101 Leadership Actions for Performance Management

Table of contents

1. Title
2. Copyright
3. Table of Contents
4. The Heat is On!
5. Getting the Most out of this Book
6. Get Your Head into the Game
   1. 1. Define what performance management is all about.
   2. 2. Determine your purpose for managing performance.
   3. 3. Identify your current level of effectiveness.
   4. 4. Determine where on that scale you’d like to be.
   5. 5. Ask others to evaluate your effectiveness.
   6. 6. Ask others where they believe you should be.
   7. 7. Performance management occurs in three phases.
7. Before the Appraisal
   1. 8. Make sure your employees know what is expected of them.
   2. 9. Clarify and document the most important goals.
   3. 10. Make sure every employee has a set of goals.
   4. 11. Make sure that these goals are SMART.
   5. 12. Meet with everyone in your organization to review objectives.
   6. 13. Make sure employees know what and how.
   7. 14. Encourage effective employee teamwork.
   8. 15. Develop and maintain a “drop file” for each employee.
   9. 16. Add to employees’ drop files at least monthly.
   10. 17. Inform your employees of your drop file.
   11. 18. Request feedback from other key individuals.
   12. 19. Include feedback in each employee’s drop file.
   13. 20. Develop a survey to gather information.
   14. 21. Gather production reports and other indicators.
   15. 22. Capture comments on employee performance.
   16. 23. Review every employee’s file to make sure it is balanced.
   17. 24. Gather a wide array of information for each employee’s drop file.
   18. 25. Hold periodic meetings with your employees.
   19. 26. Give your employees honest feedback.
   20. 27. Let employees know what you see as their strengths.
   21. 28. Clarify how the employee’s strengths can help improve weaker areas.
   22. 29. Modify goals to reflect current realities.
   23. 30. Solicit feedback from others.
   24. 31. Encourage employees to network.
   25. 32. Ask employees what you can do to help them.
   26. 33. Identify the point in time when performance started to decline.
   27. 34. Discuss the performance decline with the employee.
   28. 35. Celebrate milestones toward goal achievement.
   29. 36. Keep a stash of small rewards.
   30. 37. Recognize major employee accomplishments.
   31. 38. Have a budget for small cash awards.
   32. 39. Try to identify performance roadblocks immediately.
   33. 40. Develop a budget for employee training.
   34. 41. Identify training opportunities in your company.
   35. 42. Create workshops for common training needs.
   36. 43. Use employees as training consultants.
   37. 44. Determine strengths and weaknesses.
   38. 45. Organize workshops based on common needs.
   39. 46. Identify your team’s key processes.
   40. 47. Spend frequent time with your employees.
   41. 48. Make notes about your performance observations.
   42. 49. Schedule appraisals 7 to 10 days before the event.
   43. 50. Pick a neutral location for the appraisal.
   44. 51. Prepare a written summary of the employee’s work.
   45. 52. Note specific examples of performance strengths and weaknesses in your summary.
   46. 53. Make sure the appraisal looks professional.
   47. 54. Review the written appraisal with the employee’s supervisor.
   48. 55. Plan at least 60 minutes for the appraisal.
   49. 56. Plan the appraisal meeting.
   50. 57. Ask the employee to identify what went well.
   51. 58. Ask the employee to be ready to discuss performance.
   52. 59. Ask the employee to come with written notes.
8. During the Appraisal
   1. 60. Bring the completed appraisal to the meeting.
   2. 61. Bring your drop file, along with specific examples.
   3. 62. Set a comfortable, conversational tone.
   4. 63. Review the purpose of the appraisal meeting.
   5. 64. Tell the employee how long the meeting will be.
   6. 65. Ask the employee what he or she would like to get out of the meeting.
   7. 66. Clarify the meeting’s purpose.
   8. 67. Clarify the direction of the meeting.
   9. 68. Ask the employee to summarize the year.
   10. 69. Add any short comments that might lend additional perspective.
   11. 70. Ask the employee to identify the things that went well.
   12. 71. Do not rush reviewing the employee’s accomplishments.
   13. 72. Accentuate the positive.
   14. 73. Share the comments other people have made.
   15. 74. Clarify and reinforce the impact of their performance.
   16. 75. Have an active dialogue.
   17. 76. Do not rush through the appraisal.
   18. 77. Be willing to modify the appraisal.
   19. 78. Close this section of the appraisal discussion by summarizing the strengths.
   20. 79. Build on the positive results during the next stage.
   21. 80. Ask the employee to focus on things they would do differently.
   22. 81. Remember that the focus is on learning.
   23. 82. Allow time for the employee to consider what they would do differently.
   24. 83. Add your comments to the conversation.
   25. 84. Include feedback from others.
   26. 85. Avoid non- productive “hammering.”
   27. 86. Make sure the employee understands the “so what.”
   28. 87. Recognize the employee’s different perspective.
   29. 88. Recognize that the buck stops with you.
   30. 89. Close with a summary statement.
   31. 90. Ask for the employee’s ideas regarding performance improvement.
   32. 91. Note the most important development needs.
   33. 92. Offer additional performance suggestions.
   34. 93. Use several strategies for skill development.
   35. 94. Agree on the Action Plan.
   36. 95. Determine what resources will be needed.
   37. 96. Identify specific resources that will be necessary.
   38. 97. Summarize the developmental actions.
   39. 98. Sign the performance appraisal document.
   40. 99. Request the employee’s signature.
9. After the Appraisal
   1. 100. Follow up on every appraisal commitment.
   2. 101. Look for opportunities to celebrate.
10. And When You Think You Are Finished…
    1. 102. Start this book all over again.
    2. 103. Give this book to a colleague who needs it.