You probably know that a high-performance work environment, where everyone is bringing their “A”-game, doesn’t just happen. However, I am consistently surprised by how little awareness there is about actually developing that environment.
This week’s theme is helping people play their best game at work. It’s a critical leadership function to enable people to perform well for today and grow for tomorrow.
In our Leading for Results program, which is focused on mastering five critical leadership conversations, the Improving Performance Conversation is always a favourite, and it really resonates with participants.
At its crux, there are five practices that lead to improved performance conversations. Here they are:
- First and foremost, build a constructive relationship with your direct reports. Get to know them, as well as their aspirations, strengths and challenges. A great relationship is a foundation of trust. Psychological safety – feeling truly comfortable with those around us - means we can talk constructively about work issues as they arise rather than avoid them.
- Be clear that part of your leadership role is development and that means giving feedback. And that means reinforcing what’s working, while also constructively and positively helping with the niggles and sore spots. Inquire about the team member’s experience with feedback. If your people have found it to be poor, hurtful and ineffective in the past, it’s good to know that it might be a sensitivity up-front. You can use that to start to talk about your approach and what works best for them. That then lays a foundation for true collaboration.
- A performance problem is often the symptom of something else. Behind the performance issue will be a root cause, and the best solutions emerge when we have a dialogue that gets to the heart of the matter. This is why trust is imperative so everyone can open up, and it needs to be coupled with great questions and listening to be able to get to the root problem.
- Get each team member’s ideas about potential solutions. They often know the best way forward, but they just haven’t had a chance to talk through it to sort it out.
- Finally, get traction, collaboratively work up a plan and follow up.
To achieve and enhance these five points, scheduling regular 1:1’s is a great practice to work feedback into, on both sides. The regularity of the meetings also means you can jump onto issues early. If someone is struggling, it’s best to get involved earlier than later. Knowing when to step in and also, when to stay out is one of the more artful aspects of leadership.
And so, with all of this in mind, here’s some actionable advice: In your next one-on-ones, schedule some feedback time aimed at both reinforcing and improving.?
