The point is that coaching isn ' t about applying a one-size-fits-all template. It ' s about noticing what makes each person tick and then tailoring your approach to help them thrive.
TOOL # 2: MOVING FROM STYLE TO READINESS: THE WILL VS. SKILL MATRIX
Understanding your agents ' personality styles is a powerful first step. But knowing how ready they are to improve is just as essential.
That ' s where the skill versus will matrix comes in, which I have modified and broken down for call and contact centers, outlined in four quadrants( see FIGURE 2).
This simple yet powerful framework helps you diagnose where an agent is on their coaching journey by looking at two things:
• Skill. Do they have the ability and knowledge to do the job?
• Will. Do they have the motivation and mindset to apply it?
Once you understand both, you can coach more precisely: offering the right blend of support, challenge, or encouragement depending on where they land.
Let ' s see how these quadrants can be used:
• High Will / Low Skill. Think of a brandnew hire, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, hitting their head against a brick wall trying to get the hang of your call center ' s CRM system. They ' re motivated but may flounder without guidance.
Your job? Teach with patience; they want to succeed. Consider pairing them with a mentor( an experienced agent) to learn the ropes.
• Low Will / High Skill. This one is trickier. Imagine an agent who knows the systems and information inside out but who rolls their eyes at feedback. Something ' s off. Burnout? Misalignment? Your job is to dig deeper and help them reconnect to their " why."
• Low Will / Low Skill. This agent has checked out. Maybe they weren ' t appropriately trained or felt they would figure it out when they started taking calls, or perhaps they ' re not a good fit.
Here, coaching will be challenging; most times, it falls on deaf ears and such agents will do their best to hold on until they find something to move on to. However, if it ' s a training issue, and the agents are willing to learn, there may still be hope to turn things around.
• High Will / High Skill. These agents are your MVPs. Don ' t ignore them because they ' re consistent.
Instead, invest in them like by offering stretch assignments( new assignments that push their skill level and challenges them to grow, such as leading team huddles or piloting a new system), mentorship, or leadership prep.
Using the Will vs. Skill Matrix in your coaching prep helps you match your strategy to their reality: and sets you both up for more productive, empathetic conversations.
TOOL # 3: WHAT FUELS THE FIRE
If DISC helps us understand how someone behaves, and the Will vs. Skill Matrix tells us where they are in their development, there ' s still one big question left: Why do agents do what they do? That ' s where what I call“ driving forces”, based on extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, described by Charlotte Nickerson, that I have modified for call and contact centers come in( see FIGURE 3).
In the fast-moving, high-pressure world of call and contact centers, it ' s easy to assume that everyone is motivated by the same things: recognition, bonuses, maybe a shot at promotion, and the list goes on.
WILL VERSUS SKILL MATRIX
FIGURE 2
Source: BiteSize Learning, modified by Mark Pereira
18 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE