How do we make Performance Management less scary?
April 10, 2024
Performance shouldn’t be a dirty word, but it does scare some of us who worry about failure. “What happens if I put myself out there and I don’t measure up?” Then if we add management to performance, we can conjure up thoughts of someone micro-managing our performance. “Hey, I’m feeling anxious about my performance and you’re breathing down my neck. That doesn’t help”.
In sport there seems to be greater enthusiasm for performance. Athletes seem more eager than the average worker to give it everything to achieve success. Does the average athlete love what they do more than the average worker? Is the prize more valued? There would not be too many teams who would shed a tear knowing they just made their revenue target.
If we assume that there will in most workplaces be a requirement to perform, then the reality is that we need to think how we can create enthusiasm for performance and performance management.
Here are my thoughts, let me know what you think :
- De-couple the term performance management from under-performance. Normalise the concept that employees need guidance and support to perform well. Performance management provides clarity and sets you up for success. It's a partnership with a manager who has your back.
- Avoid any comments that might give other team members the feeling you have lost patience with someone who is not meeting requirements, as hard as that can be. This can undermine the work you've done in other conversations where you have emphasised the positives in performance management.
- Reinforce performance as an ongoing opportunity for the employee to improve and discover what motivates them and where their skills lie. If we de-emphasise the pressure to perform and emphasise the learning opportunity, we are more likely to create the psychological conditions whereby employees put their best effort forward more often. When we reinforce the opportunities that lie ahead rather than the failures that can’t be changed, we give our employees hope and self-efficacy, essential components of motivation and effective action.
- Pay attention to your employee’s aspirations, linking task and projects as opportunities to develop skills that will take them closer to those aspirations. Nothing motivates an employee more than feeling like their manager is genuinely interested in them, not just as a vehicle for performance, but as someone who can achieve great things beyond their time in their current organisation. If an employee gets ahead of themselves as some will, make the case as to the benefits of them doing more of a, b and c so that when they do take on e.g., a promotion, they are going to get better results. A manager who takes a genuine, deep interest in their employee’s career motivations is more likely to be heard when they have to temper their employee’s expectations.
These ideas are not a silver bullet solution that will suddenly change people’s perspective about performance and performance management but with time they could make them more palatable and importantly garner more genuine connection between you and your employees.
