of Gondor’s steward, Boromir also consistently demonstrates great pride and stubbornness, making him relatively uncoachable.
While it’s hard to consider, the right approach to coaching Boromir is probably a mixture of engagement coaching and possibly managing him out of the organization. He’s a very valuable team member and it would hurt to lose him, so start with engagement coaching and try to get to the heart of his issues with authority and the direction the team is headed. He’s torn between helping the fellowship and returning to defend his homeland, so his struggle is understandable. With the right care and touch, you just might be able to break through to him. If not, it may be time to consider moving Boromir out.
Gimli
Dwarves are often underestimated (likely due to their short stature). Despite his size, Gimli son of Gloin is not one to be trifled with. He proves his worth from the very beginning of the fellowship’s journey, through both his humor and his strength. Capable of hewing orc heads in a single blow and running for literally days across the plains of Rohan, Gimli would be a solid member of any team.
Gimli’s love for his comrades and willingness to chase orcs across all of Middle-earth to save his hobbit friends demonstrates his high engagement with the cause. Unfortunately, though, Gimli has one big challenge: his coachability.
As I’m sure you already know, dwarves are well-known for their stubbornness. At the outset of the fellowship’s journey Gimli struggles to get on board, facing some tension with Legolas and Boromir. Fortunately for Middle-earth, Gimli is able to overcome this challenge and, by the end the affair, is wholeheartedly committed in service to both king and cause.
Given this combination of factors, the right approach to coaching Gimli is likely straightforward coaching and delegating. Gimli likely needs occasional feedback — particularly in regards to improving relationships with his teammates — but if you try to overstep and direct him too much, he’s guaranteed to put up a fight.
Conclusion
After considering each member of our team (or fellowship), we can now complete the table above with the recommended approach to coaching each team member:
I hope that these examples have been a helpful way to see what the SEC coaching model looks like in practice. While it doesn’t tell you everything, it can be an incredibly helpful tool to understanding each member of your team’s current state and shaping your approach to help them develop and improve.
Remember, coaching is a skill. Just like any other skill, you can improve your ability to coach over time. Commit yourself to spending a few minutes preparing for coaching conversations using the framework above and you’re sure to see the benefits in no time.
