You're evaluating a team member's performance. How do you determine what really matters?

it is crucial for the employee to have clear and concise JD, understand their role. Have KPIs that are SMART- they should understand what is expected of them. The Manager should provide needed support, guidance and feedback through the period the employee is being evaluated. Employee should own their role and have the intiative to work towards the desired goals, ask questions, get curios and find ways of doing their job well. Evaluation process should be a two way process, the manager and employee review the employees performance objectively and map out the areas the employee did well, areas of development. Then come up with action plans/next steps.

As Simon Sinek illuminates in his book, Start with Why! If you want your team to be driven by mission, your mission must be their mission too. Share with stories why this mission has a bigger impact on the world than just corporate revenue. How is your mission making a difference in people's lives? Share stories every day about what great work looks like and how their contributions are making the world a better place. Share how the team can get better and grow in their mission every day thanks to each member's pursuit of excellence. Nurture their passion by recognizing growth and achievement. When team members begin to identify themselves as the kind of people who go the extra mile and are great at solving problems that is who they will be.

Many people will say that performance should be evaluated in relation to organizational goals. That can work. However, organizational goals may not be in step with your goals or the reason why you hired your staff member in the first place. What are the most important tasks you need this person to do at a high level for you and your team. If you have clarity about what you need your team to do, you can then more easily assign performance responsibilities. Don't hesitate to review on a quarterly and make adjustments. It seems impossible to evaluate someone for an entire year! I have problems remembering my performance from one month to another.

If you simply live out your mission, values, and pillars daily everything you hope to accomplish individually, as a department, and as a company will become a direct result. So it’s crucial you align them to how you design performance reviews, recognition programs, etc as it’s all about nurturing and encouraging those positive behaviors to drive peak performance.

The key to successful reviews is clarity. If your staff know what is expected of them, THEY should lead the review process. They should be able to articulate what they have achieved against metrics and if they have fallen short, they should be able to tell you why AND what they intend to do about it/what support they need etc. The manager should provide support and monitor progress throughout the time period, but the employee should lead their own review, it is THEIR review after all!

SMART is how you start, but so many times I see these areas of opportunity discussed, plans for improvement being outlined and yet still no action or more importantly accountability not just on the team member but also on the leader to follow up and follow through on the commitment to be better together. Leaders must play an active role in proactively preparing their teams for greater success.

Timely is the key word there, don’t wait for a monthly meeting, quarterly 1:1, or annual evaluation to share areas of opportunity. Coaching needs to be done consistently and when our teams our conditioned to expect realtime feedback, you began to become way more adaptable and learn to leadershift along the way.

Feedback is vital to becoming our best selves. Yet, two of the most frustrating things about performance feedback are not getting timely feedback or receiving vague feedback. Avoid those surprises, frustrations, and grievances by providing real-time or near real-time feedback so your people can integrate the feedback right away. The feedback sandwich technique is good, but I find asking powerful questions is better. Instead of telling and fixing create an opportunity for coaching. Coaching invites shared reflection, learning, and growth. Ask powerful questions such as "How did you feel about your performance? "What went well?" "What can be improved?" "What do you want to adjust going forward?"

Timely and balanced feedback is critical. It's been my experience that many leaders and managers tend to focus mostly on the developmental side and rarely give their colleagues and reinforcement feedback which is a mistake from many angles. Confidence may go down, along with engagement. I like the quote from jack Welch "There's no event in the day which can't be used for people development, especially self confidence." As a side note, I was never a big Welch fan, I do like this quote.

This can be a powerful moment (which should be one of many) encouraging your team member to share the paths they took and the experiences they had during the review period gives you an opportunity to truly realize w wholistic journey. See where you were during this time as a leader. Were they equipped, trained/developed, and ready for meet and/or exceed the objectives the 2 of you agreed on! Celebrate, encourage, and learn together in this process!

A comprehensive evaluation process is crucial for a successful team. Engaging in dialogue with team members allows understanding their self-assessment, achievements, and goals. It's important to acknowledge their feedback, support their development, and celebrate their successes. A shared action plan strengthens the team and promotes individual growth. Don't forget to schedule regular feedback sessions with your team to track progress and provide support. Keep the dialogue open and constructive to foster an environment of trust and collaboration.

Involving team members in the evaluation process is not just a best practice, but a fundamental aspect of effective performance management. It promotes a sense of ownership, accountability, and engagement among team members, leading to a more motivated and productive workforce. By making evaluation a two-way conversation, organizations can create a more collaborative, transparent, and high-performing work environment where everyone is committed to achieving shared objectives and growth.

La evaluación del desempe?o es un proceso necesario y que necesita de tiempo para su realización para todas las partes. Esta necesidad de tiempo en ocasiones hacer que su revisión y posibles actualizaciones queden postergadas lo cual puede ser un error. En un entorno cambiante donde la constante adaptación e las empresas al entorno competitivo hace que sus personas también tengan que cambiar por tanto no adecuar los criterios de evaluación a los cambios puede llevar a un desfase de los resultados. Conviene por tanto, realizar revisiones periódicas y sobre todo en procesos importantes de transformación.

In my experience, to evaluate team member's performance, it is important to consider key factors like job-specific skills, productivity, communication, teamwork, and overall contributions to team goals. Setting clear expectations can help guide the evaluation process.