How to manage performance through having conversations

1. Performance Management:
Courageous Conversations

2. Today we will:
• Devise meaningful objectives
and targets for people to aim
for
• Identify what motivates (and
demotivates) people who work
for you
• Demonstrate simple
conversational tools to talk
about performance and attitude
• Use a simple feedback tool that
can be used every day in
business

3. What’s the
lowest level of
Performance
someone can
“achieve” before
you would
consider taking
action?

4. Performance Sweepstake
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Company A Company B Company C You
Not at the races Also Rans Contenders Superstars

5. Will
ChampionCynic
CheerleaderCompletely
Lost!
Skill

6. Will
Skill

7. Will
DelegateExcite
Train or CoachDirect
(Be very!)
Skill
Tip:
Be clear about whether this is a skill
issue or a will issues before you have
the conversation

8. Pen Pictures
• Create short bios of
two people you would
like to have a
conversation with…

9. Audit
Individual
Vision and
Mission
communicated
Clear Job
Descriptions in
place
Behavioural
standards are
set out
Individual
Goals and
Objectives set
out and agreed
Managers are
trained and
capable of
managing
performance
Conversations
happen
regularly at
right level
Performance
frameworks
and processes
are in place

10. Objectives
• Enable Performance to happen
• Helps people to grow and develop
• Aligns people to your company strategy
• Provides a means to review and feedback

11. Objectives
• Verb – a doing or performing word
• Standard – measurement of quality, quantity, standard
• Timescale – achieved within a certain timeframe

12. Stats on Engagement
• High Engagement business improved income by 19.2%
• Engaged employees 87% less likely to leave
• 70% of engaged employees have good understanding
of meeting customer need
• 37% of workers plan to leave their current jobs
• 59% rate opportunity for progression higher than £salary

13. We need to have
courageous conversations…
• What stops us?

14. Mental Rehearsal
• People are contracted
• The benefits are…… and if I don’t do it …
• It is not my problem
• But I am here to support and guide
• This is an Adult to Adult conversation

15. The ‘Low Performance’ Conversation
Structure Tone Purpose
Goal: I want to talk about
___
Assertively concerned Establish clear outcome
and purpose of
conversation
Reality of Performance
(explore current)
Curiously concerned Ownership - individual to
see where they are and
identify reasons why
Options to improve
Performance (explore and
agree)
Supportive and challenging Ownership - individual to
identify what needs to
happen to improve
Way forward – what
happens next?
Assertively confident Commitment – establish
commitment to action and
follow up
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

16. The ‘High Performance’ Conversation
Structure Tone Purpose
Goal: I want to say that
___
Upbeat and appreciative Show you have noticed
specific performance and
want to ask about it
Reasons for Performance
(explore)
Curious and appreciative Provide platform for
individual to share how
they have contributed
Options to sustain or
enhance Performance
(explore)
Supportive and coaching Ownership - individual to
own their own
development
Way forward – what
happens next?
Confident and
empowering
Reinforce commitment and
establish support needed
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

17. The ‘Behaviour’ Conversation
Structure Tone Purpose
Feedback: what I observed
was ___ and the impact of
that was ___
Assertive and direct Reason for conversation
and specific feedback
Listen to what is
happening and why
Curious and concerned Explore possible reasons
behind behaviour (not
excuses)
Options and ideas to stop
the old behaviour and start
new ones
Directive and supportive Ownership - individual to
identify what needs to
happen to change
Way forward – what
happens next?
Assertive and confident Commitment – establish
commitment to action and
follow up
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

18. The ‘Follow Up’ Conversation
Structure Tone Purpose
Goal: This conversation is
about ___
High concern and urgency Set tone and the need to
have conversation again
Reality is ____ High concern and clarity Set out where they are
now and consequences of
not improving
Options now are ___ Challenging and direct Create choice, something
needs to happen so what
is it?
Way forward – what
happens next?
Direct and supportive Gain commitment and
ensure clear and specific
next steps
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

19. Feedback?
• “Martin, I have to tell you that I am not happy with a certain
aspect of your performance. It seems to me that it takes you
much longer to complete work than I expect.”

20. Giving feedback effectively
“I recently asked you to prepare a promotional
campaign on product x. What I had hoped for
was a complete plan including a budget,
forecast results and recommendations as to
which media to use in which combinations.
I had also hoped to see several mock-ups of
promotional pieces. What I saw was several
suggested slogans that we could use, but
without any recommendations as to how we
might use them.”

21. Feedback – how to serve
• Step 1: Ask the individual to evaluate the task positively:
• What was good?
• Step 2: You provide your perspective:
• What worked well
• Why it worked well
• Step 3: Ask the individual to evaluate the task critically
• What wasn’t so good?
• Step 4: You provides your perspective:
• What didn’t work well
• What would be better next time
• Why this would work better

23. What now?
• 1-3 Actions you feel
you can take back to
the work and start
doing now.

24. Performance Management:
Courageous Conversations