Employee Engagement By Effective Coaching For Performance Management Based on “Case Study 9-1: Was Robert Eaton a Good Coach?”, review the Major Functions

Employee Engagement By Effective Coaching For Performance Management Based on “Case Study 9-1: Was Robert Eaton a Good Coach?”, review the Major Functions and Key Behaviors tables in the textbook, evaluate Eaton’s coaching skills. In your response address the following elements:What major functions were missing?What key behaviors were missing?Based on your evaluation, provide specific recommendations on how he could have been a more effective coach.Direction:* Be sure to support your statements with logic and argument. citing any sources referenced and cite inside the text.APA style6-8 paragraphs CASE STUDY 9-1
Was Robert Eaton a Good Coach?
Robert Eaton was CEO and chairman of Chrysler from 1993 to communication between Eaton and Lutz (the two men sat
1998, replacing Lee lacocca who retired after serving in this across the hall from one another and never closed their doors)
capacity since 1978. Eaton then served as cochairman of the permeated the entire organization. Eaton and Lutz’s walk-
newly merged DaimlerChrysler organization from 1998 to 2000. around management style indicated to employees that they
With 362,100 employees, DaimlerChrysler achieved revenues were committed to and engaged in the organization.
of EUR 136.4 billion in 2003. DaimlerChrysler’s passenger car Furthermore, Eaton and Lutz held meetings with their execu-
brands include Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep, tive team on a regular basis to exchange ideas and informa-
Dodge, and Smart. Commercial vehicle brands include tion from all areas of the organization.
Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star, and Setra. Eaton even reorganized the manner in which Chrysler
From the beginning of his tenure as CEO, Eaton com- designed cars based on a study, previously disregarded by
municated with the people under him. He immediately shared Iacocca, that indicated that Chrysler needed to be more
his plans for the future with his top four executives and then flexible and its executives needed to be in constant commu-
took the advice of his colleague, Bob Lutz, to look around the nication with the product design team. One employee was
company before making any hasty decisions concerning the quoted as saying, “Bob Eaton does not shoot the messenger
state of affairs at Chrysler. Eaton and Lutz ascertained that when he hears something he doesn’t like or understand. He
Chrysler was employing the right staff and that they did not knows that not every idea is right. But Bob is off-the-wall
need to hire new people; they just had to lead them in a differ- himself. … He’ll say something, and we’ll tell him that it’s a
ent manner, that is, in a more participative style.
crazy idea…. He may not change his mind in the end, but
Eaton listened to everyone in the organization, includ- he’ll spend the time explaining to you what is behind
ing executives, suppliers, and assembly-line workers, to his thought processes. Do you know what kind of confidence
determine how to help the company succeed. Eaton also that inspires?” This type of open communication at the top
encouraged the employees at Chrysler to talk with one proved extremely successful, as summed up by one
another. The atmosphere of collaboration and open-door designer: “It’s a system that recognizes talent early and
Chapter 9 • Performance Management Skills 257
rewards it, and that creates a sense of enthusiasm for your vision, but we try to teach people to be a leader in their own
work, and a sense of mission.”
area, to know where the company wants to go, to know how
Another program that Eaton describes as empow- that affects their area, to benchmark the best in the world,
ering employees at Chrysler includes requiring all employees, and then set goals and programs to go after it. We also
including executives, to participate in the process of building encourage people not only to go after the business plan
a new vehicle. Eaton explains that this shows all of the em- objectives but to have stretch goals. And a stretch goal by
ployees in the plant that executives are concerned about the definition is a fifty-percent increase . If we go after fifty
proper functioning of new cars, and it gives executives the percent, something dramatic has to happen. You have to go
opportunity to understand and solve problems at the factory outside of the box.”
level. Eaton states, “When we’re done with our discussions, Based on the above description, please evaluate Bob
these guys know where we want to go and how we want to Eaton’s coaching skills using the accompanying table. If a
get there, and they go back and put the action plans together certain coaching behavior or function is missing, please
to do that. This goes for every single thing we do.” He con- provide recommendations about what he could have done
cludes, “Clearly at a company there has to be a shared more effectively.
Present? (Y/N)
Comments/Recommendations
Major Functions
Give advice
Provide guidance
Give support
Give confidence
Promote greater competence
Key Behaviors
Establish development objectives
Communicate effectively
Motivate employees
Document performance
Give feedback
Diagnose performance problems
Develop employees
Present? (Y/N)
Comments/Recommendations
Source: Based on information provided by M. Puris, Comeback: How
Seven Straight-Shooting CEOs Turned Around Troubled Companies
(New York: Times Books, 1999), 80–118, specifically Chap. 4, “Robert
Eaton and Robert Lutz; The Copilots.”

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