1. White Paper
The 5 Faces
Your Managers See During
Performance Reviews
From the crew at Fistful of Talent
Kris Dunn
Tim Sackett

2. Your New Performance Management System/
Methodology Sure Looks Great
Let’s say you’re a progressive company when it comes to performance
Everyone - including
management. While you haven’t drank the Kool-Aid that suggests you
the manager, the team
should eliminate performance reviews altogether, you’re sensitive to
member and you (if you’re
the fact that a once-a-year performance reviews don’t work. Everyone
the one in charge of the
- including the manager, the team member and you (if you’re the one in
system) – dreads the annual
charge of the system) – dreads the annual performance review.
performance review.
With that in mind, you’ve tried to create a performance culture that
focuses on frequent and ongoing coaching rather than the annual review
event. Some of the stuff you’ve laid down in your company as a result
includes asking your managers to do the following:
1. Develop goals that are good for the company and engage the
team member developmentally;
2. Push for more performance once those goals are set, both by
specifically describing what the manager needs and why it’s
good for the team member (verbally and in writing); and
3. Perform like thespians in coaching conversations with the
team member (planning, lock-in, multiple review sessions
annually and all coaching in between).
As a result of your focus on these three items, you’re at the intersection
of an upscale performance management model that’s much more than
an annual performance review – it’s the start of performance coaching
becoming part of your culture.
2 The 5 Faces Your Managers See During Performance Reviews
©2011 Halogen Software. All rights reserved.

3. Hold on Johnny: It’s Not That Easy
There’s just one little problem with your model. The objects of your
affection (your team members) aren’t static targets for your managers
to practice on. They’re human beings, full of emotions, bias and inflated Either give your managers
self-esteem because they’ve never had quality performance feedback tools to deal with the
delivered in a consistent manner. objections, or give them
quality instructions on how
No one has ever consistently told those team members the truth related
to assume the fetal position
to their own performance, which means your managers are going to
without pulling a hamstring.
freak out when they go live with the coaching/performance model you’re
trying to build.
Why are your managers going to freak out?
Because the team members they’re coaching aren’t going to just stand
around and be compliant. They’re going to disagree. They’re going to
come back at your managers and give reasons for why things are the way
they are. They’re going to tell your managers that more performance
isn’t possible, and it’s not their fault.
What can you do? Either give your managers tools to deal with the
objections, or give them quality instructions on how to assume the fetal
position without pulling a hamstring.
You’re picking tools over the fetal position? Read on.
The 5 Faces Your Managers See During Performance Reviews 3
©2011 Halogen Software. All rights reserved.

4. See the Ball, Be the Ball: The 5 Faces Your
Managers See During Performance Reviews
To get your managers ready to deal with objections, it makes sense to
identify the faces they’re going to see on the other side of the table when
coaching for increased performance. Once you know the most common
personas team members regularly use when defending themselves from
anyone asking for more performance, you’re better equipped to fight
through the objections and get to what’s real.
Ready to hear the personas/masks team members regularly use to
intimidate managers into not asking for more performance? Here are
the 5 most challenging faces your managers see during any type of
performance conversation:
1. The Diva – You’ve seen the Diva before – he’s a legend in his own
mind. The Diva thinks he’s a world class performer, and usually is
a high performer in at least one area. The problem? He’s got lots
of development needs related to his other performance targets.
The Diva probably had a hands-off manager before you, so he’s
shocked you would ask for more. THIS JUST IN: He’s not sure he
has anything to learn from you as a manager, and as a result of
his lack of self awareness, he can be a disruptor on your team
and a poor teammate. The good news for you: odds are some
teammates hate to see him go unchecked, so they’re rooting for
you to bring him back to reality.
2. The Deflector – The deflector could do more in his role on
your team, but let’s face it: He’s been dealt a terrible hand at
this jalopy you call a company. Just ask him. The Deflector is
a guy who has an external locus of control in everything he
experiences in your company. He’ll tell you he doesn’t see the
point of trying harder, because too many things are in the way
and out of his control. THIS JUST IN: It’s not that he doesn’t
believe in you, he just thinks you’re part of the overall situation.
Make sure you aren’t enabling this person with what we call
the “manager pass-through”. The external locus of control
of the Disruptor means he’s the most problematic profile to
turnaround.
4 The 5 Faces Your Managers See During Performance Reviews
©2011 Halogen Software. All rights reserved.

5. 3. The 9 to 5’er – The 9 to 5’er is the classic profile – she’s looking
to work 40 hours, and she can become easily offended when
you ask for more. The 9 to 5 outlook can be voluntary (jaded,
unwilling to allow perceived intrusions into her private life/time)
or involuntary (as it often is with parents, etc.). The 9 to 5’er is
generally looking to meet the expectation/hit the target with
the hours she has and has low interest in providing discretionary
effort. THIS JUST IN: If the 9 to 5 outlook is involuntary, you can
buy discretionary effort via flexibility. Finally, the 9 to 5’er is often
seen as a steady performer by those around her.
4. The Upwardly Mobile/Unsure - The fun profile of the bunch, the
Upwardly Mobile seeks to excel, but is unsure of what they want
in their career. They have no opinion on what the next step is
for them, much less two steps down the road. A dream to have
around, the Upwardly Mobile will provide discretionary effort,
especially if recognition follows. She’s looking for feedback on
performance and linkage to how to progress in her career.
THIS JUST IN: If you don’t take the time to be interested, The
Upwardly Mobile profile can easily turn into a 9 to 5’er or a
Deflector (it’s a question of who is going to influence – you or the
negative profiles around them). Spend time with this profile to
ensure they don’t turn negative over time.
5. The Star - One of the best in the company… and in your
industry. Can choose to influence others or be an island
depending on the role, and you’ll live with it because she’s that
good. The Star is crushing most of the expectations you set
regarding performance goals and routinely goes way beyond
what’s expected or called for. THIS JUST IN: She’s not sure she
has anything to learn from you. Even if she can’t, you have to try
to engage by answering a tough question: How do you engage
a star on performance?
The 5 Faces Your Managers See During Performance Reviews 5
©2011 Halogen Software. All rights reserved.

6. Now You Know What to Look For – Get Ready to
Attack
Of course, simply knowing how to identify the 5 faces your managers
Link the development
will see during performance reviews and coaching conversations isn’t
plan with the team
enough. Your managers need to know WHAT TO DO AND SAY once
member’s performance.
they’ve identified the face they’re talking to.
Relax – we’re here to help. Here are the best strategies to deal with the 5
faces we’ve outlined. For any of the faces, you should train managers to
use one or more (usually a combo) of the strategies to survive and thrive:
1. Focus on the definition of performance that is “hit it” (meeting
expectations) and “crushed it” (exceeding expectations).
2. Push for more performance, specifically describing what you
need and why it’s good for the team member (verbally and
in writing).
3. Focus on efficiency. Talk about ways the team member can
attack their performance goals to get more done during the day
and potentially lift their performance.
4. Focus the team member on what they can control. Offer
to knock down a barrier for them in exchange for more
discretionary effort in a specific area.
5. Link the development plan with the team member’s
performance. Talk about areas they’re interested in growing in.
Find a link between those areas and the business/role and agree
that’s a focus for the next quarter.
6 The 5 Faces Your Managers See During Performance Reviews
©2011 Halogen Software. All rights reserved.

7. Coaching is Performance Art – You Have to Act
the Part
Looking for a good exercise related to performance management or
Coaching is like theatre.
coaching with your managers? Cover the 5 faces, then give them the five
Your managers have to
strategies above and have them outline the two best strategies to deal
perform on the fly.
with each one of the faces.
If they don’t need a nap after that, have them role play how they’d
redirect the performance conversation with each of the faces using the
strategies they’ve chosen.
Coaching is like theatre. Your managers have to perform on the fly. If
they can’t role play, there’s no way they’ll be able to handle the objections
from the 5 (and other) faces on the fly.
Good luck out there. The Five Faces are waiting, and they’re not going to
take it easy on you.
The 5 Faces Your Managers See During Performance Reviews 7
©2011 Halogen Software. All rights reserved.

8. About Fistful of Talent’s Kris Dunn and Tim Sackett
Kris Dunn - Fistful of Talent Editor, Referee and Agitator...
Back in the day (December 2006 - what’s the definition of “back in the day” again?) I started a blog called
The HR Capitalist. The psycho-like pledge was to write to it every business day for a year and see what
happened. I made it past that goal, mainly due to the interaction with the people who stopped by to read and
comment, or at times blast me. I’ve learned so much from that experience that I wanted to do it again, but this
time with friends.
With that in mind, we launched Fistful of Talent (FOT) in March of 2008. For FOT, I’ve assembled an opinionated
group of pros from Recruiting practices, HR shops and Consulting firms across the nation. The center of the
conversation is talent - which includes recruiting as well as everything you do with the talent once you’ve got it
in the door.
Connect with Kris
On Twitter: @kris_dunn
On LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/krisdunn
Tim Sackett - Covering Talent and Technical Recruiting for Fistful of Talent...
Tim Sackett is the Executive Vice President for HRU Technical Resources, which really means they just ran out of
titles between Director and CEO. Tim’s job is to make sure everyone is happy and productive – for those who
have worked in staffing firms, you know exactly what that means. HRU is primarily an engineering and technical
contingency firm that specializes in the manufacturing sector in defense, consumer products, automotive,
higher ed, etc. HRU is based in Lansing, MI – but has close to 500 employees all over the country.
Connect with Tim
On Twitter: @timsackett
On LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timsackett
About Halogen Software
Halogen’s fully integrated talent management suite can help give your managers the key information they need
to support employee performance. In fact, more than 1500 organizations around the world are already using
Halogen’s solutions with brilliant results. For additional information on implementing automated performance
appraisals visit: www.halogensoftware.com.
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