Leadership Matters: Making performance discussions meaningful
It is the time of year when people start feeling uneasy in anticipation of the upcoming annual performance review session.?The formula for too many people is the same every year.?The leader offers some positive feedback by saying a few good things, talks about why the bad things were largely out of the employee’s direct control, assigns a rating that is inconsistent with the discussion and then hastily finishes the meeting as fast as he or she can. The result is not motivational, and it seldom provides the insights needed for improvement.?
Performance discussions are important to the people you lead, so take the steps necessary to make the meeting meaningful.?Below are some thoughts on the ingredients for an effective discussion that will drive change and help develop the people on your team:
Set objectives early
Objectives should be established in the beginning of the year and discussed or modified continuously throughout the year.?Without clearly defined and agreed-upon objectives, much of the performance discussion will be wasted on discussing the original expectations.
Do your homework?
A good performance review takes a significant amount of thought and preparation.?The preparation should include studying the self-review documentation. If that information is not complete or understandable, then it would be appropriate to reach out to the employee and clarify those items in advance. The homework should also include getting input from others, assessing the objective results, considering the impact on organizational objectives, and other antidotal evidence.? Assessments should reflect the entire year and take into account any major obstacles and the overall workload.?Do not fall into the trap of relying solely on recent data, a single incident, or using only one person’s observations.
Be candid?
Prior to the meeting, take the time to determine the message you want to provide during the discussion and be candid in delivering it.?To aid the thought process, it is a good idea for the leader to document a concise and direct performance summary. I like to do this on a single sheet of paper with these three sections:?Performance objectives (results), attributes to leverage, and attributes to improve.?During the meeting, the leader should clearly state what they think about each of these three performance areas and give specific examples when possible.?It is essential to state your opinions and perceptions about the employee’s performance and behaviors whether they have specific examples or data.?It is also important to listen and ensure the basis for your views is not flawed.
Ratings
Emphasize the discussion on the individual objectives and the employee’s behaviors rather than the rating.?The more granular the discussion, the more learning that will take place. The discussion should focus on three main areas - the results, how the results were achieved and the impact the person has on others inside and outside the organization.?The impact a person has on others, positive or negative, often is more critical than their personal objectives. Although still a requirement of many companies, I am no longer a fan of ratings as they tend to label people and become the focal point of the conversation. The overall rating can become a distraction and demotivating.?Take the time for a great understanding of the behaviors and the assessment of individual objectives.
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Coach
Remember that the value in the discussion is to motivate people and give them information they need to improve their performance.?Let them know the strong behaviors that they can leverage and the behaviors that get in the way of them being more successful.?Provide specific advice on how to improve.?Examples are powerful ways to allow the employee to understand what they could do differently in the future.
Dick Grote, author of “How to be Good at Performance Appraisals” talks about the myth of comfort.?The myth is that if we have the right training and do the right preparations then performance management will be comfortable(1).? The reality is that it is not a comfortable experience as performance management requires judgement. It may be the most stressful work conversation of the year.? Assessing people is not easy, but it is a necessary and important part of a leader’s role.
Performance management is clearly a two-way conversation and not a one-way monologue or just reading from a document.?When the discussion concludes, the employee should understand the core beliefs the leader has about the performance and specific actions or behaviors necessary for improvement.?The leader should have additional insight into the employee’s perceptions and a better understanding of his or her viewpoint.?Candid conversations continuously throughout the year, as well as during the year-end review, will increase awareness and create a foundation for future development discussions.
?(1)Grote, Dick.? “Dick Groat – The Myths of Performance Management”? (2014)? Retrieved from www.youtube.com.
“My job is not to be easy on people.? My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.” ?– Steve Jobs
Leadership matters!
Ken
Recently retired project manager, now engaged with diverse coalitions to pursue clean energy, empower youth, and create opportunities for reconciliation for Indigenous nations in the western U.S. and abroad.
1 年Invaluable insight.
Renewable Energy Industry Expert
1 年Ken Zagzebski - Agree with your thoughts here. I like to think of the annual review as a summary of the many feedback discussions leaders should have with those they supervise during the course of the year. Good surprises are fine during the review (i.e. unexpected promotion), however delivering bad news about performance to an employee who didn't get any constructive feedback during the year is a terrible look for the supervisor, and a definite downer for the employee. Luckily your people have a great mentor in you on how to do things right.