| If you want better performance from your | | | | programs sited above was that, despite receiving |
| employees, the following four statements may | | | | training on coaching, managers did not fundamentally |
| surprise you: | | | | change how they behaved. |
| - Forget about making your managers? lives easier. | | | | A powerful focus of our development programs for |
| - Dump your performance appraisal and ?coach? | | | | managers is that they learn to "help (their) people |
| moniker. | | | | succeed within the organization.? This is the essence |
| - Shift accountability away from employees. | | | | of talent management, succession planning, and |
| - Stop paying them off. | | | | building management bench strength. When managers |
| While these statements may seem to contradict | | | | help their people succeed, managers also succeed. |
| what you have heard about successful performance | | | | They don?t need to be a "coach" to do this, but |
| management practices, we have found that the | | | | they do need to be capable of providing real value to |
| following five practices break away from | | | | their direct reports. |
| conventional thinking to help solve the age old | | | | 3. Create the Performance Management Systems for |
| problem of the cumbersome, ineffective, and often | | | | Performers, not Managers. |
| ridiculed performance management process. | | | | If you want employees to buy into Performance |
| 1. Train Managers to Manage and Employees to | | | | Management, provide them with systems, |
| Participate?Don?t Skip Basic Management Practices | | | | approaches, and tools that are of value to them in |
| Research Performance Management best practices | | | | improving performance. If an employee has clear |
| and you will find an abundance of practices described | | | | expectations and standards for their work and |
| as: | | | | access to a real-time performance metrics and |
| - setting effective goals and aligning goals with | | | | qualitative 360 feedback, Performance Appraisals |
| corporate strategy | | | | would only be needed on an exception basis. That |
| - holding periodic performance conversations | | | | should be the goal of a Performance Management |
| - giving objective feedback | | | | system. The goal of the Manager is to have their |
| Though these may be called ?Performance | | | | people value the time they have with their manager |
| Management Practices,? they are just basic, good | | | | because it is truly useful. The Manager's role should |
| management, communication, and interpersonal skills. | | | | be to facilitate and support individual and group |
| While these management practices are certainly a | | | | performance improvement, individual development, |
| prerequisite for effective performance management | | | | and pursue cross-organizational performance |
| and coaching, organizations can realize a significant | | | | opportunities. |
| increase in performance simply by applying sound | | | | 4. Expect Performance Congruency between |
| management practicesindependent of any | | | | Managers and Reports If a manager's primary role is |
| performance management system. | | | | to help their people succeed in the organization, they |
| See Managing Individuals and Teams for examples of | | | | should be held accountable if their reports are not |
| key management practices. | | | | being successful. The problem with holding employees |
| In addition to basic, good management practices, | | | | themselves solely responsible for their performance is |
| specialized management frameworks and tools should | | | | that there are many factors over which employees |
| be used to expand a manager?s options for | | | | have little control. Managers? and their direct reports? |
| addressing more complex individual and systemic | | | | goals should correlate. If managers are hitting their |
| performance issues. When management training, | | | | performance objectives but they have direct reports |
| frameworks, and performance tools are | | | | who are not, or if the manager's direct reports are |
| institutionalized, employees can more clearly identify | | | | hitting their goals but the manager is not, the |
| and communicate what they need to succeed. | | | | performance system is not functioning properly. |
| 2. Eliminate Performance Appraisals, Reviews, and the | | | | 5. Emphasize Intrinsic Motivation and Deemphasize |
| "Coach" Moniker-Focus on Performance | | | | Compensation and Reword An extensive body of |
| Conversations | | | | research on Motivation theory shows that people |
| The irony of formal Performance Appraisals is that | | | | who are intrinsically motivated consistently perform |
| they consume significant resources, produce little | | | | at higher and more sustained levels than when they |
| value, and impede the kind of collaborative working | | | | are externally motivated. Yet, most managers' |
| relationship managers and employees need to | | | | perspectives on motivation can be characterized by |
| improve performance. By design, the traditional | | | | the carrot and stick. Whilemost performance |
| process tends to place managers and employees in a | | | | management systems are fueled by reward and |
| confrontational setting. In that setting, trust "one of | | | | punishment, few managers understand what really |
| the most significant factors influencing employee | | | | motivates people or the long-term consequences of |
| engagement and performance" is undermined. | | | | external incentives and rewards. Managers who are |
| Even when companies try to create more effective | | | | skilled in effective motivation practices will generate |
| performance management roles for managers as | | | | what more and more organizations and executives |
| coaches, the legacy of the old, judgmental, and | | | | recognize as the Holy Grail of |
| confrontational dynamics often pollutes the process. | | | | performance--employee engagement, discretionary |
| A recent study found that despite significant | | | | effort and ?passion--because their employees |
| investments in training managers to coach, less than 1 | | | | perform at significantly higher levels. |
| in 4 respondents said that coaching had significantly | | | | Conclusion |
| affected their job performance; and ten percent said | | | | Two final thoughts to keep in mind as you implement |
| coaching had made them less satisfied with their job. | | | | a performance management system |
| There was, however, a strong correlation between | | | | - If it's a best practice, measure it. |
| performance improvement, job satisfaction, and a | | | | Many best practices are adopted wholesale and put |
| positive employee / manager relationship.This points | | | | into practice. But, as we saw in the coaching results |
| to the single most critical element of a coaching or | | | | survey, the visible practice is not the only factor |
| facilitative relationship - trust. | | | | contributing to a successful result. In addition,when |
| Trust must be built for managers to have influence | | | | people learn new skills they are often uncomfortable |
| with their people. | | | | and their ability to perform a new skill is low. By |
| 1. The first step is to eliminate performance appraisals | | | | measuring the application of the skill you?ll be able to |
| and reviews. This type of bold move is needed to | | | | know whether the practice is producing the desired |
| send a message to employees that real change is | | | | result. If it is not, you need to understand why, |
| happening within the organization, not just a | | | | make adjustments, and support employees through |
| "re-labeling" of what managers are currently doing. | | | | the difficult period of new skill application. |
| 2. The second step is to fundamentally shift how | | | | - Keep it simple. |
| managers see their role. A disabling factor in coaching | | | | |