ISSUE # 4
SEPTEMBER 2015
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
I’ve worked in several public and private sector business areas and when it comes to appraising staff there are a host of methods to do it. We could not possibly detail all of them in this module and so we will focus on some elements that are common to the success of all of them, with some essential pieces of information that you need to know to help you out.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Whatever process or system you use to manage the criteria for performance it is engagement with the people that gives you actual improvement in performance
an m d e oul al c y an u c ma ith m o w or at y ny ou f r h pa y pe s t m lp e o e e m tem r c ll h nc o s s u i a e sy yo t w rm r a t t e en ha tha rfo r t e e H gem or use g p , a se y in u ad ag re an m
• 121’s • Personal Coaching • Coaching • Balanced Scorecards • Appraisals • Personal Development Reviews • Bonus Incentives 2
• Key Performance Indicators • Competencies • Behavioural Assessments • SMART targets • Individual Objectives • Development Centres • 360 Degree Feedback
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
What if our company hasn’t got a system for performance management? If your organisation does not partake in any of these activities then you can use this section to help pick up the main skills, and then complete your own. There is a definite cost:benefit from some form of appraisal or performance management system and if you have not got a mechanism in place then simply discussing peoples performance informally in a 121 will get you up and running. Remember, this is about the people, so simply arranging an annual meeting with your direct team to discuss their achievements and goals is an appraisal. Lets not overcomplicate it. There is no real discernable evidence for which system is better than another and companies tend to decide based on what they have done before, or what is fashionable in the moment. In my view all forms of performance management must include some form of conversation or feedback on performance and with any luck that will be done face to face, or over the phone. The skills you will develop will be centred on the behaviours and capabilities that surround the environment of personal contact because
that leads to performance improvement. We will also discuss a very easy method of implementing performance management and how to implement it quickly and efficiently with minimal cost. It is mainly skills based and will help you get to grips with the people skills before attempting a more complex process. Whether you do; 121’s, Personal Coaching, Coaching, Balanced Scorecards, Appraisals, Personal Development Reviews, Bonus Incentives, Key Performance Indicators, Competencies, Behavioural Assessments, SMART targets, Individual Objectives, Development Centres, or 360 Degree Feedback, you must always act within the first golden rule as a Manager of people.
The first golden rule is: In the mind of the individual The reason you are there is for them
All these mechanisms, of which I have practiced, designed, project managed or been subject to, all have this golden rule in common to their success. If you keep this golden rule in mind, then whatever or however you complete the form or fill in the assessment you will always get a positive shift from the person. It is irrelevant how you are told to complete the forms or run the Appraisal you must remember that in the mind of the individual “If I am moving towards success, or away from despair then I am doing OK”. So, please focus on the individual and give them the best experience that I know you can give. It must be true, heart-felt personal input into them and it is then up to them if they choose to follow it or reject it. Whatever happens, if you follow the golden rule then you can say that you have done your best to help the individual. That in turn will give you the desired performance improvement either directly or indirectly (i.e. poor performers who do not want to change leave and find a job where they are not performance managed).
Once you are helping or developing someone, whether it is because they are a poor performer who you want to give a second chance, or an exceptional performer that you want to progress the process and content is irrelevant if you focus on the people. The process of performance management might be called a 360 or PDR or 121 and the task of actually physically filling in a form, or sitting down and doing coaching may be required and if you just do these two bits then it may keep your manager happy. The box that says “We have done all our PDRs this month” will be ticked but the performance shift will not happen. You may believe it will happen and your stats may even show that people are “Feeling happier at work” but actually if you focus on the people for a change, then you will notice a change in their performance. This means really getting to know them, their aspirations and their hesitations. Really help them as individuals and they will respond to you as a team.
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
The second golden rule is: Poor performers are managed out or in, and good performers are managed up or down This means that an organisation must develop the skills of the team leaders and managers to manage the conflict with poor performers you want out, or the effort to develop them to stay in and manage the conflict of the good performer who wishes to succeed in the business and get promoted up, or feel that their efforts are wasted and rather than leave they feel down until they leave.
Seeker Efforts not appreciated so may feel down or move out
Succeder High Performance
80% of your team
Soaker No matter what you do they soak your time and energy and never improve
Efforts recognised. High performance continue High Commitment
Sponger Efforts match input and development can occur
The Performance SSSSystem So, when undertaking any form of performance management system you may be aware that the bottom 10% will need managing out (Soakers), or developed to a minimum standard (Spongers), and the top 10% will want to develop beyond their current position (Succeeders) or they will look elsewhere for recognition (Seekers).
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Managing the SSSSystem I have shown this proposition in the above diagram mainly to show you the extremes of your team. They are exaggerated behaviours of staff that can be managed and changed to develop performance if you manage them appropriately.
Seekers
If Seekers are not appreciated then they will look for recognition elsewhere. This may be from your manager, from your peers or from other departments. They may say things like “Id love to work in Dept X, it sounds fantastic”, or “Shouldn’t we be doing something like they do?”
If they get really de-motivated then they will begin to look for recognition outside the company, and may drop in comments like “My girlfriend works at ACME and she gets a day off if she works a late shift”. Seekers are high performers so you don’t necessarily want to lose them to a competitor. To manage them you may want to ask them in a 121 “What is missing from our department?” or “What would you really like from your job?” These questions will open up the Seeker to tell you what they want you to do. It is important to hear them out and take your time to write them down. Some of them may be possible; some of them may be directed at your style. Simply write them down and say that you will look into their implementation. If you want to really get them on board then say “That’s a great idea, perhaps you would like to manage its implementation in our department. Can you come up with a project plan to do that?” If they say “I don’t know how” then it is an opportunity to show them, if they don’t want to then it demonstrates it wasn’t important enough.
This can be enough to start the journey the other way along the commitment axis. The more you involve them and recognise their work the more committed they will feel. It is not often about money although this will come up at some stage. By explaining what has to be done to get the money (ie cost:benefit analysis) then you can get them to work on the justification for you. There is nothing wrong with paying your staff more, and if they can write the justification then guess what! ( – if your team get a pay rise by doing a really good justification then what could happen to your pay?!...)
Soakers
Soakers are people that no-matter how much effort and energy you put into their development they will want more. They do not put it into practice, or ever use it but they will exhibit all the signs of wanting it.
With Soakers you must put in enough effort to get the relationship that motivates them in the role. When you are there you can then go to stage 2. Stage 2 is to say “In the last 12 months I have spent x time with you. This is almost double what I have spent with other members of my team. Yet I have not seen you implement much change. I will have to reduce the time I spend with you until you implement some of this
learning. My priority is that you learn to do X. Is this possible in the next 3 months?” Now if they say no, simply add “Then it may be worth considering if this is a department you want to continue working in. If it is then I need to see some commitment from you through your progress, which tells me you want to stay working for me”
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
If they say yes, simply add “Excellent, I knew you could do this. I’ll check with you every 2 weeks to make sure you are progressing and discuss your learning.” If this works they may turn into Spongers, or into the 80% area that you want them in. If not then you may need to repeat stage 2 and begin to manage them out. It is a reality that some people are in the wrong job. People are proud and may not admit it but it is true. By helping people achieve the role they really want then you may find that they actually perform better in the role they have.
I regularly had chats with members of my team that want to work in other departments and I prioritise tasks for them based on which projects will give them the skills to perform in the areas they want to perform in. I even had a trainer that wanted to be a singer. He worked for me for 4 years before I left the company and he took my job. By applying learning about how to improve his performance at work by finishing projects to deadline he was motivated to finish projects he had started at home like finishing writing songs.
Spongers
A Sponger is similar to a Soaker except they retain the learning you have given them and are committed to implementing it. The only issue is that when they attempt to implement it they can’t get it to work. Metaphorically it is like telling someone that can’t drive, how to drive a car, and then assuming they can go ahead and do it.
Spongers can become performers if you accept that they can not naturally do the task or skill that you want them to. If it is part of their job then it may be that they are not actually cut out to do it. Imagine you decide to become a 100m runner at age 45 and that you want to win the gold medal at the Olympics. It wont be long before someone somewhere tells you “It’s not worth it mate, you’ll never do it”. Now I’m not saying it is impossible, I’m just saying that it is improbable. The same applies to a Sponger. They may not actually be cut out to do the work. So stage one with a sponger is to say “What is it that you want from your role”. A typical answer from a sponger might be “To be the best I can.” Then ask “What if your best is not good enough to meet the requirement of your role?” and the answer would be something like “Then I would know that at least I did my best.” Now that doesn’t get us very far, but it does tell us that this person will never quit. They will always work their fingers to the bone even in a job they do not like or perform well at, just because they do their best if they commit to something. The next stage is therefore to ask “What do you really
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want to do, what have you wanted to do since being a child?” To get a truthful answer to this takes a good level of rapport. It may take some time to find out. However, whatever the answer is you can link that activity to the role they do and the sponger will convert to a performer, or leave in pursuit of their dream. I had a technical product manager that said that he wanted to be in a band. He always had wanted that and thought it was not achievable. A week after our discussion he had reformed his old band, and a year later was cutting and selling albums. He still worked as a technical product manager and his team thought he was “Well Cool”. 3 years on and his band still do gigs and make albums and he is still a technical product manager. The difference is that he is now a performer…in both senses of the word. I trust that the examples above are helping you understand what I mean about focusing on the people. Although these points are nothing to do with their job description your role is to help them develop as people and the knock on impact for their job is incredible.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Succeeders
Succeeders come from those members of staff that actually really want to get recognised and promoted in their role. They are high performers and hard working. They have a high level of commitment.
To keep them motivated and performing you will however need to give them lots of responsibility and recognition for the work they are doing. This sounds easy, and it is. What happens however when you have reached the limit of your time and you can not give them any more. Saying things like “This is a tough one, no-one else can do this‌â€? will really work for the Succeeders.
Instead focus on the development of their role and responsibility as and when they demonstrate that they are able. I had a Succeeder working for me for many years and it cost very little in terms of pay rises to keep him motivated, yet he took a lot in terms of coaching, personal development and responsibility to manage. He was worth it!
They will take any knowledge like spongers and soak it up, however they will also have the capacity to apply it to their role and their performance will be high. The only way to keep these guys and girls is to actually continually move the goal posts. Keep resetting the project parameters so that they never reach the end. They love projects that are impossible or improbable because it massages their ego to complete the impossible. This strategy will keep them as Succeeders and stop those few becoming Seekers. You will also have to give them lots of praise for achieving the impossible and it is not necessarily to do with money. They do need the attention to continue to succeed and rarely they will appreciate the effort you put in, so be mindful that if you give them everything they want then they could leave in search of promotion and all your efforts are wasted. Your job then is to keep them in the company and help them realise the challenges of staying!
Final thoughts on the SSSSystem People that work for you may demonstrate one or all of these characteristics, and in some way I am sure we have all experienced them. This is just a guide so you are aware of where your time and energy is going and to keep sense checking regularly to ensure that you are managing the performance in the most efficient way. I have even shown people the diagram above and asked them where they think they are on the list, or which category they are closest to. This has sometimes been enough for them to get the learning point and change their behaviour to meet the needs of the department. The final decision to make on this system is basically where you spend your time and energy? Do you focus on the top 10%, or the bottom 10% or even in the middle 80%. Or do you share your time with each group. That my friend is the ultimate question, and only you know the answer!
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Why Performance Manage? Benefit
Cost
Any performance review enables individuals to track their progress. They benefit the individual and the Line Manager by building better relationships. The ultimate benefit will be improved business performance (assuming you focus on the people). If there is one thing you can take from Maslow and Herzberg and that is that a positive change in approach with how you manage people will give a positive change in approach from people.
When you accept the proposition that performance is actually about people then the minimum cost for a performance management system will be the time it takes to get the desired result. The fundamentals will therefore be the cost of the management time and the individual’s time off the job. Beyond that the costs will be how much a consultant costs to come and show you how to do it, how much the computer system is that manages it etc.
Summary benefits: • Increased individual awareness of their strengths and what they need to do to become even more successful • Improved individual performance and contribution to the business • Good performance can be acknowledged reinforced and capitalised on • Support can be planned for development of winning behaviours • Provide a link to career and succession planning
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Remember that the method or process that you use is simply a tool to get the task done with the person. Any tool will never get the task done if the person is not engaged by you and this is why no matter which one you use there is no discernable evidence that one is better than another.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Performance Management for a change
Task To get the most from a review preparation is important. In preparation of the review both parties can gather evidence which allows objective discussion. Ask them to bring evidence of their performance, and you too bring evidence. This must be what actually happened or has been done rather than what could be done or could have happened. In the absence of evidence then jot down a list of things they do well, and a list of things you want them to improve. If you make this personal that is alright because their role is personal. By being subjective you can describe the behaviour or results that are personal to you, and therefore give them an opportunity to impress you as a person. I have found that a combination of objective evidence and subjective behaviours works wonders on anyone and as a result where ever I work it doesn’t matter what system of recording they use I can apply these two approaches.
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
How often should we do them? It is useful to regularly have a 121 or discussion with your team. I have found that the regularity of contact is determined by the person and people will usually ask for more rather than less. In terms of appraising performance it is usually every 6 months or 12 months. Personally I like to talk to all my staff weekly even to ask how they are doing or is there anything they need from me. Aside from that I sit down on a 121 about every 3 months and do some coaching or mentoring, and observe and check their work always. I see it as part of my role to ensure that everything they do is high quality and once they achieve this it has to be maintained. (Note it takes time to reach my quality of approach and I must Pace that learning for the person). A person will reach performance as soon as they have learnt how to do it and therefore their performance is only limited by their speed of learning. I therefore spend time with a new team learning how to learn. I am a quick learner and can show others how to learn which means that this time is well spent in the long term.
4 stage process for having a meeting or 121 et al
During the meeting it is useful to follow a structure to help keep on track and to ensure the relevant points are covered. Utilise the skills like Coaching, Feedback, Questioning and Listening to get the best results from the stages below:
Stage 1 · Introduce yourself What I mean by this is to be human. Give a little humanity by getting to know the person. Here are a few ideas: • Put the person at ease and build rapport, ask a few open questions about life “How are you doing, what is your focus at the moment, what are you doing at the weekend” • Restate the purpose of the meeting, time allowed and the way it will run (NB always put a time limit on it as Soakers and Spongers can keep you there for hours otherwise!) • It is also a good idea to ask if they have any particular issues to discuss (although this may have been established before the meeting)
Stage 2 · Invite Evidence Ask how they believe they are performing, what evidence have they brought, what are their thoughts on their role or how they could do it more effectively. You should only be talking by asking questions at this stage, unless you are asked one. It should be 80% them giving you information. If they do not want to talk ask them why not. I always treat those people who give me reasons like “There’s no point” or “Can’t be bothered” etc with the utmost respect. They have balls after all! Respond to this with “If you don’t want to talk about your performance we can finish the meeting now. We do not have to be here. Personally I want to spend time talking to you. I don’t give two hoots about the forms I have to fill in, and if you want to go and get a coffee, or come for a walk to chat then that’s fine with me. To be honest I’m sick of these rooms, let’s go for a walk.”
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Stage 3 · Share your expectations for the future In 5 minutes you need to share a very brief outline of the potential that you believe this person has. If they want more they will ask, if they don’t they wont. Keep it short and sweet: “I want you to be more a part of this team. I have seen you laughing and joking with the other staff and I know that there is more to you than meets the eyes. I want to see you in the team; I want to discover what you are capable. I want to hear from others that you are contributing more and I want to feel that you are part of what we are trying to achieve.” The secret here is to have lots of evidence ready to clarify what you mean if you are asked. I have said this to people in the past who have come back to me 2 months later to discuss the detail. Be patient and remember their performance is only limited by their capacity to learn. If they don’t ask for clarification or more detail move on.
Stage 4 · Commit to the future This is where you agree what to do in practice. Ask them how they think they can achieve the above. What can they do more of? Pick the most important element from their list and make a SMART target. If they won’t think of one then agree one by saying “How about if you commit to 5 more sales per week?” Say this even if they should be doing 10 more!
SMART is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Results and Timely or Time-bound. The reason to do SMART targets is because if they achieve it then you can demonstrate to them that they are good at improving, and if they don’t you can make a decision on whether they are right for the role, or coach and develop further.
S
5 more sales per week
M
The system reports sales figures to me every week
A
This is 10% more than she is doing at the moment
R
She says that she is capable of achieving this, she may need to discuss progress with me and will read up on how to improve sales at home. I will lend her a book on it as well. I will observe her approach and feedback to improve it.
T
She will reach this target in 3 months and I will review it with her on a monthly basis 11
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Process The more expensive tools to implement performance management attempt to include all of the following elements and may require some database management system training to show managers how to record the information. Performance management systems are not guaranteed performance improvers and managing the system is different to managing the improvement! With this in mind here are some process or system overviews:
Line manager
Peer appraisal
Self appraisal
The most common form of appraisal is for the meeting to be carried out by the staff member’s own line manager. This replicates the normal channel for accountability. It maintains the hierarchic nature of an organisation and enables the manager to feel ‘in control’. The drawback may be that the staff member feels threatened or inhibited if there is any sense of judgement from the line manager.
Receiving appraisal from colleagues (either from the same team or from elsewhere in the organisation) removes the potential threat of management judgement. Where team working is encouraged, this form of peer support can be very effective in encouraging selfquestioning and experimentation. It works best where people are free to choose their own peer appraiser.
An element of self-assessment is usually built into the preparation phase of all appraisal systems. Relying exclusively on selfassessment methods is not encouraged as it limits the opportunities for debate and questioning unless a particularly probing assessment questionnaire is devised.
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Upward appraisal
External appraisal
A number of organisations are experimenting with appraisal systems which incorporate feedback from staff to their manager or senior manager. This allows the job holder to review how his or her methods of staff management are being received. This could be undertaken as part of a two-way appraisal `session’ in which the job holder has a chance to give direct feedback to their line manager about aspects of their performance that they find most useful and least useful. Alternatively, staff views could be gathered using a structured questionnaire. This might be completed anonymously so that the comments of individual staff are not attributed. The openness of the system is protected if a third party is responsible for gathering information from the job holder’s own staff. In practice it is only a simple process of elimination as to what they have said and it may be tricky for a senior manager to be objective given that they have little exposure to the individual.
Here a staff member deliberately seeks out a respected person from outside the organisation to provide him or her with support and guidance – it is increasingly being adopted, particularly in voluntary organisations which may be too small to offer sufficient guidance internally. This approach can be extended to include a regular appraisal session in which the external person is invited to conduct a more formal review of the person’s performance and to gather background information from other sources. I.e. inviting an external Consultant in to do the review.
Customer appraisal
User appraisal Here the service users are directly involved in offering structured comment and feedback to the service providers about the quality and content of their work. This can be difficult to organise effectively without appearing tokenistic but it is a useful way of maintaining accountability. For organisations linked to more bureaucratic structures, considerable resistance to the validity of this form of appraisal may be expected.
The benefits include greater customer relationships although how do you justify taking the customers time to develop one individual, or how many people will you send for feedback from the customers. As a customer I would not develop or feedback on an individual basis because whomever I deal with represents the Company. As such I would feedback to the most senior person about the experience. Is it up to the Company to then filter that to the individual? Part of 360 appraising is to get feedback from customers and in business like call centres it is easy to ask a customer to send in a letter of thanks, or have a chat for 10 minutes about their experience. However with maybe 50 competencies to go through in 360 I have not yet observed it work effectively in practice without lots of energy and time to build the customer relationship. This relationship would therefore become very strong and whether it then produces more business is another matter entirely.
People
Throughout any meeting the manager needs to encourage as much contribution from the individual as possible. This not only gives you an opportunity to hear their side of any problems they are facing, but also helps appreciate issues about their performance.
Skills required include: • Effective questioning
• Being assertive
• Active listening
• Reaching agreement
• Positive body language
• Other core skills needed include:
• Sensitivity and Empathy
• Gathering and recording evidence
• Being responsive to criticism
• Setting objectives
Other core skills needed include: • Gathering and recording evidence
• Setting objectives
Using these techniques the manager is more likely to have an open and honest discussion which is essential for rapport.
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Questioning
Effective interaction will be enhanced by asking the right sort of questions - those that elicit a positive response and encourage participation and a conversational flow during the discussion, thus contributing to mutual understanding and agreement on what the issues are and what needs to be done about them. There are four basic types of questions:
Open Questions A relaxed friendly start can be made to a meeting by use of such questions. They can set the scene for the more detailed analysis of performance that will follow later and can be introduced at any point to open up a discussion on a new topic.’
Open questions help to create an atmosphere of calm and friendly enquiry and can be expressed quite informally, for example: • How do you think things have been going?
Open questions can be put in a ‘tell me’ form such as:
• What do you feel about…?
• Tell me, why do you think that happened?
• How can we build on that in the future?
• Tell me, how did you handle that situation?
• What can we learn from that?
• Tell me, how is that project going?
Probing Questions Probing questions ask for specific information on what has happened and why it has happened. They examine closely the steps that need to be taken to put things right, do better in the future and avoid repeating a mistake.
For example: • Tell me exactly what happened here? • How do you explain the outcome of your project? • What are the factors that have contributed to that result? • What do you think needs to be done to improve your ability to manage this sort of situation? • What steps are you going to take to ensure that you fully understand this procedure in the future? • How can we ensure this does/doesn’t happen again? • What went well with this project? • How can we let others know what happened and learn from it?
Closed Questions
To obtain or confirm specific factual information use closed questions.
For example: • How many times has this happened?
• When did this take place?
Closed questions are easy to answer and are often necessary to elicit the facts. 14
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Listening Listening is an art that is a necessary skill as a good listener will gather more information and achieve better rapport with the other person. Both these effects of good listening are essential to good communications, and good communications are the essence of an effective performance discussion.
Barriers to Listening Outlined below are some barriers to listening: • Unable to concentrate - for whatever reason • Too pre-occupied with something else • Over-concerned with what they are going to say next • Uncertain about what they are listening to or why they are listening to it • Simply not interested in what is being said
Good Listeners
Good listeners apply techniques and demonstrate behaviours which when combined are called ‘active listening’ these include: • Concentrating on the speaker, following not only words but also body language, use of eyes or gestures which give life to a message or betray and underlying message • Respond quickly to points made by the speaker, if only in the form of nods and grunts • Ask questions frequently to elucidate meaning • Comment on points in order to test understanding and to demonstrate that speaker and listener are on the same wavelength. These comments can be made by way of a reflective point or a summary of what has been said. Remember not to interrupt the speaker but to make these points during a natural pause or break in the conversation. • Make notes on the key points if required • Evaluate the messages being delivered to check they are relevant to the purpose of the meeting • Are alert to the nuances of what the speaker is saying • Are prepared to let the speaker go on with minimum disruption • Are patient - giving speakers time to consider and articulate their thoughts
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Positive Body Language Words are not the only means of communication. The ways in which you present yourself and react physically can convey very clearly the extent to which you are really listening to what people have to say. • Facing other people slightly off square so that you are seen to be listening and responding to what they have to say • Maintaining good eye contact • Maintaining an open posture - this demonstrates a receptivity to ideas and suggestions • Leaning slightly forward • Smiling encouragingly from time to time • Nodding in agreement when you want to give the signal that you have received a message and are happy with it • Oral interjections such as ‘good’, ‘I see’ or just an encouraging grunt • Remaining relaxed
Observing Peoples body language Just as you can communicate through your own body language you can help in the process of ‘getting the message’ by observing the body language of other
people. Facial expressions and physical gestures will give some indication of the degree to which people are taking an interest in the discussion, listening to your
questions or comments, agreeing or disagreeing with what you say, or are apprehensive or angry (for whatever reason), bored or indifferent.
Feedback for you is just information Give your team members the opportunity to comment on how they feel about your actions as a manager in such areas as clarifying expectations, giving them adequate attention, delegating work, providing feedback and guiding or helping them as required. You can get enlightening comments in response to such questions as: • Is there anything about the way I’m doing my job which makes your job more difficult? • Is there anything I could do which would make it easier to achieve your targets? • Are you satisfied that you have the opportunity to make good use of your knowledge and skills? Here are a number of possible reactions to criticism: • Accept it, after all its just information!! • You may have to accept some criticism by acknowledging that there is some truth in it, but you might still want to be the best judge of what do • You may accept the criticism is valid, but there is no real need to apologise as long as you initiate a discussion about how to improve things
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Assertiveness
A discussion will lose its effectiveness if either party is too submissive - allowing themselves to be unduly influenced by the others point of view, especially when it is expressed forcibly. Be confident to express your opinions, feelings, beliefs and needs in honest and appropriate terms. Assertive statements: • Are brief and to the point • Indicate clearly that you are not hiding behind something, that you are speaking for yourself by using words such as "I feel that….’. ‘I believe that…’ - your beliefs and your views are important • Are not over-weighted with advice • Use questions to find out the views of others • Distinguish between fact and opinion • Are expressed positively • Indicate that you are aware that the other person may have a different point of view • Express, where necessary, negative feelings about the effects other people's behaviour has on you - pointing out in dispassionate and factual terms the feelings aroused in you by the behaviour, and suggesting the behaviour you would prefer • Point out to the other person politely but firmly the consequences of their behaviour There will inevitably be times in which you want to make a point but the other person does not want to co-operate. When this happens you can patiently and calmly repeat your words until the person recognises your insistence and appreciates that you are not going to let the topic drop.
Reaching agreement Agreement on a performance issue or an improvement plan is most likely to be achieved if you recognise the other person’s concerns or feelings, obtain and listen carefully to their views and adopt a joint problem-solving approach. You may, however have to use influencing skills to obtain agreement. The four influencing styles you can use are:
Asserting - making your views clear Persuading
Bridging
Attracting
- using facts, logic and reason to present your case, emphasising strong points, anticipating objections, appealing to reason, and, most importantly, demonstrating how the other person will benefit
- drawing out the other person’s point of view, demonstrate that you appreciate their concerns and understand what they are getting at, giving credit and praise in response to their good ideas, joining your views with theirs.
- conveying your enthusiasm for their ideas, getting people to feel that they are part of an attractive project
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Management by Objective This style of management aims to improve performance by analysing and aligning individual and team goals to business aims and goals.
Each area has targets to achieve and strategies to achieve them. This methodology can also tangibly evaluate success. However this structure comes at a cost; in time to set-up, possible over-zealuos in-team competition and slow reaction time to changing conditions.
Simply put, you give someone in your team an objective to hit that is aligned to the objectives you have. 18
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Example: There is a business drive to reduce costs. You are the manager of a small department of 3 people, who have no real impact on costs you think, in first instance. However, management by objective means that you take this strategy and assign objectives based on it. Keep it simple, how about this “Cut costs by 5% in the next 12 months”. Now, I know what you are thinking. “I can’t do that, it won’t work, they won’t do anything,” or “they won’t think of anything”. However, think about it, this simple objective could be used for cleaners, or company directors. That’s why I like management by objective as what you come up with is multi-faceted. Imagine, your employee doesn’t achieve it. It is a perfect opportunity to find out why, ask them, explore it and support them to remove all their excuses, here are some useful excuse counters: “I didn’t have time” countered by “What else is more important than the company strategy?” “I couldn’t think of anything” countered by “How did you go about thinking? Could you have tried brainstorming, or snowballing, or group discussion, or even come and seen me to say you couldn’t think of anything....?” “I don’t spend any money, how can I cut cost?” countered by “Is your time not money? How could you do 5% more with your time?” I’m sure you get the idea, but it is not for everyone, and involves close management of the outputs and progress updates which some managers find too time consuming. In my opinion this simple technique will give you lots of opportunities to discuss and develop your teams, guide and mentor them to achieve results. Have a look at SMART objectives for more information on this style, but remember they only work for goal orientated people, so be flexible. This style may work for some members of your team and not others. Each of the styles discussed has its proponents, and choosing the right one for you given a particular state of events is what we call management flexibility and usually comes with experience. If you treat every situation and every person the same, you will limit your effectiveness and therefore your value to the business. Often poor managers are those that have consistently used one style to approach all situations, and as such are less capable of adapting to change. When faced with new or uncharted territory they may be unable to adapt their approach and instead revert to other less
productive behaviours. Recently I was part of a merger where such ‘dinosaurs’ wasted energy on unproductive behaviour, creating conflict and disruption to help ease their own emotional states. They were not welcomed to stay, and soon after had left the organisation.
“You might not fully understand the relevance of reviewing styles at this point, but it is important that you have choice, and you can recognise styles that work, and styles that don’t either with yourself, or with your teams. “That’s probably enough for today, come back when you are ready for more” 19