New Leader Tuesday at Management Excellence
Fresh on the heels of my launch of my new online program, Learning to Master Feedback, it’s time to extend our “New Leader” material to one of the most challenging aspects of your role: accepting that you are the one who must face up to conducting the tough performance discussions on your team.
One of the biggest derailment factors for early career or first-time leaders is the issue of conducting tough performance discussions.
4 Critical Tough Discussion Mistakes of First-Time Supervisors or Managers:
1. Ignoring them won’t make them go away! Given the discomfort these impending (pending) discussions generate, many newer leaders simply ignore the discussions hoping the issues or behaviors will go away. Instead of going away, unresolved behavioral problems fester, damage performance, hurt the team and adversely impact the business. Other than that, no problem!
2. Dump-Truck Feedback Stinks! Some managers store up detailed feedback notes to use as part of the annual performance review. As the date approaches, you can hear the beeping to the truck backing up and then, here it comes! Dump-truck feedback is mostly manure!
Manure Delivery
3. The Doctor is Not In. There’s a temptation to engage in long drawn-out discussions that involve playing psychologist without a license. Resist this urge. Effective feedback discussions are brief.
4. Would You Like a Drink with Your Feedback Sandwich? The new leader executes a noble but misguided and poorly executed attempt to tell the individual how good he or she is before and after serving up some less than tasty input. Sandwiching feedback is never a good approach.
6 Ideas for the New Leader When It Comes to Tough Discussions
1. Adjust your attitude to recognize that you have the absolute responsibility for facing up quickly and effectively to the performance issues on your team. It’s time to look in the mirror and recognize who’s responsible for performance talk on your team.
2. Get help…either via one of my programs or via other valued resources on learning to construct and deliver effective feedback discussions. It’s daunting to wade into these shark-infested waters without some guidance. And not only is there no harm in seeking out training or help, if I’m your manager, I’m impressed that you asked. (Of course, a great manager would have suggested…but that’s another story.)
3. Plan your tough discussions. Keep good notes and spend some time thinking through how you will present the observed issue and the impact of this issue on the business. Plan ahead…particularly for your opening sentence and for where you want the discussion to end up.
4. Don’t let issues linger. The half-life of good feedback is a day or two…and it declines in relevance for every day you delay delivering it.
5. Practice continuous improvement. Keep notes after the discussion on what worked and what didn’t. Reference these notes before your next feedback or performance discussion.
6. Seek out every opportunity to practice. Practice builds confidence and competence.
The Bottom Line for Now:
Leadership is a discipline with a body of knowledge waiting to be discovered. Feedback is one of those tools that you need to learn to wield early and often. Don’t delay!
Related Links:
Why I Hate the Sandwich Technique for Delivering Feedback
The Cruel, Bitter and Crushing Taste of Dump Truck Feedback
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Need help with Feedback? Art’s new online program: Learning to Master Feedback $59
Art,
very nicely said. One point I would make, as a supervisor, you don’t always get to be the nice guy. In fact, prepare for having to be the bad guy. Everyone wants to be nice and be everyone’s friend. The business world doesn’t work that way. Often times a manager has to tell people things they don’t want to hear and do things they don’t want to do.
It’s easy to be nice. One of the indicators of a professional, can you do the unpleasant and especially emotionally unpleasant things in a professional and respectful manner so that a professional business relationship continues.
Maybe that’s what separates the “professional manager” from the “jackass”.
Andy
Andy, that’s a great blog post title: The Professional Manager or the Jackass! You’ll get full attribution! Yes, agreed on the nice. Somewhere in my first book, I serve up a section entitled: It’s Nice to Be Nice, but Not Essential. It is however essential to be respectful at all times. Thanks as always for your readership and for sharing your insights! -Art