此文来自Marshall Goldsmith的博客，此人曾任Peter Drucker Foundation 的Board  member（实在不知道怎么翻译），49年出生，生平中是一系列管理学方面的成就，是一位罕见的高产的，大师型的博主。

显然，我所翻译的标题有些夸张（原标题是“spotting the uncoachables”）。

职场上除了职位所确立的关系之外，还有一种重要的关系，那就是“师徒关系”。如果幸运，大家会遇到有人愿意 coach 自己，给自己传递技能或者指点职场之道。等我们在一个地方呆久了，也会有时候 coach 一些新入道的同事，甚至有时候为了达到团队目的，需要用自己的经验和技能影响自己的同僚。

此文提到的了4种很难coach的情形，大家可以拿来参考。但是这并不代表我们遇到觉得“朽木不可雕也”的人的时候就应该彻底放弃。如果我们无可避免的需要影响他们的行为，我们需要更有技巧的选择自己的方式。

四类不可coach的人：

  1. 自己并没意识到有任何问题的人
  2. 其努力方向和公司战略相左的人
  3. 入错行的人（也许我们应该引导他们去发现自己才能所属的领域）
  4. 怨天尤人的人（老认为别人有问题的人）

祝好

原文：

Spotting the “Uncoachables”

Even if you are the best coach in the world, if the person you are coaching shouldn’t be coached, the coaching isn’t going to work. The good news is that the “uncoachables” are easier than you think to spot. How do you know when someone is uncoachable? How do you detect a lost cause? Following are four indicators that you are dealing with one of these people:

1. She doesn’t think she has a problem.

This successful adult has no interest in changing. Her behavior is working fine for her. If she doesn’t care to change, you are wasting your time! Let me give you an example of a nice woman who didn’t think she had a problem. My mother, a lovely woman and much-admired first-grade teacher, was so dedicated to her craft that she didn’t draw the line between inside and outside the classroom. She talked to all of us, including my father, in the same slow, patient manner, using the same simple vocabulary that she used with her six-year-olds every day. One day as she graciously and methodically corrected his grammar for the millionth time, he looked at her, sighed, and said, “Honey, I’m 70 years old. Let it go.” My father had absolutely no interest in changing. He didn’t perceive a problem. So no matter how much, how hard, or how diligently she coached, he wasn’t going to change.

2. He is pursuing the wrong strategy for the organization.

If this guy is already going in the wrong direction, all you’re going to do with your coaching is help him get there faster.

3. They’re in the wrong job.

Sometimes people feel that they’re in the wrong job with the wrong company. They may believe they’re meant to be doing something else or that their skills are being misused. Here’s a good way to determine if you’re working with one of these people. Ask them, “If we shut down the company today, would you be relieved, surprised, or sad?” If you hear ‘relieved,’ you’ve got yourself a live one. Send them packing. You can’t change the behavior of unhappy people so that they become happy: You can only fix behavior that’s making people around them unhappy.

4. They think everyone else is the problem.

A long time ago I had a client who, after a few high-profile employee departures, was concerned about employee morale. He had a fun, successful company and people liked the work, but feedback said that the boss played favorites in the way he compensated people. When I reported this feedback to my client, he completely surprised me. He said he agreed with the charge and thought he was right to do so. First off, I’m not a compensation strategist and so I wasn’t equipped to deal with this problem, but then he surprised me again. He hadn’t called me to help him change; he wanted me to fix his employees. It’s times like these that I find the nearest exit. It’s hard to help people who don’t think they have a problem. It’s impossible to fix people who think someone else is the problem.

My suggestion in cases like these? Save time, skip the heroic measures, and move on. These are arguments you can’t ever win.

Life is good.
Marshall