With one particular employee – let’s call him “Pat” – nothing has finally “worked” to raise performance. You have analyzed the performance system (see here for a series of posts) and made appropriate adjustments. You have coached Pat on more than one occasion about picking up his game. He does well for a week or two, then he’s back to the same behaviors. You don’t want to fire him, and you know that threats don’t work with anyone long-term. What now? How do you have a disciplined, focused conversation that finally gets Pat to own his behaviors and make better choices to which he will (finally) commit?
We introduced Performance Accountability (PA) in a prior post as THE tool for this very situation. To hold a successful PA session, you will need to establish Pat’s performance as the only legitimate topic for discussion, and you will need to present unambiguous performance data to “make your case.” The short answer: you’re going to have to do your homework first!
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The Performance Coaching Process
I had the opportunity to speak today to a local Kiwanis club. What topic did I choose? Performance Coaching, of course. One of the simplest and most powerful communication tools to influence a team member or direct report to take accountability for their actions and their results. The end result? Changed behavior.
Most of the time.
I would love to say that it was a “foolproof technique”, but that would get it wrong on at least two counts:
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The Three Critical Management Inputs to Employee Performance
Picture This: you come around the corner and, without intending to, observe Joe, one of your direct reports, in his cubicle hanging out on Facebook. You’ve spoken with him (with everyone, actually) about the fact that your division is lean and how everyone needs to “pick it up a notch.” You are pretty certain that he is aware of the recent “cease and desist” memo from corporate about unapproved online use.
How does this scenario make you feel? What would you do?
Situations like these put many managers on edge. They know that Joe’s behavior right now is an issue, but “it’s not all that bad.” Many managers will avoid situations like this one. Unless and until Joe’s behavior is “over the top,” they reason, “it’s not worth the effort.”
We’re not here to judge any manager’s decision in the moment about which behaviors merit addressing or not. All too frequently, however,
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