As someone who has been helping managers improve their ability to manage and improve the performance of their people, I am still surprised that I hear comments from managers abut behaviour which is far from positive.  I am left wondering why it still a problem, when many of the people I meet are very capable at other aspects of their role, particularly analysis of data and decision –making.

Here are some classic comments I hear when delivering management training courses on Performance Management:

“He does the job well enough, but his attitude is negative.” 

“She is an average performer and I need some of them in my team.”

“Can’t put my finger on it. He can do the job but he doesn’t seem motivated to take on more responsibility.”

Could it be that the people who make these comments are searching for an “easy way” of dealing with behaviour but lack a measurement technique can they apply? Many of them are very familiar with using SMART objectives to all aspects of their work. They have made the link between the overall business objectives and their department objectives, identified key performance indicators to measure success and have been able to set SMART objectives for individuals in their team.

For “bottom line” or analytical managers, this approach makes a lot of sense. They like it because they can use measures to assess how successful the task has been over a period of time. Let’s take a simple example. If you set a sales person a target to increase sales by 10% over a period of twelve months, it is relatively easy to assess their performance against that target month by month. At the end of the twelve months you will have a fair indication of how well the person has performed against the target.

This is a measure of the “what” but no indication of the “how”. Let us suppose you have a salesperson who has over-achieved on the sales target but that you regularly received comments about their abrupt behaviour and their “pushy attitude” with receptionists and other support staff.  You might be inclined to think:

“Well the attitude is not good but they get the results, so what can I do?”

Or you might be inclined to think:

“If this behaviour continues, it is only a matter of time before the customer finds an alternative supplier. I had better do something about it. But how do I tackle it?”

Why not try using the SMART technique and apply it to the behaviour which you know is not acceptable? It will make a difficult conversation easier for you to manage if you do.

Start with the “S”- Specific.

What specifically are they doing which you do not want? Answer: Being abrupt with customers and “pushy” with receptionists. You will have some specific examples of this behaviour to use in your “difficult discussion”.

M – Measurable

You can quote of the number of times this has happened and let them know that you are seeking zero repeats of this behaviour in the future.

A – Achievable

Do you think this person should be able to alter their behaviour so that there are no further occurrences? If the answer is “no” –you have a real problem on your hands. Most people can achieve acceptable behaviour.

R – Realistic

If you or the sales person regard this as unrealistic, then the comments above apply.

T –Time

The improvement is expected to start immediately. You can allow for the occasional slip but you are looking for an immediate and sustained improvement. Who wouldn’t?

SMART objectives combined with SMART behvaviour -a winning combination!

Technorati Tags: Smart Objectives

From discussions I have had with managers when delivering management training courses, it is evident that entering into a “difficult conversation” to discuss a problem is not a task that many relish. Why would they? They find it an uncomfortable experience for themselves, they are nervous about the potential conflict it may lead to and given the choice, it is easier to postpone the  “difficult conversation” in the hope that the issue will somehow resolve itself. Seldom does this happen and often the issue escalates with very unfortunate consequences for both parties.

Having observed managers enter into skills practice sessions (commonly called role-playing), I find that many of them make one fundamental but understandable error. They do most of the talking rather than the person with the behaviour issue.

Many of you will have seen or even experienced this for yourselves. When nervous we tend to talk more, in an attempt to calm ourselves. Silences can be uncomfortable and we will fill that pause with anything rather than suffer it. The more we talk in that situation, the more we have to justify the need to have the “difficult conversation” and the less the individual with the problem is required to discuss it. Think of the number of times you have listened to the nervous salesperson deliver their “sales patter” while you sat in silence making no contribution, but were expected to say yes at the end of the discussion.

Let me offer a solution. Stop talking and stop offering solutions of your own. The person with the behaviour problem is the person who needs to talk about it and ultimately is this person who needs to find the solution – with your help and guidance.

So how do you stop yourself talking? Simple: Ask a question which cannot be answered in one word and then force yourself to listen to the reply. For many out-going “people people” this can be hard. They like interaction and find silences intimidating. So they fill the void, chiefly for their own comfort. So try this little technique, which I have given to several “verbalisers”. Ask your question and silently count to three. As if by magic the other person responds.

Think long and hard about the key question you need to ask. It should a question which causes the other person to reflect about their behaviour and about the consequences of it. Let’s take an example. Suppose you managed someone who is very critical of work colleagues. Try asking them the simple question:

“Why do you find it necessary to be critical of your colleagues?”

The onus is now on them to justify why they do it. While they are talking, do not interrupt. You are not debating, you are there to listen and manage the discussion to achieve an end result that is beneficial for all. The “difficult conversation”  now becomes a “difficult conversation” for the indivudual with the problem. The more questions you can ask, the less pressure you put on yourself to “perform”. Much of what you hear may well be negative self-justification but there may be a grain of validity in what they say.

Now ask for a solution or some options which would lead to a resolution. It is important that they give you the solution rather than you give it to them. Why? – they now own it. People are much more inclined to make their own solution work rather than one you gave them.

So – take the pressure of yourself. Listen more, talk less and manage far more effectively. “Difficult conversations” will never be so difficult again -for you.

Technorati Tags: People Development, Smart Objectives

Have you ever banged your head against the desk because someone who works for you failed to carry out what you thought was a simple request but got it all wrong? Not a pleasant experience for either of you. When you said: “Sort out that storeroom…it’s a tip!” ,you wanted a storeroom that was tidy, had some logic to it and it didn’t take ten minutes of  fruitless searching and cursing under your breath when you failed to find what you were looking for.

“Sort out” can mean lots of things to lots of people. To your employee his interpretation was to make it look tidy. The idea of putting some logic to how it operated never crossed his/her mind. Well you never mentioned it….

Take some comfort – you’re not the only manager with the proverbial sore head who thinks that initiative went out of fashion with the advent of the internet. You may be able to justify to yourself that in their shoes you would have acted differently…but would you? How many times in the past have you thought you knew what your manager wanted only to find out later (when you had put a huge amount of effort into the task) that all you hard work was a total waste of time. Worse still, you blame your manager for letting you carry on without ever asking you what you were doing.

There are many reasons why this scenario happened in the first place but blaming others and getting angry with yourself may help you let off steam, but it will not stop the problem happening again. Let’s try to analyse the cause then we can work out a solution.

1. We don’t talk the way we write. We tend to speak in vague generalities – “the broad brush” approach. Fine for inspiring a crowd but not very effective on a one-to-one basis. Writing forces us to be much more precise.
2. We assume the person receiving the message is tuned into our way of thinking, unless they tell us something different. Sometimes they don’t.
3. We have a clear picture in our brain of the final result but we forget that the “picture” is made up of several bits of jig-saw and we fail to break them down and explain them to the person we are talking to.
4. Often both parties are reluctant to seek clarification. The unspoken conversations going on simultaneously could be the following:

Employee: “If I ask a question, he will think I’m stupid, better get on with it.”

Manager:” If I ask him if he knows what I want, he will think I’m stupid. Better just let him get on with it.” So the employee used his initiative, you let him get on with it and the result was……. not what you had expected. To stop this happening in the future, here are some suggestions:

1. Stop being vague when talking -hard but essential if you want to get a result.

2. Write down to yourself what you want before you tell it to someone else.

3. Use a SMART objective to paint the picture in your head. SMART means;

Specific – in this case a store room that is tidy and organised in a way that is logical, safe and where items can be found easily and quickly -and they don’t run out!

Measurable - for example the time it takes to find an item, the volumes/value of stock to be held at any one time etc. etc.  The list could be endless but decide your priorities.

Achievable - can the task be achieved by this person without other resources?

Realistic - what will the final “picture” look like and can it be done within the current layout?

Time-bound – if you specify a time for the task, it sends a signal on how urgent you regard the task and when you want it completed. But go back to Realistic before you set the time limit.

4. Now for the psychology… You want to be reassured that the person opposite you knows what you want doing but you don’t want them thinking that you don’t trust them or worse that they are incompetent. Get them to tell you how they are going to go about the task. Better still, ask them to put together a plan of their own which incorporates the main points you have covered and ask them for a few ideas of their own.

Try it. You have nothing to lose but a sore head and you might begin to discover you are surrounded by a group of very results- driven people who make decisions for themselves. Now that would be useful…wouldn’t it?

Technorati Tags: Managing Performance, Performance Management, Smart Objectives