There are a few things in the job description of a manager that don’t always stand out as being the most exciting, Performance Management is one of them. If the organisation you are in has a formal process, with as many variations of title as you can think of, it’s easy to see it in the diary as ‘one of those things I have to do, but don’t really want to’.
So why is it like this? Have we some built-in resistance, because of our own bad experiences of a tick-box exercise done to us? Is it something we just don’t see the point of, or even do we just don’t think it’s our job in the first place?
Our own experience, as we’ve matured in years and experience, will certainly have some bearing on the way we think about performance management. If you’ve been made to sit in front of your boss to hear the ‘warts and all’ of your performance over the last 12 months and sat there wondering ‘where did all that come from?’ you’re probably somewhat sceptical to the value of the time spent doing a review. If you’ve come away thinking, ‘so that’s what you were expecting of me – I wish you’d said that before!’ then again you are not going to see the review process in a positive light. Does it really have to be like that?
So here’s the opportunity to break the cycle of the negative thinking.
If you are responsible for people then you need to start with the mind set of ‘Bringing the best out of the team is my priority, it’s not about making myself look good’. Many people new into a man-management role (and some not so new) face the shocking reality that they really have little idea about managing people, whilst being extremely confident and competent in the technical aspect of their role.
With this reality Performance Management can be seen as being focussed on how to deal with poor performance, which when discussed is likely to be confrontational and difficult – something we generally want to avoid. It is however so much more than this!
To ‘Bring out the best in people’ there are some really simple details to bear in mind:
- Be clear about your own goals as a manager and those of the organisation
- Set clear goals/objectives for each of your team – and any development needed
- Monitor, review and evaluate on a regular basis with each individual
- If there is poor performance deal with it at the time (It’s not an annual event)
Performance Management is an investment of your time – not a cost!!!
Here at Keyturn we equip managers with the skills to help them achieve the four points listed above. If you want to find out more and take this opportunity to book a 1 day Performance Management workshop for some of your managers contact us on 01788 815500. See also our Leader and management training programmes.