Dear Coach Mclees~
I held a performance
review with one of my employees. The way we do it on my team is that we
ask the employee to assess their performance before the review meeting.
Next, we provide our review: the ratings and summaries to support them.
It's not unusual for this particular employee to offer a higher
evaluation than myself, but this time she rated herself much higher.
And
here's the tricky part. At the end of the performance review I like to
create improvement goals. I did, but she disagreed with all of them
because she thinks she walks on water and I think she's under water. Now
she's got goals I know she doesn't believe she needs to work on for the
next review period.
What next?
Dear What Next,
Sounds
like an awkward moment. One I've been in myself. It should be no
surprise to those of us in leadership positions that we often have to
confront people's illusions about themselves. The fact that human beings
have an incredibly inflated sense of efficacy is also no surprise.
I
attended a friends' son's soccer game one day and smiled when I heard
parents from both sides swearing vehemently that the ref was obviously
playing for the other team. We all think we do better, deserve more, and
are perfectly informed far more often than is the case. (Note: The ref
did, in fact, favor the opposing team).
The
tricky thing in performance reviews is that even leaders might have
an inflated sense of rightness (Unless you have accurate and complete
documentation). And these leaders are reviewing someone who likely
suffers from the same affliction. So how can two imperfect human beings
muddle their way toward truth?
The
answer is to trust the conversation and the facts. A better
approximation of truth is much more likely to emerge through healthy
dialogue that has an ample supply of concrete examples. So here are a
few tips to help make the conversation productive in the emotionally
charged atmosphere of a performance evaluation.
1. Decide how to decide.
To avoid violated expectations and resentment, be clear up front that
while your strong preference is to arrive at consensus about the rating
and goals, at the end of the discussion you as the supervisor are
charged with making the final decision. Do not overstate this—let your
employee know that you are willing to spend the time and energy required
to reach a common view of things and would only make an independent
decision if it's clear you cannot do so in a reasonable amount of time.
2. Don't own the burden of proof—share it.
Don't get cornered into feeling like you have to convince your employee
that you are "right." That's not your job. Your job is simply to share
your view. If you find yourself trying to convince the employee that
your view is "right," then you've stepped out of dialogue and into
monologue. You need to step away from your own conclusions and recognize
that they are just one view of the truth. Take a few deep breaths and
open yourself to a different perspective. Share the responsibility for
arriving at the "right" conclusion. Let her know that you'd like her
help in making sense of a substantial amount of data supporting your
view and your rating.
3. Separate content and pattern.
Often, the disconnect comes because the supervisor has seen a pattern
and is attempting to help the employee recognize and take responsibility
for this pattern. Yet the employee doesn't own up to these behaviors.
Instead, he or she explains away one data point after another.
For
example, you say, "On a number of occasions, customers have complained
that you were brusque or impatient with them." There's the pattern
you're trying to establish.
To which your employee says, "Can you give me an example?"
Now, here's where it gets slippery. At this point, you must give
her examples. You can't expect her to just nod robotically to the
pattern you're alleging she has demonstrated. So you give an example:
"Last Friday a customer told me that after she complained to you about
some moldy strawberries that you barely acknowledged him and walked away
without saying a word." To which she says, "I remember that—and that's
not what happened. Yes, I didn't say anything, but I smiled and waved
and turned to get a phone call that had been on hold."
This
is a tricky point in the conversation because something subtle just
happened. If you don't catch it, you'll end this performance review
feeling unsatisfied and at odds. You'll avoid this outcome if you can
recognize what your employee just did. What was it?
She
changed the subject from a pattern conversation to a content
conversation. You're now discussing what happened last Friday rather
than what happens as a pattern. (See The Accountability Dial.)
Here's
what you have to do to move back to the right conversation: "I see—and I
can see how you might have thought you handled things right in that
instance. But what I need your help with is the pattern that has
emerged. I can share three different examples with you—and there may be
an extenuating circumstance in each—and yet the pattern is more
consistent with you than with other members of the team. That's what I'd
like us to discuss and resolve."
Do
you see what just happened? First, we tried to share responsibility for
addressing our mutual understanding of the issue. Second, we moved the
conversation from content back to pattern. And finally, we set
expectations that if she continues to give explanations for every
element of the pattern, she'll still need to address why the pattern is
different for her than for other employees.
Now,
even if you do all of these things, you still may agree to disagree. In
which case, you'll have to lean back on suggestion number one. You
could end with something like: "Well, it seems like we see things
differently. I appreciate your patience and hope you can see that I have
sincerely wanted to understand your view, as well. Yet I still have to
make my best judgment about what's going on and how to move ahead. I ask
that you respect the position I'm in and make efforts to respond. I
still believe this pattern of brusqueness with customers is an issue you
should address. To do so, I ask you to do the following. . . and what
ideas do you have?"
Your
question demonstrates how seriously you take your coaching role. I
applaud your efforts and wish you luck as you sort through your own
self-illusions and work to be a positive influence on some of your
similarly afflicted employees.
In the meantime, my buddy and I will keep trying to convince the ref that he's playing favorites!
Check out two related posts:
Discovering Your Blind Spots (7 min read)
Coaching from Mediocrity to Excellence (3 min)
To your greater success and fulfillment,
Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
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worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have
valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup,
small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.
