Managers and Leaders: Step Up to the Opportunity of the Performance Conversation:
We’ve commented recently in our eQ Blogs about the performance review and how – as individuals – we can prepare and better ‘manage up’ to make the most of these all too infrequent opportunities to highlight our successes, clarify what our leaders find valuable, and mutually agree on the direction we should take to contribute at a high level and develop in the year ahead and beyond. That’s all well and good – but hear me now and believe me later, managers and leaders: ensuring an ongoing, effective dialogue about performance is not only YOUR job, it’s a golden OPPORTUNITY.
The good news is that, with no more than a minor adjustment or two, you not only can fulfill the requirements of your job, but do so in a manner that increases the likelihood of contribution from your people that meets or exceeds your expectations. Here are some keys to comfortably taking the lead in performance conversations and influencing the purpose your people act with and the impact that they have.
• Accentuate the positive—Unless this is the last conversation you’re planning to have with one of your team members, the headline for any conversation about performance should be something like: “I’m interested in how I can better support your success…” In the context of a formal review, I’d encourage you to take the mystery out of the conversation as early as possible by sharing something like: “The bottom line is you’re a valued member of the team, and I’m excited to update you on what I’d love to see continue in your work as well as collaborate with you about what we can add to enhance your contribution and how good you feel about it.” Building on one’s strengths smooths the way to a positive and productive conversation by allowing managers/leaders to guide their people toward more valuable and valued performance through an illustration and expansion of something they already do, and do well. It just makes good sense.
• Be specific—Nothing says “I’m not really prepared for our conversation” or “I don’t care enough to know the facts” like a generic “thank you.” Very few managers or leaders have told me over the years that the majority of their team members are performing at a level that is below expectations. That means that the majority of their performance conversations should be emphasizing the behaviors they value to ensure that they keep getting them and, perhaps, can get more of. It’s not enough to say “thanks” (though that’s nice); tell them exactly what you value and why. Then you can ask – consistent with your conversational headline above: “what do you need from me/how can I better support you?”
• Don’t sandwich—Among the worst of the bad ideas about performance conversations I hear regularly is the “compliment sandwich.” The ingredients of this poor-tasting and unsatisfying meal are – I’m told – a good thing, a bad thing, and a good thing. Supposedly, this clever mixture is like Mary Poppins’ spoonful of sugar that helps, in this case, the criticism go down. Based on totally anecdotal research – research that I’m confident is quite valid – the result of the sandwich is people either only hear the positive and miss the development feedback entirely; or they only hear what they understand to be negative. Either way, we’ve failed as communicators. With stronger, more experienced performers, ask them how they’d like to develop further and/or how they might become even stronger or more consistent. You also can share with them your ideas along the same lines by sharing something you’d like to see them begin to do or do more of and that you are confident (based on observation, etc.) they can do and do well.
• Be considerate of your people by having difficult conversations—If there is an area that they need to address or if you’re speaking with someone whose overall performance is lacking to the point that you only have immediate development needs to discuss, speak directly to that need or those needs. “I believe you can be a valued member of the team based on ____, but we need to get you to a certain level of performance by a specific time. This will require that you do _____, and I will support you in the following ways.” A former colleague told me that she came to understand that many people shy away from these difficult conversations to spare their colleague’s feelings. When she sensed this was at play, she would ask the manager how the colleague would feel when they lost their job without ever having the chance to make changes to do better. We need to have these conversations and do so in time to give people a chance to succeed.
• Aim forward—Part of the reason we have formal review conversations is to share the rationale for compensation decisions. These conversations necessarily look backwards at what’s already happened. We should want to spend most of our efforts looking forward, especially in terms of how we can apply what we’ve learned to continue to do well and even better. Using the guidance above, plan to spend the majority of your time in any performance conversation and especially in the formal review conversation looking forward. Among the questions you should facilitate are:
• What are the goals for the year ahead and how are they informed by what you’ve done in the year just ended?
• How will you achieve those goals?
• How can I support your success?
You can share the benefit of your experience by asking questions that may reveal other options or challenge assumptions. You also can offer examples of things you’ve found to work well. Most of all, you’re encouraged to use the first conversation as the springboard to the next, and all the ones that should naturally lie ahead – whether they occur face-to-face, via phone, Skype, email, Post-It Note, whatever.
We have to have performance conversations no matter what, so making them more positive, more forward-looking, and more productive just makes sense. Give yourself the gift of even better performance by investing in ongoing dialogues that emphasize what we’re doing that creates value and how we can encourage more of that behavior. It’s a gift that keeps on giving!
Jeff Lesher, Principal at entreQuest, blends his deep knowledge of organization design, human capital, and leadership with a pragmatic approach drawn from his own business experience and eQ's philosophy to help eQ's clients focus on their core purpose and move people effectively to action.
