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The biggest mistake many managers make in their attempt to develop their air
personalities is to do so through a preponderance of negative input. But, to attempt
to improve an air personality's performance only by giving him or her a litany
of negatives and don'ts without plausible and credible do's and
how to's is rarely an effective tactic.
Coaching, by definition, involves advice and instruction. Without those three
elements you are merely managing, which, by definition, involves direction and
control. The difference between just saying something to air personalities and
getting positive results to happen on the radio is in how the message is delivered.
The first step to becoming a more effective radio air talent coach is to change
your mind set about the process. Stop thinking in terms of telling and
start thinking in terms of selling your coaching points. When preparing
for a client pitch, sales people go through a process called a wants and needs
analysis. Sales people know that the easiest way to make a sale is by identifying
a strong client need and finding a way to fill that need within the context of
making the sale.
This is a great model for program managers to use as a starting point for each
coaching session. Ask yourself what are the things that each air personality wants
and needs in their work and lives in general? Then, try to incorporate language
and tactics to address those needs into your coaching plan. Here are the 10 most
typical wants and needs of air talent and some examples of how to use them in
the coaching process:
To be the best and most successful talent -
Appeal to the talent's desire for greatness by stressing how what you want
him or her to do will impact on the show's ratings position.
"To me this coaching point will make the difference between your show being
number four and number one. Imagine just how great it will feel to be on top in
the market!"
To get a significant raise or bonus -
This is a parallel situation to the previous situation. However, the motive
here is pure greed. Try phrases that appeal to that motive without making any
tangible promises you may not be able to keep at budget time. "If you accomplish
these coaching goals, who knows what position I'll be in come contract time next
year. You'll make yourself much more valuable to the radio station when you make
these improvements to your show."
To have everyone respect and admire them -
This is typically the strongest need of veteran talent. Often times the respect
among staff members for these veterans has waned as result of their slipping performances
and sliding ratings positions. But, not to show respect in the coaching process
for someone who is desperate for it is a big mistake. Use phrases that reinforce
respect and admiration to reach air personalities with these needs. "Having
been in the business for over 20 years, you have probably already thought about
this, but I'll suggest it anyway."...
"There's a reason why you've been in this market for so many years. We
just have to get you back to what made you a market name in the first place."..."When
you do these things there isn't anybody better than you."
To get extra vacation time -
This is probably the most common and overlooked need of them all. Think about
it. All of us suffer from time poverty to some extent. So, it should not really
be surprising how strong and prevalent the desire for extra vacation time is among
air personalities. The desire for more vacation time is particularly strong among
morning air personalities who value an extra morning sleeping in over monetary
compensation.
This is also one of the easiest needs to fill, if you have the license to do
so. There is also very little communication sophistication involved in appealing
to this need. Tactically, it amounts to an outright bribe. "If you make this
happen on the radio, I'll give you an extra three-day weekend."
To have elevated status at the radio station -
This is what I call the special child syndrome. Certain air personalities have
the need to be seen as and treated differently than their siblings. Meeting this
need can cause morale problems on the staff if it is not done in a careful manner.
One safe way to meet this need is simply by spending more time with your special
child in and out of the office.
Time alone with you satisfies their need for elevated status. After all, you
are the boss! Offer to take them to lunch or dinner if they accomplish performance
goals. Another safe tactic is to provide them with insider information that you
do not share with the whole staff and asking for their advice, when appropriate.
If the boss confides in you, you must be someone special.
To be left alone and never go to meetings -
Of course, this is not a need that can be completely met. There are critical
meetings that every air personality is going to have to endure, like it or not.
However, this is a need that many veteran morning teams desperately want filled.
Often, in the case of highly paid, contracted talent, this is the only way to
reach them. For air talent with this need, having to meet with the program director
every day is a living hell. So, consider tying the meeting schedule to results
you hear on the air.
For example, on a day when the morning show has a really great show, say, "Great
show today for these reasons. Now, go and make me another one for tomorrow."
If you are not getting the results you can say something like, "Since I am
not hearing it happen on the air, I'm going to help you make it happen by meeting
with you every day until it does. When I hear it on the air, I'll modify the daily
meeting schedule." You will be amazed at how fast you can get results on
a show using this tactic with more autonomous talent.
To be recognized for their hard work in spite of the ratings -
It is hard to muster up praise for a losing effort. Consequently, many hard
working air personalities are often called lazy when they just need to work smarter.
Talent with a strong work ethic need to be seen as hard working. So, to address
this need, use language which validates the effort while redirecting it at the
same time. "No one works harder than you do. So, I'm confident you'll put
the effort in to this new system to make this happen."
To be the focus of a promotional campaign -
This need is often impossible to meet because of limited financial
resources and overall station branding issues. But, even the lure of some kind
of cost effective, narrowly targeted promotion via fax or your website can do
a lot to satisfy this need. "If you accomplish this goal, here's the promotion
I'm going to put together for your show."
To succeed in order to move on to a more desirable location -
It never seems prudent to consider helping someone leave your radio station.
But, in the end, if an air personality is unhappy, he or she will leave anyway.
So, rather than fight the inevitable, use it to your advantage. This is particularly
an issue for up and coming talent who have a dream of going home or to a bigger
market to be a star and make more money.
To appeal to this need, use phrases that support the talent's growth and fulfillment
of their dream. "I know you want to go home to Chicago and be a big star.
Accomplishing this goal will get you one step closer to that dream."
To become a music director or assistant program director -
On the surface this need is pretty easy to fill. You train the personality
so that you can delegate a few of your daily responsibilities to him or her. However,
many radio groups have issues with officially giving those titles to staff members
because they do not want to create new job categories at the station. So, before
you actually use this tactic, consult your upper management.
Understanding the person you are coaching is critical to succeeding in the
air personality development process.
When you strongly appeal to your air talent's self interests, you are much
more likely to coach meaningful changes in their performances.
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