The Workplace Coach

The Gallup Organisation is a global analytics and advisory company which conducts research into employee engagement and organisational performance.  Their published findings,  based on a database of over 10 million interviews with managers and employees, have concluded that there are 12 Elements of Great Managing for engagement and high performance.  Employees all over the world, over several decades, all had a consistent message. 

“If you do these things for us, we will do what the company needs of us”.

Over coming weeks, our Tips and Tricks topics will cover all 12 elements but to kick off the series, this first article is going to deal with the single most important element that will deliver the most engagement and the highest return in terms of performance.  As a manager, if you can do this one thing well then your team will thank you and your results will speak for themselves.  

Almost deceptive in its simplicity, the first and possibly most critical element for everyone in your team is “Knowing what is expected of them”. This is more than them just having a job description, it’s about them understanding with absolute clarity what the team is trying to deliver, what their individual part in that is, and how their personal performance will impact (positively or negatively) on other people in the team.

Setting Performance Expectations is a key skill for all managers and team leaders.  Here are some tips and tricks to become an expert:

1. Provide Clarity, Context, and Alignment:  this is a discussion with your team and individual team members. Explain in your own words what you are trying to accomplish, and how each person in the team contributes to that goal. Align the team objectives to the organisational objectives and demonstrate how the team success contributes to the overall success of the company.  
2. Speak in Plain Words That Uplift: the discussion needs to be visionary and motivational but it also needs to be simple, clear and unambiguous. The objective here is that you light a fire in their belly and send them off to do their best work with a clear understanding of exactly what they need to achieve and the manner in which they need to do it. This an opportunity to clarify performance objectives as well to talk about behavioural expectations.  “This is what we do, and how we do it”.
3. Ask Rather Than Tell: get them involved in setting the expectations. In order to deliver what was contractually promised to the client, what are the key actions or deliverables that are required of your team member? Having your team member help with setting the expectations does a couple of really important things, it helps cover all bases because they might think of something that didn’t occur to you, and it creates confidence, commitment and trust that you are both on the same page. Also, make sure that you document the outcome of this discussion using a Performance Agreement.
4. Set Expectations Early and Often: as soon as someone new comes into your team you need to have the discussion, and then repeat the key messages regularly at team meetings and individual catch ups.  Consistent repetition and focus on the objectives, the what we do and the way we do it, will cement a shared understanding and commitment in the team.    
5. Connect Expectations to Clear Metrics: you need to have some clear metrics by which you measure success.  Ideally, you are going to have SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound), but whatever the metric is it needs to be understood by everyone in your team.  These may be laid out at a high level in project plans or contract schedules however you may need to break it down so that your team members are clear on precisely how their individual success, or otherwise, is going to be measured.  
6. Review Employee Performance Regularly: reviewing performance and progress towards objectives is not a bi-annual event.  You should be scheduling short 15-30 minute weekly or fortnightly catch ups with each of your direct reports.  These should not be long, boring or painful.  These are a collaborative work in progress (WIP) meeting where you can check on how they are going, ask them if they are having any problems, explore whether they need any help from you in order to keep things progressing.  It’s an opportunity for you to provide recognition for things done well, as well as constructive guidance for things that need improvement.   It is recommended that you keep a running file note for each direct report and update it following each weekly catch up.

Clarity of expectations and a shared understanding are the most important levers to building high engagement and a high performance team.   If you develop the practice of scheduling the regular weekly catch ups with your direct reports, you will soon see this small investment of time pay huge dividends in terms of delivery of outcomes.  

If you want further information on this topic, or anything else that is people management related, just reach out.  We are here to help. 

The Workplace Coach.