Managing The Performance Or The Person?

We are who we are.... Or are we? People change.... Don’t they?


Have you ever noticed that when your thoughts change about someone, they change the way they are with you? It has been said that ‘the communication we get is equal to the communication we give’ so if you are thinking and acting with someone through a lens of anger or mistrust, it is likely that you will get some attitude and mistrust coming right back at you!

This is when managing performance of others can provide us with some challenges as leaders:

• If we don’t act on the feeling we have, it can build and change the way we are or what we perceive to be true

• If we get feedback about someone and don’t act on it, the feedback can be the lens we see them through

• If we see someone not doing the right thing and leave it, our trust in them declines as does our feeling towards them

• If we have work delivered to us but not to the standard we asked for, we perceive that the person isn’t up to scratch and is a poor performer which again, muddies the waters of how we are with them

So, do we manage the person or the performance? Both.

When giving feedback, there are some vital mistakes that leaders make:

• They don’t stick to the facts

• They don’t give the feedback at an appropriate time. Giving feedback about something weeks after the event is not helpful to the person receiving the feedback

• They bring in other pieces of evidence that are different or old news, which can be confusing for the recipient

• They aren’t honest and may blur the lines ‘to be nice’ or through fear or not being liked

• Or they go too far the other way and take the bullish approach

• I’m sure you can list other mistakes here that you have seen or experienced... I know there are more out there!

So, what does constitute and effective performance conversation or feedback conversation?

It’s easy.

Really. It is! Just like when you first learnt to do something difficult or challenging like riding a bike or driving a car, before you know it, it becomes part of you and something you can do well to the betterment of your team, your business and your leadership.

Let’s start with the first aspect – Giving Constructive Feedback. To give constructive feedback effectively, you should:

• Ensure it is given in an appropriate setting with privacy and room for confidential discussion

• Ensure it is an appropriate time and not in the middle of when they have a key task due for example

• Let them know that you would like to have a chat with them about feedback before the discussion, say that morning, so it’s not a surprise. In doing so, ensure its given in a friendly and open tone to promote trust and respect

• Structure the feedback:

o Tom, I really admire the project that you completed the other day because... and reinforce the good elements of behaviour or output

o Tom, on another note, I’d like to discuss a situation (be specific) with you

o What I noticed/had feedback on in this situation was... specifics again!

o What I’d like to see more of is... OR... if this comes up again Tom, I’d like to see you perform the task this way or behave according to our professional standards etc. State the what you want and how you want it

o To wrap up Tom, I really value your contribution to the team and I look forward to seeing some improved results that make you shine even brighter.

You get the picture.... words to that effect. State the positive, the constructive and then the positive again. To close out the process, check in with Tom to see if there are reasons behind the behaviour or feedback. These reasons can often explain quite a few things. Some common reasons for poor performance, mistakes and behavioural issues can be:

• Health and wellbeing including mental health

• Skill level or training requirements

• Relationship issues both internal with workmates or external that is being brought to work

• Relationship with you, the manager

• Square peg, round hole syndrome

• Confidence in their own abilities

• And again, I’m sure there are others things we could list here but you get it!

For me, the behaviour or poor performance is ALWAYS a symptom of something else that is going on. Find and support the something else, you help to improve performance and behaviours.

In my next blog, I’ll be talking more about handling some of these symptoms more closely as it relates to managing performance. For more information, you can sign up to receive some free resources on http://www.profitsthrupeople.com/

Have a Great Day!