5.1 THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Understanding How to Help People More Effectively

(SHORT NOTES FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT: Developing Your Team at http://www.mindtools.com)

 

At work, most people deal daily with others who need their help, support, advice or expertise.  John Heron's framework provides a model for analyzing how you deliver help.  His model identifies six primary categories or styles of helping intervention.

Heron’s Six Categories of Intervention
Authoritative - means that the person "helping" (often a manager or supervisor) is giving information, challenging the other person or suggesting what the other person should do
Prescriptive	·        explicitly direct the person you are helping by giving advice and direction ·        Give advice and guidance ·        Tell the other person how they should behave ·        Tell them what to do
Informative	·        provide information to instruct and guide the other ·        Give your view and experience ·        Explain the background and principles ·        Help the other person get a better
Confronting	·        challenge the other person's behavior or attitude ·        Challenge the other person’s thinking ·        Play back exactly what the person has said or done ·        Tell them what you think is holding them back ·        Help them avoid making the same mistake again
Facilitative - means that the person "helping" is drawing out ideas, solutions, self-confidence, and so on, from the other person, helping him or her to reach his or her own solutions or decisions
Cathartic	·        help the other person to express and overcome thoughts or emotions that they have not previously confronted ·        Help the other person express their feelings or fears ·        Empathize with them
Catalytic	·        help the other person reflect, discover and learn for him or herself ·        Ask questions to encourage fresh thinking ·        Encourage the other person to generate new options and solutions ·        Listen and summarize, and listen some more
Supportive	·        build up the confidence of the other person by focusing on their competences, qualities and achievements ·        Tell the other person you value them (their contribution, good intention or achievements) ·        Praise them ·        Show them they have your support and commitment