Jul 15
Failing At Managing
Published by Amybeth (@researchgoddess) at 8:00 am under Talent
A friend recently shared with me about his work review. I know this friend to be an amazingly talented individual, so I was shocked when he shared that he’d had a less than stellar review from his boss and essentially was being put on probation. We started talking about work reviews and feedback and came to the conclusion that there were mixed messages being sent to him. With mixed messaging (or NO messaging) coming from several different sources, how is an employee supposed to succeed?
Failure #1: Waiting until review time to provide critical feedback. Unless your ultimate design is to get rid of an employee (and if that’s the case, perhaps you should re-evaluate your hiring practices) feedback on areas that need improvement should be given before reviews come around to allow employees the opportunity to make changes. Think of a large ship – the further you let it go off course without correcting its coordinates, the longer it’s going to take that ship to get going in the right direction. Blindsiding employees with critical improvement areas on which their employment hangs only at review time sends the message that you’re really not interested in helping their career development or assisting them in being successful at their work, which would benefit the company as a whole. If you’re a parent, would you wait to correct your child’s wrong behavior until the bi-annual ‘family meeting’, or would you correct it as you see it so they could learn to change?
Failure #2: Inconsistent messaging. I keep thinking about Office Space with this one, in the scene where Peter is talking with “The Bobs” and they’ve asked him to describe his workday. He goes on to tell them that he has eight different bosses and that his only real motivation is not to be hassled. But, he says, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired. When you’ve got one source telling you that you’re awesome, but another one telling you that your job is on the line, it’s confusing, and confused individuals typically find themselves immobile. If you’re part of a management team, make sure your messages to your employees are consistent so no one is playing the “he said, she said” game. Your employees will have more trust in your management when everyone is sending the same message.
Failure #3: Getting bogged down in old ways of doing things. Our work environments have changed so much, even since I joined the ‘corporate workforce’ nearly ten years ago. Lots of people telecommute, teams are more collaborative by nature, hierarchies are muddied by project groups, and work hours are more flexible. There are still many companies, and managers within companies, that are sticking their fingers in their ears and refusing to see these changes. A telecommuting employee should not be managed in the same manner that an employee who works in the office is. The work environment is different, and there needs to be trust involved. Communication is important in a telecommuting situation too; since you’re not able to actually see that person on a daily basis, it’s important to keep an open line of communication. This circles back to Failure #1. If there is a trust issue there, that’s a conversation that needs to be had long before review time.
Set your employees up for success – communicate with them with a consistent message, let them know what you like about their work, but also give them feedback when you see areas that need improvement before it’s too late. Invest in the company’s success by nipping weaknesses in the bud before they go full bloom. Manage with the concept of ‘no surprises’. Your employees will respect you more than if you wait until review time to drop a bomb on them.
I totally agree with your points and the write up given. The more often we communicate with our employees the better they understand what is being required of them.
I think at review time a employee should be able to walk into the room without a feeling of fear and trepidation. And they should be able to leave the same way.
They may not have been doing a steallar job and need to change that way they work but if an employee is constantly operating out of fear and trying not to stuff up – that is not healthy at all.
Great work Amybeth.