The Employee made another bad mistake on an assignment. The manager, who believes she has been patient, understanding, and nurturing in previous feedback and coaching sessions prepared for another GROW coaching dialogue by listing all the facts of the situation and listing out the different potential “ways forward” in solving the problems related to solving the continued mistakes.

The coaching dialogue didn’t go well. The employee felt that the manager is picking on her and blowing a little mistake out of the water. The employee also felt that the manager’s plan forward of going to a remedial training program was insulting and unnecessary. Several days later the employee filed a complaint with Human Resources claiming that the manager was creating an “unpsychologically safe environment” that was impacting her mental health and ability to perform her duties. The manager was shaken to her core and told the HR Business Partner that all she was doing was following the best practices of providing coaching and feedback in a fair and positive way.