MANAGE PERFORMANCE
WHY IT MATTERS
People need help and encouragement to succeed. If people’s individual performance isn’t managed well it will rarely ever improve, and may struggle to meet expectations. Everyone benefits from having someone else there to help them rise to a higher standard and push to achieve more. Leaders who manage the performance of their people with respect, sincere interest, high expectations, honesty, and consistency help them to achieve results they may never have been able to achieve on their own. Leaders who don’t effectively manage people’s performance will never draw from their people everything that they have to offer, or help them become all they could have become if someone had invested in them more.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that excel at performance management believe the best way to help people be successful is to lead them one by one. They spend individual time with each employee learning their interests, desires, and what motivates them. They meet with each employee regularly to review their work, and give support, coaching and encouragement. They walk beside their people, and show them the way. They strike the balance between managing too much and not managing enough.
Leaders that manage performance help employees plan a definitive direction for their work. They help employees set goals and define their priorities. They guide employees to find the balance between goals that are impossible to achieve and goals that are uninspiring. They ensure the workload of each employee is enough to stretch them without setting them up for failure. They teach employees to set goals that are simple, measurable, attainable, realistic, time bound and align to the overall goals of the organization.
Leaders that manage performance recognize the link between employee performance and employee development. They are eager to give people time and resources to grow their talents and skills. As part of performance management, they help employee’s set personal development goals to grow their capability. They help employees reflect upon what they have learned and how they will apply that learning to their daily work. They follow up with people to ensure they complete an individual development plan.
Leaders that excel at performance management are honest with their people. They are not afraid to say what needs to be said. They don’t shy away from tough conversations. They believe open communication is the key to helping people improve and grow. They find frequent opportunities to give both formal and informal feedback that is clear and actionable.
Leaders that manage the performance of their people effectively reward and recognize them for their hard work. They find moments to praise and thank them for their efforts. They provide incentives and rewards for achieving hard-to-reach goals.
Leaders that manage performance feel the responsibility to hold people accountable for their performance. When people do not perform they are willing to take disciplinary or corrective action. They confront issues head on, but do it in a way that makes people feel cared for.
BELIEFS
BEST PRACTICES
SELF-REFLECTION
WORDS OF CAUTION
PSYCHOMETRIC 360 QUESTIONS
People need help and encouragement to succeed. If people’s individual performance isn’t managed well it will rarely ever improve, and may struggle to meet expectations. Everyone benefits from having someone else there to help them rise to a higher standard and push to achieve more. Leaders who manage the performance of their people with respect, sincere interest, high expectations, honesty, and consistency help them to achieve results they may never have been able to achieve on their own. Leaders who don’t effectively manage people’s performance will never draw from their people everything that they have to offer, or help them become all they could have become if someone had invested in them more.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that excel at performance management believe the best way to help people be successful is to lead them one by one. They spend individual time with each employee learning their interests, desires, and what motivates them. They meet with each employee regularly to review their work, and give support, coaching and encouragement. They walk beside their people, and show them the way. They strike the balance between managing too much and not managing enough.
Leaders that manage performance help employees plan a definitive direction for their work. They help employees set goals and define their priorities. They guide employees to find the balance between goals that are impossible to achieve and goals that are uninspiring. They ensure the workload of each employee is enough to stretch them without setting them up for failure. They teach employees to set goals that are simple, measurable, attainable, realistic, time bound and align to the overall goals of the organization.
Leaders that manage performance recognize the link between employee performance and employee development. They are eager to give people time and resources to grow their talents and skills. As part of performance management, they help employee’s set personal development goals to grow their capability. They help employees reflect upon what they have learned and how they will apply that learning to their daily work. They follow up with people to ensure they complete an individual development plan.
Leaders that excel at performance management are honest with their people. They are not afraid to say what needs to be said. They don’t shy away from tough conversations. They believe open communication is the key to helping people improve and grow. They find frequent opportunities to give both formal and informal feedback that is clear and actionable.
Leaders that manage the performance of their people effectively reward and recognize them for their hard work. They find moments to praise and thank them for their efforts. They provide incentives and rewards for achieving hard-to-reach goals.
Leaders that manage performance feel the responsibility to hold people accountable for their performance. When people do not perform they are willing to take disciplinary or corrective action. They confront issues head on, but do it in a way that makes people feel cared for.
BELIEFS
- Each employee has individual needs, and deserves individual time with their supervisor.
- The only way to lead people is one by one. A personal investment in people will always yield the best dividends.
- People need frequent follow up, coaching, direction, and encouragement if they are going to be their very best.
- Performance management isn’t about a one-time sit-down meeting each year. It needs to be a continual activity throughout the year.
- There may be no more important time spent as a supervisor than the time spent one-on-one with people.
- Leaders set people on the right course, then do all they can to ensure they stay on that course until they reach their destination.
- Performance management is built on honesty. If you really care about people, be honest in assessing their performance.
- Performance management is people management. If you aren’t doing performance management, you aren’t managing people.
BEST PRACTICES
- Help employees set measurable goals.
- Work with each employee one on one.
- Ensure employees have the resources they need.
- Be available to meet with employees.
- Be consistent in meeting with your people.
- Help employees create development plans.
- Make sure that goals are relevant and realistic.
- Do not permit poor performance to go on.
- Put in place measures for people’s performance.
- Be willing to say what needs to be said.
- Ensure your feedback is actionable.
- Reward employees when they succeed.
- Know the motives and likes of your employees.
- Give both formal and informal feedback.
- Promote personal development.
- Hold formal one-on-one employee meetings.
- Deal promptly with poor performance.
- Balance corrective and positive feedback.
- Identify areas where people can improve.
- Do not shy away from hard conversations.
- Take disciplinary action when necessary.
- Set goals that bring out the best in their people.
SELF-REFLECTION
- Do I regularly spend individual time with each of my employees, or do I rarely find time to meet with them?
- Do I help each employee set goals for their work and development, or do I leave them without clear direction and expectations?
- Do I help people define where and how they can improve their capabilities, or do I allow them to be content with where they are?
- Do I follow up with people regularly to track their progress, or do I just hope things go according to plan?
- Do I give people clear and honest feedback, or do I hide from them what they need to hear to improve?
- Do I confront issues of poor employee performance, or do I fall short of taking necessary steps to resolve issues?
- Do I recognize and reward people for their hard work, or do I take people’s best efforts for granted?
- Do I help people find metrics to measure their work results, or do I leave their success open to interpretation?
WORDS OF CAUTION
- Don’t accidentally cross the line between managing your people and thinking and doing their work for them.
- Don’t forget most people need their performance managed, but don’t want it managed, so you need to think about how to succeed.
- Don’t turn performance management into something that feels more like performance micromanagement.
PSYCHOMETRIC 360 QUESTIONS
- I provide others with the opportunity to grow and develop.
- I hold people accountable for improving how they do their work.
- Performance issues are always dealt with promptly.
- I receive regular feedback on my performance.
- My coworkers expect me to get better every day.
- My manager gives me honest feedback on my performance.