Management Training by The Book 8961

By F. Ray Miller and Laura E.
Miller
Management Training: By The Book
F. Ray Miller Laura E. Miller
This book is dedicated to all those committed to making a difference.
Use of this book and its contents are for the sole use of the purchaser and are not to be shared electronically or in any other form with anyone other than the person who purchased it. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the authors. Pages, forms, job aids and tools presented throughout this book may be printed and or copied for the purchasers use only.
Copyright 2008 - 2010 Ray and Laura Miller. All rights reserved.
Visit www.thetrainingbank.com to order additional copies.

E-mail: cantrain@thetrainingbank.com Telephone: 1(416) 698-8230
Foreword
e wrote this book because we wanted to help you maximize your effectiveness as a manager. Lets face it, your days are filled with dealing with problems, reports and customer or employee problems. Time is something you dont have a lot of, and while you know deep down that improving your effectiveness as a manager is important, the priorities of the day seem to continually get in the way. The good news is you bought this book. Highly effective managers are more productive and successful in their careers. Their employees are more motivated, and perform their jobs more effectively. This book will help you to enhance your managerial or supervisory effectiveness. The topics we have selected for this book represent the most commonly asked for topics we have been getting for our classroom and online training programs for the past three years. These twelve courses include detailed explanations, examples, tools and exercises which will help you to enhance your skills. We have been training managers and supervisors in the skills detailed in this book for over 20 years. The concepts, theories and best practices provided really work. We know that you are time compressed so we have attempted to filter out as much of the theoretical as possible and focus our attention on specific steps and actions which you can take. What we have covered in this book are really the nuts and bolts of many of the key management practices and approaches. When you implement what we cover in this book, you will see significant improvements. If there are topics that you do not see included, fear not. We are already working on Management Training: By The Book Part Two and we have provided a listing of the topics at the back of this book. Just a few comments about the way this book is structured. Each Chapter (Course) contains an introduction page which also includes a description of the objectives of the course and some discussion concerning why the topic is important. You will also see an icon like this you can take related to the topic being discussed. quite often. This indicates specific action steps that
Included in this book are several exercises, assessment tools and worksheets designed to help you implement what is presented. Feel free to print these out so you can work on them. One last thing before we get started: why not take a couple of minutes and develop a list of the reasons why you want to improve your effectiveness as a manager or supervisor. Please print the following page and jot down your thoughts. Then refer to this list from time to time to remind yourself of why you are doing this and the pay-offs you expect to achieve.
Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with my heart to do it well.

- Charles Dickens
Copyright 2008 The Training Bank
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Date:
Why I want to improve my effectiveness
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Table of Contents
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Course 1:
Qualities of Leadership
Introduction and Objectives What is Leadership? The Qualities of Leadership Genuine respect for others Humility Honesty and Integrity Confidence and Courage Influential Decisive Effective communicator Core Values Driven by constant improvement Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health Learning Exercises 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16
Course 2:
Adaptive Leadership
Introduction and Objectives What's Your Style? What is Personal Autonomy? Determining an Employee's Level of Personal Autonomy Your Management Style for Different Levels of Personal Autonomy Topic Challenges Other Learning Exercises 27 28 29 31 33 36 38
Course 3:
Goal Setting and Feedback

Introduction and Objectives The Importance of Goal Setting and Giving Feedback What Can Interfere With Goal Setting and Giving Feedback? Effective Goal Setting Providing Effective Feedback - Positive Feedback Providing Effective Feedback - Negative Feedback Goal Setting and Feedback Case Study Getting Employee Feedback Learning Exercises 45 47 50 51 55 58 63 70 72
Course 4:
Empowerment and Motivation

Introduction and Objectives The Impact of Low Motivation What Can a Manager or Supervisor Do? A Model for Motivating Employees Establishing a Motivational Baseline What Motivates Your Employees? What Motivators Does Your Environment Lack? Fill The Gaps Communicate Your Plan to Your Staff Evaluate Staff and Environment Periodically Learning Exercises 77 79 80 84 85 87 88 89 92 92 93
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Table of Contents continued

Course 5: Coaching
Introduction and Objectives What is Coaching and why should you do it? The Old Way Command and Control How to Become a Coach Focused Coaching Coaching and Goal Setting Tracking Performance In Summary and Learning Exercises 97 98 99 100 102 106 106 107
Course 6:
Listen Up! How to Listen Effectively

Introduction and Objectives Speaking and Listening The Rules Barriers To Effective Listening Listening Styles So Im Listening Now What? When You Know You Cant Listen But Youre Not Listening Improving Your Listening Skills Learning Exercises 111 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
Course 7:
Straight Talk: Making Your Point

Introduction and Objectives The Three Critical Elements Is Your Message Clear? Making Your Point: General Tips Making Your Point: Next Time Learning Exercises 127 129 131 133 134 137
Course 8:
Managing Difficult Situations

Introduction and Objectives What Are Some Typical Difficult Situations? Why Do We Avoid Difficult Situations? Whats The Impact? What Can a Manager Do? 15 Difficult Employee Situation Case Studies Learning Exercises 141 142 143 144 145 147 163
Course 9:
Managing Conflict
Introduction and Objectives Personal vs. Functional Conflict Situations With The Potential For Conflict Techniques For Dealing With Conflict When To Go to Your Manager That Tricky Situation Conflict Case Studies Learning Exercises 167 168 169 170 174 175 177 179
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Table of Contents continued

Course 10: Managing Change
Introduction and Objectives Dynamics What Causes Resistance to Change Managing Change and Reducing Resistance General Points About Managing Change Mechanics of Change Management Change Management Process / System Designing a Change Management Process Learning Exercises 185 186 187 189 190 191 193 195
Course 11:
Team Building
Introduction and Objectives Great Teams Stages of Team Development Cycling Through Team Stages Roles of Team Members When Your Teams Not Working Rewarding Teams and Team Behavior Effective Team Building Case Study Learning Exercises 199 201 202 210 214 215 218 219 222
Course 12:
Conducting Performance Evaluations

Introduction and Objectives Performance Management versus Performance Evaluation Performance Evaluations: Whats The Purpose? Performance Evaluations and Legal Issues The Performance Evaluation: Key Components The Performance Evaluation Process Conducting the Performance Evaluation Follow Up on the Performance Evaluation Case Studies Performance Evaluations: Common Mistakes In Summary and Learning Exercises 231 233 235 236 237 238 240 241 242 246 247 255 256
About the Authors About The Training Bank
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Leadership is the ability to decide what is to be done and then to get others to want to do it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
You must manage as if you need your employees more than they need you.
- Peter Drucker
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Qualities of Leadership Q
For decades organizational scholars have debated the qualities of a "leader." What are they? Is a person born a leader or can they be trained as a leader? Can anyone learn to be a leader? Can an employee be a leader or do you need to have people reporting to you to lead? The list goes on and on. In our leadership training class we routinely ask the audience to define the qualities of a leader. Many participants suggest traits like "charismatic," "confident," "visionary," etc. Occasionally, someone will offer what we think is a truly distinguishing observation. "You don't often notice or think about the qualities of a leader. What's noticeable is how they make you feel." That's it in a nutshell. What really defines a leader is their ability to make individuals feel committed to a cause or challenge. But not only do they feel committed, they take action. The term "follower" sounds like an obedient golden retriever but we'll use it anyway. Leaders make those that choose to follow them feel important and significant. Leaders have a genuine, unquestioned respect for the individuals around them. Their decisions are decisive and well founded in arguments that support the core values of the company, its customers and its employees. Because they're human, leaders make mistakes and own them - and they expect and tolerate mistakes from others. They know that their power rests on the relationships they build with others - and that titles and authority alone won't earn respect. They're consistent in their actions and words and show no favoritism. When the company faces a significant challenge or uncertainty, the leader's calm demeanor bolsters confidence and motivation in others. Leaders believe that their followers are capable of anything and as a result, so do their followers.
GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9
offers an overview of Leadership in general terms describes key competencies or characteristics associated with leadership provides an exercise to identify the leadership qualities in others provides a downloadable self-assessment for evaluating your personal leadership strengths and weaknesses
Why is this important? No doubt you know someone who you would consider a leader. Maybe it's a manager you work with - maybe not. It may not even be someone you know from work - i.e, a coach, teacher, friend, etc. But something about that person caught your attention, your imagination and your admiration. Chances are they made you feel significant. They made you believe you were capable of more than you thought. They made you dream - at least for a moment. That's what leaders do.
Ask a hundred management scholars and you'll get a hundred different opinions on the qualities of leadership. The good news is that when you boil them all down there are some very common themes that appear. First let's discuss "leadership" in some general terms.
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Qualities of Leadership Introduction: What is Leadership?

Leadership is unique. It occurs when an individual with the right motivations meets the right opportunity. Some people, maybe all, have the qualities of leadership but never get the chance to demonstrate them. They wait their whole life for that single situation that forces them to reach deep down and find the courage to step outside what's comfortable. But naturally, most people fear the unknown. They fear the ridicule of taking a stance or an unpopular position. So instead, they wait for someone else to step forward and take that chance. Often times the person that steps forward is ostracized as a "non-team player" because they don't conform to popular wisdom. In the long run their vision can direct the company to new opportunities. Other times someone with leadership potential may grow frustrated because their company offers no opportunity to exercise that potential. If you are serious about developing your leadership qualities recognize that it should be a life long pursuit - and one that you'll never fully achieve. How could you? A leader accepts that he/she can always improve. By acknowledging yourself as a leader you'd be forfeiting one of the true traits of a leader - humbleness. Let others decide you're a leader by your actions and attitude. And remember, leadership spills outside of the workplace. Can you really be an effective leader at work if you don't devote the same intensity to your personal and physical life? Truly effective leaders maintain a healthy balance among all facets of their life. The two are inseparable. Your family, your friends, your physical fitness, your commitment to community and fellow man, your spirituality, your thirst for knowledge - all play a role in shaping your leadership qualities. The remainder of this module will examine a model of leadership that we've drafted based on other models of leadership, theory, experiences, observations of personal strengths, and shortcomings. It's also the model you may want to use for your own development or for assessing leadership in others.
A Lack of Leadership
An Example.... A consultant was working with a team charged with the development of a client-server based, project management application at a large bank. The process of managing projects cut across all departments and functions so, of course, opinions were plentiful. No sooner did the team get out of one meeting and they'd be back in another. They'd work into the night to build a prototype to meet one group's specifications then find out someone else didn't like it. Still, implementation dates were set, communications sent out and training scheduled - yet they couldn't get buy in on the system - they didn't even have a process designed! And, they were building the project management application? Frustration was beginning to manifest itself in the destructive behaviors that tear apart a team - apathy, cliques, anger, cynicism.....since the consultant assisted with process and project management a couple of the members confided in him. The team agreed it was time to go to senior management and ask for support. At the meeting an adjunct member (Doug) posed a question - "Shouldn't we get Senior Management to appoint a leader to oversee this effort...?" The irony is, that all along there had been a leader - John. John spoke up and acknowledged that the project was off course and rattled off some reasons why - "Its scope is larger than planned...", "Lack of support from other areas..." or "....end of the year - it's tough to schedule work...." He accepted no personal ownership for the problem. The meeting broke - those close to the project knew John just got slammed like a screen door in windstorm. John approached the consultant and suggested he and the consultant speak with Doug to explain that John was project leader and get that clarified. That's when the consultant took him in private.
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Qualities of Leadership Introduction: What is Leadership?

continued
In the consultants' opinion, John had developed a very passive approach to leading the project. Meetings were called on the fly, ill attended, with no agenda or documentation. Facilitation fell to whoever spoke the loudest since John's voice conveyed little energy or confidence. Rarely were specific tasks assigned to members so progress was difficult to gauge. Early on when team members had concerns about a lack of buy in, John was reluctant to go to management. He was indecisive - "maybe we should.... or I think we might.... or we sort of have...." so there were few consistencies the team could use to guide them. Rather than seek the ear of upper management and gain consensus on a design, the team tried to appease everyone. Needless to say there was no project plan that united members - no plan to get from point A to point B. No vision. The fact that someone asked the question "Shouldn't we get a leader......" is the crux of this example. Leadership by appointment and title means nothing. What matters is the opinion of followers. In the above example, Doug was the one showing leadership by sticking his neck out to bring the problem into the open. When a team is suffering members will rally behind the person who steps forward - whether or not it's the person who owns the title of leader. How many times have you seen it - problems persist and team members flock to an un-appointed, informal leader with their concerns instead of the formal leader? We all recognize leadership when we see it. That in itself suggests some universal traits. With a sincere commitment and a willingness to be self-critical anyone can develop those leadership traits.
The next section describes the ten characteristics of effective leaders. Review the list and think about each one before moving on to the detailed sections. See if you can think of a person who demonstrates each quality better than anyone else.
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Qualities of Leadership The Qualities of Leadership

Here are the qualities we'll examine in detail. After you have completed reading this course, use the leadership selfassessment (printable exercise) which is found on the last page of this course to evaluate yourself on the behaviors associated with these qualities.
1. Genuine respect for others 2. Humility 3. Honesty and Integrity 4. Confidence and Courage 5. Influential 6. Decisive 7. Effective communicator 8. Core Values (predictable) 9. Driven by constant improvement 10. Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health
The first trait we'll look at is "Genuine respect for others". Without that you can't expect "others" to respect you. Go to the next page to learn more.
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Qualities of Leadership Genuine Respect for Others

This is perhaps the fundamental trait of an effective leader. If those around you perceive a lack of respect for them - they'll never respect you. The key word there is perceive. You may say, "Of course I respect them..." But, if their perception is you don't - their perception is their reality. If history has demonstrated anything it's that when one group lacks a genuine respect for others, when they allow inequities, then resistance and conflict erupts. So how does someone decide whether or not you respect him or her? It's in the way you speak to them. It's in the way you listen. It's in how you thank them for their effort (if you do). It's in how you credit them for their accomplishments. It's how you apologize when you're wrong. It's in the way you respond to their requests for help. It's in the way you're sensitive to cultural and gender issues. It's in the way you treat them no differently than you would the president of the company.
Genuine respect for others - Leadership Behaviors 1. Speaks to all coworkers, regardless of position/title in a professional manner. 2. Takes time to listen objectively to the ideas and opinions of coworkers. If situation does not allow
full attention he/she offers an opportunity for follow up.
3. Thanks co-workers for their efforts and hard work. 4. Is not influenced by gender, race, religion, age, or any other personal characteristics. Treats all
employees with equity.
5. Is sensitive to co-workers' personal life and commitments outside of work. 6. Follows all guidelines for avoidance of discrimination and harassment in the workplace. 7. Does not tolerate inequity - i.e., preferential treatment by managers, unfair interviewing, selection
or evaluation practices, etc.
We all notice when someone is humble. Likewise we notice the person who takes credit for someone else's work. It's like the manager who can't admit mistakes and inadvertently teaches his staff to hide theirs. Read on.
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Qualities of Leadership Humility

Leaders recognize that they alone cannot move the world. They know their power lies in the cumulative efforts and talents of their followers. By recognizing that, they acknowledge the importance of the team, and the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals that comprise it. Humbleness also means accepting responsibility for personal mistakes and acknowledging when help is needed. By doing so you model a powerful quality to those around you. It says, "It's okay to err...it's okay to be open about it...and it's okay to ask for help." How much energy and resources are wasted in organizations because mistakes and failures are covered up? How many opportunities to learn and improve are lost because we're afraid to acknowledge problems? Leaders have to be seen as human, as real people that anyone can follow and aspire to emulate. Leaders also have to be comfortable stepping back and letting others take the driver's seat when they're the experts. That's humility. Here's an experience that speaks to the importance of respect and humility as leadership qualities. At a chemical manufacturing plant a team was tasked with improving the production process for a prototype industrial solvent. The solvent would be used by large manufacturers to purify transport containers. While the new solvent showed tremendous promise in this niche market it produced an unacceptable amount of foam residue. It was also expensive to manufacture. The team members took up the challenge to reform the product in six months - a daunting task. A portion of the team worked with engineering to analyze the production process. Another portion worked with R&D to address the foam residue. A team leader was appointed to oversee the effort. In short time the engineering team had identified a method to produce the product in larger batches cutting the production cost. Later they found a way to eliminate a major step in mixing the components of the solvent. Due to the chemical nature the components had to be processed and treated before they could be combined to produce the solvent. The R&D team was taking longer due to the complexity of their task. However, they were able to reduce foam residue by 8% and theorized a method to cut the residue another 4050%. Seemed everything was going better than expected - almost. The team leader took it upon himself to present the findings to upper management. He insisted that no communications be sent out by team members on the progress and that he would serve as the communication vehicle. Not a bad policy from a project management standpoint but his method had a disastrous effect on the team. Seemed progress reports from the Engineering and R&D teams were being reworded by the team leader and forwarded to management. In the reports the team leader took direct credit for supervising the processes when that was untrue. He also presented findings directly to management. Meanwhile team members had gotten a hold of the modified status reports. They were already angry that the team leader insisted on presenting the findings alone when he was not knowledgeable enough to speak to the specifics. Several commented that the team leader always spoke in terms of "I" rather than "we." A subtle observation but an important one. The team was quickly losing confidence that their hard work and ingenuity was not being realized. Then came the kicker. Due to the significant progress in the product viability there was talk that the team leader would be promoted to Product Manager Things unraveled fast. Team members complained to the team leader and upper management. Progress ground to a halt as the team leader found himself trying to repair his relationship with the team and salvage his credibility with management. Had the team leader made an effort to recognize the team they would have continued to give 110% to the cause. Instead, the inequity stole their motivation. Humble leaders realize that they cannot move mountains by themselves. They need to work as part of a team. They need to allow others to step into the limelight and be recognized. Perhaps the most effective leader is the one that fades into the scenery allowing the team to be recognized and steps into only to offer direction and encouragement.
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Humility
continued
Humility - Leadership Behaviors 1. 2. 3. 4.

Ensures coworkers and team are recognized for accomplishments rather than promoting self. When needed he/she asks for help from coworkers and management. Encourages others to take the lead when they are the most knowledgeable or capable. Will assist with tasks and responsibilities "below" his/her level when coworkers or team needs support.
"Lying" may be too strong a term. Actually honesty - or the lack of it - in organizational terms is more subtle. It's how willing a person is to dabble in the grey area. Did you ever hear someone justify a situation by saying - "I didn't lie - you didn't ask me."
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Qualities of Leadership Honesty and Integrity

Obviously a blatant liar is going to have a hard time motivating and convincing others to respect them. But usually (not always) honesty in the organizational sense is more subtle. It means explaining openly how a mistake occurred and owning it if it's your fault. It means telling someone that you think he/she doesn't have the skill set for the position they're interested in - but could develop them. It means telling your manager that the numbers regarding your productivity have slacked off, and what can be done to improve them. How many times are reports, numbers and opinions massaged and sanitized out of fear upper management will be displeased with reality? Honesty requires sharing information with those around you rather than hoarding it. Honesty is the foundation of one's integrity. With integrity you build trust with those around you. Then personal agendas can be tossed aside for that of the team. If someone is willing to dabble in the grey areas, to "creatively interpret data," to carefully word status reports in vague, half-truths, to make empty promises to staff, he/she jeopardizes their honesty and integrity. Honesty, integrity, and genuine respect promote one of the most crucial elements in a healthy work - equity. Everywhere in our lives we seek equity and fairness. Why does it seem certain laws apply to some but not others? How about taxes? How many times have you seen someone get the job for all the wrong reasons? Why is it when profits plunge, executives get a raise, while the worker bees get laid off? If history has taught us anything, it is part of human nature to resist inequity.
Honesty and Integrity - Leadership Behaviors 1. 2. 3. 4.

Openly admits mistakes and failures so they can be rectified. Does not claim credit for accomplishments that he/she was not directly involved in. Maintains the highest ethical standards when dealing with customers and suppliers or vendors. Will maintain promises or at least offer an explanation why they can't be kept (promises to coworkers, management, customers, etc.)
5. Does not manipulate data or information for personal gain or protection.
Confidence is contagious. It's also rare. Especially in large organizations where things become paralyzed in decision making because there are so many layers and levels of approval - it's refreshing for someone to step out of bounds once in awhile. Read on to learn more.
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Qualities of Leadership Confidence and Courage

A leader is the first to believe in his/her abilities. If they have doubts, those around them are sure to see it in their actions, in their words and in their demeanor. Having confidence and courage doesn't mean an employee or manager has to swing in on a chandelier, sword drawn, and scarf waving in the wind. Sometimes it's in what they don't do. They can say "no" when unreasonable requests are made of them or their team. By trying to appease everyone a leader knows they can lose the confidence of others. They may not conform to "the way we've always done things." In fact, a leader has to be secure enough in his/her convictions to advocate new directions even if the short-term response is rejection or ridicule. Leaders understand that failure represents opportunity - opportunity to learn and to take a step closer to the solution. Rather than roll over and play dead, leaders just try harder. Leaders also have to rely on their courage when there is no one else to turn to. When times get tough everyone can turn to the leader and vent. But who does the leader turn to? He or she turns to that flame inside them, that intrinsic drive to try no matter what. If he/she panics followers will lose faith. In times of true challenge it is the leader's confidence that inspires others Consider also the more overt signs of confidence. This may sound a bit primal but we respond to physical queues the same way animals do. A wolf, in the presence of the pack leader, will hunch its back, bow its head and avoid eye contact. At the most blatant level a servant wolf will lie on its back, fully exposed, as a sign that it is submissive and loyal to the pack leader (If you try that one with your boss, call us, we'd be curious to know the outcome). The point is how you carry yourself conveys a message to those around you. Whether you are confident in stature and voice, if you maintain eye contact, even how you lean into or away from conversation sends important messages regarding your confidence. Leaders have the attitude "That which doesn't kill me...only makes me stronger..." Believe it.
Confidence and Courage - Leadership Behaviors 1. Speaks openly and honestly to co-workers, management, and customers even when the message
is negative.
2. Helps others accomplish tasks rather than micromanage or interfere with their work. 3. Attempts new ventures that will improve the company/department performance even if those
ventures are untried or unproven.
4. Places his/her personal reputation on the line for challenging deliverables because he/she believes
they are attainable.
5. Maintains a calm, professional demeanor under times of stress and "crunch" times. 6. Speaks with a confident in tone. Avoids passive words and phrases such as "try," "maybe," "sort
of." Is comfortable and convincing when speaking to groups.
Unless a person can influence others to follow their vision, they're not a leader. Leaders have that something extra that gets others to buy into their ideas and jump aboard. The next page explains more.
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Qualities of Leadership Influential

Most times a leader's vision for the future means changing the status quo. It means asking others to abandon the comfortableness of their current position and take the leap of faith that the leader's vision will lead to a better state. The ability to persuade coworkers, management, and customers is absolutely paramount to a leader's success. How does a leader influence others? First the leader must anticipate resistance to change. That means appreciating the motivations and anxieties of those around him/her. To methodically defuse those anxieties the leader must first understand why someone is resistant or hesitant about an idea. The leader must provide empirical evidence that his/her recommendation will in fact lead to improvement. Emotional arguments alone will rarely persuade others. To the leader, the answer could be as obvious as a finger in the eye but that means nothing unless others are convinced. When resistance occurs a leader must listen and respond with empathy to the concerns. The leader must wait patiently as the group he/she is trying to influence arrives mentally at the same conclusion the leader is advocating. The leader's motivation should be to improve the good of the company or department. If anyone suspects the leader is out to promote his/her own interests then influence is lost. The leader must be flexible enough in his/her own thinking so as to alter his/her own plan of action so issues of resistance are minimized. While the leader sees change as a means to improvement others may be threatened because change suggests that the way they've always done things has been wrong. A leader's ego allows others to save face (at least publicly). By anticipating resistance, providing empirical justification for the change, listening to concerns and offering supportive alternatives a leader has laid the foundation for influencing others. Critical to a leader's ability to influence is their honesty and integrity. If they don't have a track record of honesty and fair play those around them ill lose trust. Without trust influence is lost.
Influential - Leadership Behaviors 1. Can effectively and convincingly communicate the benefit their idea will have for the company or
organization.
2. Listens effectively to concerns and issues and ensures they are addressed in order to build a true
win-win relationship for all parties. Addresses resistance to change and accepts change openly.
3. Communicates their idea in a way that is genuine and credible. Does not come across as
manipulative or self serving.
4. Provides empirical support (data, concrete evidence) for his/her position or idea. 5. Successfully builds and maintains relationships with individuals outside his/her sphere of
responsibility.
Employees will gravitate towards those who provide clarity and direction. That requires someone to make a decision. Unless that's done the group stagnates - and looks for a leader.
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Qualities of Leadership Decisive

Individuals are more apt to follow a leader's aspirations if the leader appears decisive. "Decisive" doesn't necessarily mean the leader makes quick decisions. It means the leader can structure dialogue with others so as to logically arrive at a consensus. Other times, when a decision can only be made by the leader, he/she is able to convey a rational basis for it. In other cases a leader may not be able to make a particular decision - i.e., an employee suggests an improvement for his department by changing a work process that affects several other departments. In that case, an "employee leader" would help the manager convince appropriate decision makers and do his/her best to persuade that person that the change is worthwhile. The important point is leaders don't delay or avoid decisions. When a leader makes a decision it will be consistent and logically supportive of business priorities and core values. For instance, if your company determines customers are dissatisfied with service, management shouldn't balk at spending more to hire, train and retain good service reps. By communication and focusing on specific business priorities and core values (see below) no decision comes out of left field. Sounds obvious, but how often are lofty strategic objectives lost in the trenches. It's not uncommon for work to stagnate or grind to a halt because no one is willing to make an important decision. Other times it will appear the leader has facilitated a decision when in fact all he/she has done is allowed a compromise. For instance, suppose team members are arguing over how the yearly budget should be allotted. One group wants to purchase new software another wants to spend it on training. After listening to the parties argue the leader decides a 50-50 split is the easiest solution. Maybe it was the easiest but was it the best? A leader would take the time to understand the business justification for both options. That way the entire group can come to consensus on the best course of action.
Decisive - Leadership Behaviors 1. Takes time to fully understand all options before making or promoting a decision. 2. Makes decisions in a timely manner. 3. Makes decisions that are logically consistent with the business priorities and core values of the
company or department.
4. Makes difficult decisions when no one will and communicates a rationale for the decision. 5. Escalates issues when a particular decision is out of his/her jurisdiction.
Have you ever listened to someone present and idea when they're loaded with enthusiasm and passion - but you're not exactly sure what they said? They know exactly what they mean but somehow it gets lost in the presentation.
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Qualities of Leadership Effective Communicator

...Due to the competitive nature of the marketplace and our industry, we must adapt our strategic initiatives and realign our core operations to enhance our productivity and financial position. This may require, where necessary, adjustments in our staffing and resource allocation. We will publish additional communications as those determinations are made." This excerpt was taken from an actual company wide announcement. Though effective at raising anxiety while telling employees little, it is hardly the type of communication people associate with effective leadership. Leaders will take the time to explain the direction of the organization. They will avoid the sterile, cryptic, impersonal announcements that earn the label "corporate announcement." Their language is honest, concise, and in a manner that all can relate to. Considering "influential" is a key attribute of leadership - communication skills are critical. In addition, leaders must be able to stand confidently in front of a crowd and voice their opinion in a logical, convincing manner. That skill is difficult for most people - but in terms of leadership it is absolutely critical. How can someone lead if he/she cannot convince others to follow? Have you ever watched someone give a presentation who is stammering and obviously nervous and weak kneed. It's difficult to concentrate on their message because their physical appearance is a distraction. Finally, for a person to be an effective leader they must be an effective listener. Just consider the other leadership qualities discussed. If you're not willing to truly listen to someone can you demonstrate genuine respect? If you're not willing to listen to the concerns of others you won't dismantle their resistance to new ideas and your influence is lost. Can you really make effective decisions (decisive) if you don't listen carefully to the opinions of others?
Effective Communicator - Leadership Behaviors 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Verbalizes ideas and opinions in a very clear, concise and convincing manner. Able to present ideas and opinions to audiences in a very comfortable, confident manner. Practices effective listening skills. Produces documents that are of the highest quality - professional, clear and accurate. Utilizes all available company communication channels in an effective manner. (email, presentations, meetings, bulletins, voice mail etc.)
This is an aspect of leadership that few people ever take the time to think about in business - yet it's quite common outside work. Many people have values that guide their life, their decisions - everything. What's important to you at work? The next section describes core values in behavioral terms.
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Qualities of Leadership Core Values

At a managed healthcare company the Vice President posted a set of core values that she believed should govern the way we do business. Two of those core values were: "Our customers' needs will dictate every action we take" and "Promote equity in the work environment by recognizing the vital contributions of all staff." At the same time there was a long standing policy in existence that allowed clinicians three weeks of vacation while non-clinicians (i.e. customer service representatives) got two weeks. The VP successfully convinced corporate to change the policy. Why? It violated two of our core values. It wasn't equitable since it allowed some staff preferential treatment and at the same time it minimized the importance of customer service. That VP exemplified true leadership. Her actions and decisions were predictable because they were shaped by strong values and beliefs that she held important. Beliefs that shaped her thinking, her decisions, her dialogue and the priorities she set for her operations. If a leader is successful in communicating and modeling core values others will learn to adjust their thinking and recommendations to support those same values. Once followers recognize a leader's commitment to core values they'll shape their own actions and behavior to comply with the same values. These core values are softer and less tangible than management skills. For instance, in some of the courses in this program we offer brief 4-8 steps or mini-frameworks for easy use. Those mini-frameworks become tools for employees and managers in certain situations. Similarly, Core Values are principles by which a leader chooses to shape his or her actions. For instance, suppose a manager decides that to be truly productive he/she must maintain a healthy balance between work and family life. He/she is likely to make the same assumptions for staff. That value will manifest itself in time off policies that encourage and support family commitments. Excessive overtime and burdensome hours are likely to be curtailed since they could interfere with personal commitments. The key point is this - core values of leaders are obvious in both their words and actions. Leaders communicate and reinforce those values consistently. The result is a culture shaped by the values of that leader. For employees it is especially important that you align yourself with the core values in your company so your actions and words support the company's objectives.
Core Values - Leadership Behaviors 1. Communicates a consistent set of core values regarding business quality, customer service,
employee well being, and work ethic. Employees understand their role in supporting these core values.
2. 3. 4. 5.
Models the core values that management communicates to staff. Reinforces core values by recognizing co-workers who exemplify those values. Makes decisions consistent with the company's core values. Supports policies and procedures that reinforce core values.
You might be wondering - does my department or company have core values? If so, take a step as a leader and ask! A leader is never satisfied. They're driven by an internal desire to constantly improve the business, employees relationships with customers, etc. Without that desire a group stagnates. Work becomes ho hum and "good enough" is standard practice. Go to the next page for more details.
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Qualities of Leadership Continuous Improvement

Some companies market their Total Quality Management campaign to customers as leading edge, but ask employees and they'll either agree politely or if cynicism gets the best of them, laugh openly. More often than not the company seems to fight fire after fire and is lucky just to maintain the status quo. A leader won't settle for just getting by. They constantly challenge every department and every person to find ways to improve products and service. They look for ways to make improvements, even small ones, as long they're constantly on the look out for them. They ask their manager for aggressive, but realistic targets to better their performance. If leaders stagnate, their business will. Just as a leader constantly pushes him/herself to improve his/her skills, knowledge, and performance a leader expects the same of others. If someone is truly a leader they will never settle for good enough. For employees this means constantly asking yourself: "Is there a way to improve my performance or the performance of my team?"
Driven by Constant Improvement - Leadership Behaviors 1. Constantly raises expectations for product and service quality rather than settling for mediocrity or
"acceptable" performance.
2. Praise co-workers for suggestions and ideas that improve quality. 3. Abides by policies and procedures that exist for monitoring, measuring, and improving quality. 4. Demonstrates constant improvement by way of data and results.
Without a balance in your life you can't be an effective leader at work. The two are inseparable. If you neglect your personal needs - family, physical health, mental health, and spiritual - you'll lose your edge as a leader
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Qualities of Leadership Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health

We firmly believe that someone must have a certain degree of physical fitness to be effective as a leader. Now, you don't have to run marathons, bench press three hundred pounds and a have a cholesterol level of 10, but then you shouldn't get winded walking to the water cooler either. Constant physical ailments wear on an individual's ability to concentrate and focus. When fatigue sets in, decisions are jeopardized. Periodic absences will stall and stagnate important initiatives and undermine the confidence of staff. Being physically fit also suggests a discipline characteristic of leaders. They devote time to all aspects of their well rounded life. They expect their followers to expend energy to constantly improve - how can they expect anything less of themselves? Finally, a person who is physically fit is more confident and that confidence is perceived by others. As for mental health, with the responsibility of leadership comes the stress of leadership. Those who can effectively deal with stress actually use it as a fuel to drive their accomplishments. Overwhelmed by stress, an employee or manager will make hasty decisions, cut corners, and otherwise send signals to others that he/she cannot handle the pressure. You must take deliberate actions to reduce stress and use it constructively. That begins with recognizing the physical symptoms of stress. Spiritual health? This may strike a nerve with some because it can be misinterpreted as religious commitment. Here's why we think it's important. Belief in a higher power (whatever your devotion) propels an individual towards the ideal self. Spiritual beliefs provide a doctrine that forces us to examine our own actions and motivations against a core of morality. That pursuit of the ideal self in spirituality spills over into the leader's work life. They pursue the ideal organization. Just as they have a core set of values that drives their spirituality they have core values that drive their efforts at work. Recognizing that you are not perfect and that you must constantly work to better all facets of your life is a key characteristic of leadership. This discipline pervades every aspect of a leader's life, family/personal, community, and work.
Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health - Leadership Behaviors 1. 2. 3. 4.

Devotes time and attention to proper exercise and diet to maintain good physical health. Manages stress effectively so it does not interfere with the quality of his/her work. Maintains a productive, healthy balance between family, personal, and work obligations. Constantly critiques his/her own behavior, attitudes and decisions against a framework of ethical and moral standards.
How about a few exercises to help apply these concepts? The next section provides an exercise where you identify someone you think exemplifies the characteristics of leadership. You'll also have a chance to assess your own leadership skills.
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Learning Exercises
.
We have provided three learning activities to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These exercises are found on the following pages. Please print out each of these exercises so you can complete them. Below is a short description of each exercise.
Exercise 1: Who is a leader?

You notice leadership in certain people. Did you ever stop to think about what makes them different - and how you can develop those skills? Try this exercise to help you identify leadership behavior.
Exercise 2: Leadership Self-assessment

Now it is time to assess your own leadership qualities? Try this self assessment.
Personal Action Plan

Now it is time to develop your own personal action plan for how you will master the skills and approaches suggested in this course. This action planning tool will help you accomplish this.
Leadership comes from within. You get to choose what kind of leader you want to be. That choice is your first important leadership decision so make it count.
Please go to the next page to view and print Exercise 1. (this exercise consists of 2 pages)
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Qualities of Leadership Exercise 1: Who is a Leader? (2 pages)

The best way to apply these principles is to understand them in behavioral terms. Take some time to complete the exercise below:
Exercise: Who is a leader?

Think about your own work experiences. Does someone stand out as having a significant impact on your motivation and performance? Did anyone energize you to feel especially committed to a cause or project? Recognizing the qualities of leadership in someone else is one of the best ways of improving your own. We've provided words and theory based on academics and real life experiences. Only you can apply them as real behaviors. Write down, in specific behavioral terms, what that person did that distinguished them as a leader. For instance, rather than "He treated me with respect" - probe deeper: "He took the time to listen my ideas and provide feedback." "He always said thank you when I made an extra effort." To take the exercise a step further contrast this person with someone who you feel was especially ineffective as a leader. By contrasting the two you will begin to really highlight the qualities of leadership that you appreciate. More importantly, can you recall your emotions as you worked with these two individuals? How did they make you feel about your job?
For Example: Positive Leadership behaviors

Always challenged our team to find new ways to improve our work Spoke courteously to all employees Spoke passionately about new directions and possibilities for the company
vs
Negative Leadership behaviors

Accepted work as usual Was abrupt and impatient when speaking with employees Showed little energy or enthusiasm for new ideas and challenges
Complete this exercise in the space provided on the following page.
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For Example: Positive Leadership behaviors vs Negative Leadership behaviors
What did you learn as a result of completing this exercise?
Please go to the next page to view and print Exercise 2. (Consists of 6 pages)
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Qualities of Leadership Exercise: Leadership Self-Assessment (6 pages)

This assessment tool is designed to help you to evaluate your personal leadership skills. Complete the selfassessment to identify areas where you can develop your leadership ability. It will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Instructions x Complete all the questions on the self-assessment x Follow the instructions provided at the end of the assessment for scoring each section of the assessment
Rate your general style for each item - not how you interact with certain people or situations. There are no right or wrong answers so err on the side of being self-critical since that is the only way you can improve. Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 6 as follows: 1
Strongly Agree
2
Agree
3
Agree Somewhat
4
Disagree Somewhat
5
Disagree
6
Strongly Disagree
Place a check mark indicating your response to each statement provided in the appropriate column to the right underneath the rating number that corresponds with the above scale. Please do not complete the scoring at the end of each section until you have responded to all the statements. You do not want to lose your train of thought. We will provide instructions on scoring at the end of the self-assessment. Genuine Respect for others
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 I make time to listen to others' ideas and concerns. I hold in confidence personal information that others share with me. I personally thank fellow employees for their efforts or see that they are recognized by management. I keep promises that I make to others. I appreciate individual differences (gender, age, race, etc.) and do not judge others by them. I understand when coworkers have personal problems and provide support so they can address them I speak to all employees in a professional and respectful manner. I treat all employees the same regardless of title, position, or my relationship with them. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score 6 5 4 3 2 1
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1
Strongly Agree
2
Agree
3
Agree Somewhat
4
Disagree Somewhat
5
Disagree
6
Strongly Disagree
Humbleness
9 10 11 12 13 I admit when I make mistakes and own them before others. I ask for the opinions of others and their help when needed. I would not be threatened by someone because they had an important skill that I lacked. I look to coworkers when they are more knowledgeable regarding a task or topic. When assessing a problem situation I will first determine how I've contributed to it. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
Honesty and Integrity

14 15 16 17 18 I tell the truth at work even when it's not popular or easy to accept. I avoid distorting facts and data for personal gain. I bring bad news to the immediate attention of management. I tell people the reality of a situation rather than what they want to hear. I comply with all business ethics pertaining to my job. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
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1
Strongly Agree
2
Agree
3
Agree Somewhat
4
Disagree Somewhat
5
Disagree
6
Strongly Disagree
Confident/Courageous
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 I state my opinion even if it's not the popular one. I push myself to pursue new ways of doing business even if untested. I "stick my neck out" in front of coworkers and management if I believe I have the answer. I have confidence in my abilities and knowledge. I welcome and encourage negative feedback regarding my performance. I remain calm in crisis situations. I take the time to fix problems the right way even if it means the problem will temporarily get worse. I hold myself accountable for my actions and performance. I speak in a forceful and confident tone. I do not avoid making eye contact when speaking to or meeting with anyone. Rather than shy away from conversation in meetings I actively engage in it. I am physically comfortable speaking in front of a group. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
Influential
31 32 33 34 35 When presenting an idea or plan I make sure it is well thought out and based on facts and data. When making a suggestion I consider the impact it will have on others before presenting it to them. I take the time to listen to, and understand others' anxieties and concerns regarding my ideas. I present my ideas diplomatically so others are not threatened or offended. I am usually successful at persuading others to implement my ideas and suggestions. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
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1
Strongly Agree
2
Agree
3
Agree Somewhat
4
Disagree Somewhat
5
Disagree
6
Strongly Disagree
Decisive
36 37 38 39 40 I will help lead my team to consensus when there is obvious differences in opinion. When I am in meetings I press for clear decisions so follow up tasks can be appointed. I support the decisions of management or question them if I disagree with a course of action. I do not procrastinate when making difficult decisions. I abide by our department's priorities to govern my work. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
Effective Communicator
41 42 43 44 45 46 I am frank and open with others, not just when pressed for an opinion. I make myself available to coworkers who have questions. Rather than assume I understand tasks and priorities, I confirm that I understand them by asking questions. When I speak with others I am usually enthusiastic and positive. I make a conscious effort to listen to, and understand others before forming an opinion about their ideas. I understand the priorities of my department and set personal goals to support them. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
Core values
47 48 49 I can recite the values and principles that management considers important to our success. I approach all challenges and obstacles with a logical problem solving approach. I constantly check my personal priorities and goals with those of my department to ensure they are in sync. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
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1
Strongly Agree
2
Agree
3
Agree Somewhat
4
Disagree Somewhat
5
Disagree
6
Strongly Disagree
Driven by Constant Improvement

50 51 52 53 54 I constantly challenge myself to find ways to improve our business. I constantly compare my performance with others to push myself. I set challenging, personal improvement goals for myself. I make use of customer feedback or look for problems to improve the business. I constantly offer suggestions/ideas on how we can improve our business. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health

55 56 57 58 I spend time exercising to improve my health. I engage in activities designed to reduce stress. I miss little time from work due to physical illness or stress. I maintain an effective balance between work and my personal life. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
Please turn to the next page to get instructions on scoring this self-assessment.
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Here are instructions on how to score this self-assessment. Sample

I will help lead my team to consensus when there is obvious differences in opinion. I constantly challenge myself to find ways to improve our business I make myself available to coworkers who have questions. I keep promises that I make to others. I speak to all employees in a professional and respectful manner. 1. Add up the check marks in each column and place the total for each column in the spaces provided to the right 2. Multiply the total for each column by the factor provided here and place the total scores for each column in the space provided to the right 3. Add the totals for each column together and place the sum total in the box to the right. Scoring: Column Sub-Totals Factor Total value for each column Total Score
1
6
1
5
1
4
2
3 2 1
6 21
4. Complete this for each quality of leadership and place the sum totals for each quality in the space provided below Totals form above
Quality of Leadership Genuine Respect for others Humbleness Honesty and Integrity Confident/Courageous Influential Decisive Effective Communicator Core values Driven by Constant Improvement Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health
5. Add the totals for Each quality together and place the sums total here 6. Compare your total score to the scale below
Below 75 76 to 158 159 to 241 242 to 348
You need major improvements in all aspects of your Leadership skills Ability to exercise basic Leadership skills is evident but significant improvement is needed Average Leadership skills are evident - effective as a manager but need focused improvement Excellent Leadership skills - consider mentoring coworkers or seek promotion to management
Please go to the next page to view and print Your Personal Action Plan. (One page)
Copyright 2008 The Training Bank page 24
Skill or Competency:

Based on what you learned as a result of completing this course, identify what you will start, stop and continue doing immediately, in order to master the skills and approaches discussed in the course.
THINGS I WILL START DOING
THINGS I WILL STOP DOING
THINGS I WILL KEEP DOING
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Notes:
Leadership comes from within. You get to choose what kind of leader you want to be. That choice is your first important leadership decision so make it count.
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Adaptive Leadership A
Adaptive Leadership
You're faced with the same constant challenge. How can you get more done? You want to develop a business plan, conduct some market analysis, work on the budget, design an advertising campaign - but forget it. You're buried with day-to-day problems. Employees need help. They make mistakes and you've got to correct them (or so you assume). Why can't they show some initiative? How come they don't seem motivated to do a good job? You've told them over and over Doesn't it sink in? Guess what? Part of the problem may be your management style People expect varying degrees of support and direction depending on the responsibility they're faced with, their degree of experience, and their level of determination. And, they assume you'll just automatically alter your style to fit their needs. They won't tell you, they'll just expect you to adjust your management thermostat and act accordingly. That takes a lot of effort - or at least awareness. On the other hand, if you address each employee, in every situation with the same personal style, you could be "overmanaging" or "under-managing." The best approach would be to recognize the individual needs of your staff and be flexible in the amount of coaching and direction you provide. You should evaluate each situation as a unique set of circumstances. You should also analyze each task versus your employee's strengths and shortcomings to determine an appropriate level of support. Simply put, you need to exercise Adaptive Leadership.
GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9 9
introduces the concept of using different leadership styles describes how managers and supervisors can assess an employee's level of supervisory need based on their proficiency and determination explains how managers can apply Adaptive Leadership to help employees become more productive provides a series of mini-case studies that will quiz your understanding of Adaptive Leadership provides worksheets for managers and supervisors to assess the Personal Autonomy of their staff and for delegating work to the most appropriate employees
Why is this important? If you can effectively apply the concept of Adaptive Leadership with your staff you will be able to develop high quality employees who can run the daily business while you focus on critical items like expanding market share, increasing revenue, diversifying your business - your family! Every manager has a predominant style of interacting with employees. Some managers are more directive while others tend to be more participative. That is they regularly seek the opinions of their employees and they empower them to make decisions. The trick is knowing when to alter your style.
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Adaptive Leadership What's Your Style?

Some managers are very participative. That is, they involve employees in problem solving, decision making, and seek their input and suggestions on improving the business. These managers give employees the authority to make decisions and to take action. Some people refer to this type of management as "hands off." Other managers believe they need to do the thinking they solve problems, they make decisions. Employees do what they're told to do. Important research done by Douglas MacGregor in the 1950's differentiated among what he called Theory X versus Theory Y managers. An understanding of this simple theory can assist managers in significantly increasing employee productivity. It's an important concept when exercising Adaptive Leadership. So let's take a moment to review this important theory. In the 1950's, MacGregor proposed what was for the time, a landmark management concept identified as Theory X and Theory Y. He maintained that each manager's personal style of interaction fell somewhere along a continuum between Theory X and Theory Y. In the strictest of terms, Theory Y managers feel that employees are inherently motivated to do a good job and that they gain a sense of self satisfaction from their accomplishments. A Theory Y manager believes that employees are fully capable of problem solving and making suggestions and need little direct supervision from management. They can be trusted to do a good job because they want to do a good job. The role of a manager is to create an environment were the natural tendencies to work and produce would thrive. Theory X managers are just the opposite. They believe employees are lazy and will avoid work whenever possible. They need constant oversight and policing. "Thinking" is the responsibility of management as if it were handed down by divine intervention. Employees are expected "to do" obediently. At the extreme, a Theory X manager would assume that if he or she left the building their employees would either be fast asleep at their desks, eating bananas, picking bugs from their hair, or surfing the Internet for lewd websites. Of course, few managers fit this extreme. However, a considerable number probably exhibit this behavior in more subtle ways. Given their personal experiences and attitudes, each manager does fall somewhere within this wide continuum of theories. Their general orientation to Theory X or Y then shapes their management personality. While the Theory Y style of management is more "participative" and widely believed to be more effective, one overriding style would be detrimental. A Theory Y manager would be less effective with an employee who needs a lot of support and coaching to learn a new task. They would also have a tendency to be less effective with an employee who has performance problems. Again, the key is to adapt your style based upon the particular employee and their needs. If you have a new employee learning a job, he or she probably can't (or is reluctant to) make decisions and solve problems. He or she is just interested in keeping his or her head above water. A participative style of management wouldn't work well in this case. On the other hand, if you've got a seasoned employee who knows the job inside and out, he/she doesn't want (or need) you to dictate their every move and thought. Knowing your style is only half the equation. You need to know the particular needs of each employee and the best way to interact with employees. But the needs of each employee will change depending on many factors - longevity in the job, desire to do the job, confidence for success, etc. That means you need to be very flexible with your style of management. You need to determine the right style of management to use. But before you can do that you need to assess your employee's level of personal autonomy. The next section describes the concept of Personal Autonomy. The level of Personal Autonomy an employee has towards a job or new task is based on their Determination (motivation) and their Proficiency (ability, experience). By determining an employee's level of Personal Autonomy managers can then adjust their management accordingly. But how do you gauge an employee's level of Personal Autonomy?
Adaptive Leadership What is Personal Autonomy?

The basis of Adaptive Leadership is this: Assess the needs of the follower and then adapt your leadership style to match those needs. When we talk about the needs of the follower we are referring to the persons level of PERSONAL AUTONOMY in relation to a task he/she is completing. So what does personal autonomy mean? Consider the following scenarios: Scenario One: You ask Sam, one of your employees, to meet with a customer who is very upset. You explain the problem and ask Sam to take care of it. Sam needs no further supervision from you on this task. He doesnt ask what to dohe knows. He doesnt act nervous or unsure of himself, and he accepts the responsibility willingly. Sam is exhibiting a high degree of PERSONAL AUTONOMY regarding this task.
Scenario Two:
You ask George, one of your employees, to meet with a customer who is very upset. You explain the problem and ask George to take care of it. George asks you how he should handle this situation. What can we offer the customer? What if the customer is still upset? George is visibly nervous about talking with this customer. He seems unsure of how to handle the customer and even reluctant to try. George is exhibiting a low degree of PERSONAL AUTONOMY regarding this task.
Understanding Personal Autonomy is essential if you are to become an adaptive leader. To determine someones level of Personal Autonomy you need to consider their proficiency with a given task and their level of determination to perform the task. PROFICIENCY Proficiency relates to the level of ability the individual has in relation to the completion of a task. You determine ability by considering the following: x x x x x x DETERMINATION What level of experience does the individual have in doing this task? Has he or she done it before? How many times? How well did he or she perform the task? Has he or she done similar tasks that required skills that are transferable to the task at hand? Does he or she have all of the knowledge required to complete the task? Does he or she have all of the skills required?
Determination relates to the individuals level of self-confidence and motivation to complete the task. To assess determination level consider the following: x x What is the level of confidence he or she is exhibiting towards the completion of this task? What amount of willingness or eagerness are they demonstrating?
PERSONAL AUTONOMY = PROFICIENCY + DETERMINATION
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Adaptive Leadership What is Personal Autonomy?

continued
While Personal Autonomy varies according to the task at hand, each individual has an inherent level of autonomy or innate self direction. Have you noticed that some people just show more initiative? Make an effort to assess your employees. Go through the mental exercise of ranking them. Those that have more personal autonomy are the ones that can quickly step in and help you with your workload. These are the ones you can delegate work to so you can concentrate on other priorities. When you're learning a new task doesn't it stand to reason that you have low proficiency? Maybe it's a task you've chosen so your determination is high. For instance, suppose you've decided to take up golf and you'd really like to learn the game. Though you're not very good, it's still fun. But what if you didn't get much better? What if you're still losing balls left and right and you're score hasn't improved? Your motivation for the game starts to wane. Employees are the same. You need to recognize the level of someone's proficiency and determination to perform their job and provide them with the right type of management support. If you arent sure of the persons level of Personal Autonomy, ask him or her questions. If you are still not sure, start with a lower assessment and watch their reaction and performance. Adjust your decision if necessary.
By determining an employee's level of Personal Autonomy managers can then adjust their management accordingly. But how do you gauge an employee's level of Personal Autonomy?
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Adaptive Leadership Determining an Employee's Level of Personal Autonomy
There are four levels of Personal Autonomy. They are:
PA1 - Low Proficiency and Low Determination

Quite often this is a new employee. While a new employee may have experience on their resume, they do not have specific experience when performing the task for you. While they are also motivated to do a good job as a new employee, when it comes to a specific task it is best to assume a low level of determination for the first time they complete a task. It is also possible that the situation could involve a seasoned employee faced with a new task they just don't want to do. This person needs some direct coaching so they can learn the new task. Since their determination is also questionable consider the job requirements and characteristics.
PA2 - Low Proficiency and High Determination

If you have one of these types and take the time to apply the techniques of effective coaching, one day you'll be able to delegate work to them without hesitation. These individuals can make the transition to PA4 given the proper management fertilizer (the good kind). They are eager to learn. Consider them the "golden retrievers" of your staff. Of course, these individuals can also become demoralized easily if they are unable to develop their ability, since meeting personal expectations is typically important to them. These are also the ones who tend to run a bit further than your supervisory leash will allow. Be patient. Allow mistakes as long as they learn from them.
PA3 - High Proficiency and Low Determination

Staff affected by burnout or that hit a plateau are commonly PA3 types. They have the ability - that's not the issue. A PA3 may find their job boring and rote. Often times, these individuals are stagnated by "office politics" or ceilings on their growth. Sometimes there are no formal opportunities for PA3's to "move up." As their manager, you need to find creative ways to challenge and reward these people. If your business is stagnant or you can't offer your high performers growth opportunities they're likely to lose their determination. Don't be surprised when they give their two week notice.
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Adaptive Leadership Determining an Employee's Level of Personal Autonomy

continued PA4 - High Proficiency and High Determination
Imagine all the free time you'd have if you had a staff full of these? Once someone reaches this level you're faced with the most difficult part of your job - keeping him or her challenged and motivated. You could give them an entirely new assignment outside their expertise if they're interested. That might temporarily knock them down to the PA2 level but they'll relish the opportunity to prove themselves. These are the people that can expand your business and take it to new levels. Let's face it, people who reach this level are usually recruited by a competitor if you don't take care of them. Most individuals will have one predominant level of self-directedness. However, given different assignments, they will fluctuate to some degree. Ultimately, you want to develop all your staff with the target of becoming PA4 performers. Not all will reach that level - that's ok. Ask them during career what their aspirations are. By using this simple decision tree to the right you can determine an employees Personal Autonomy level. Simply ask yourself, "Does this person have the proficiency for this task?" Based on your answer, follow the appropriate response and ask yourself, "Does this person have the determination for this task?" If for example an employee has no or low proficiency and has never performed the task before, your answer to the questions would be No and the employee's Personal Autonomy relative to that particular task would be PA1. Remember every job is comprised of a series of tasks. While someone might be proficient in some of the tasks the question is, are they proficient in all the tasks associated with the completion of a job. For this reason it is important to remember to determine personal autonomy levels based on each task required to complete a job. To help you assess someone's Personal Autonomy Level we have provided a simple Personal Autonomy worksheet for assessing the levels of proficiency and determination in your employees. This worksheet is provided in the Exercises section on the last page of this course. So employees can have different levels of Proficiency and Determination for their job or a new task but what does that mean for the manager? How can a manager adjust his/her style based on an employee's level of Personal Autonomy? What specific things should a manager do to keep an employee as productive as possible? Now's the time to determine the appropriate leadership style. So far you've learned Adaptive Leadership entails gauging the level of determination (drive, enthusiasm & motivation) and proficiency (ability, knowledge & experience) an employee has for a job or task. Now learn the appropriate management style for those different levels (PA1, PA2, PA3 or PA4)
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Adaptive Leadership Your Management Style for Different Levels of Personal Autonomy
Adaptive Leaders modify their management style to based on an employee's PA level surrounding a specific task. There is a generic five step approach for dealing with all four PA levels. However, each of those steps may differ slightly depending on the PA level. Let's review the generic model first.
1. Determine the level of "Personal Autonomy" for the individual 2. Suggest development goals for the individual and how you'll
support them
3. Share your plan with the individual 4. Provide the support you promised 5. Monitor progress, adjust management style
There are four unique Adaptive Leadership Styles which you can use based on the PA level of your employee. Let's review these.
PA 1 - Adaptive Leadership Style - AL1 Modeling

HIGH DIRECTION, LOW SUPPORT
The Modeling Style of leadership is effective in situations when the employee or team member is at a PA1 level of Personal Autonomy regarding a task. The PA1 employee has little confidence in their ability to do the task and is probably very anxious. At this point they will welcome specific direction. x Review all aspects of the task: how to do it, what the time requirements and other standards are, resources which he or she can use, etc. Arrange for training and/or a person with more experience to work with the individual. Establish goals or time-frames for competing the reasonable chunks of the task. Follow-up after each step and give feedback. Monitor his/her progress by scheduling specific meeting times (daily if necessary) and provide encouragement. Look for evidence that they're progressing to the next level (PA2). Is their productivity improving? Are they becoming more self reliant? This evidence would suggest a change in your style of leadership to a slightly less directive one.
x x
x x
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continued PA2 - Adaptive Leadership Style - AL2 Coaching
HIGH DIRECTION, HIGH SUPPORT
The Coaching Style of leadership is effective in situations when the employee or team member is at a PA2 level of Personal Autonomy regarding a task. At this level the employee has some but not all of the expertise to complete the task, and he or she is exhibiting a good level of determination (self-confidence is growing, and motivation is positive.) x x Focus your direction in the areas where they still need help. Acknowledge their positive level of motivation and confidence.
PA3 - Adaptive Leadership Style - AL3 - Supporting

LOW DIRECTION, HIGH SUPPORT
The Supporting Style of leadership matches with the PA3 level of Personal Autonomy. Direction is not needed since the employee has the required knowledge, skills and experience to complete the task. Support is needed, however, since the employee is not fully self-confident or fully motivated to complete the task. x Avoid directive, task specific behavior as this will only frustrate the employee. There is nothing worse than having someone explain how to do something which you already know. In fact, this can further decrease the individuals level of determination. Give positive feedback to bolster their self-confidence. Open the lines of communication.
x x
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continued PA4 - Adaptive Leadership Style - AL4 - Delegating
LOW DIRECTION, LOW SUPPORT
When an individual has high levels of both proficiency and determination regarding the completion of a task, he or she can truly be delegated that task. The ability for task completion is there, as evidenced by past performance of the task, therefore little direction is needed. Self-confidence and motivation are high, therefore little support is required. Give this person the autonomy to complete the task on their own. This is the highest compliment you can pay them. x Be sure you're assessment of them as a PA4 is accurate. Managers often overrate individuals with whom they have a close relationship. If you treat the wrong employee as a PA4 it will appear as favoritism to the staff. Share your assessment and explain that you are committed to their motivational needs. Ask the employee what will keep their job interesting and challenging. If you can't offer a challenge to this employee look proactively outside your department or area for an opportunity. Yes - that means losing them, but at least not to a competitor. Because these employees are completely self-directed, it's easy to forget they still need reinforcements feedback, recognition and appreciation.
x x
Note: There is no effective leadership style that has no direction and/or no support. This is a case of nonleadership or abdication.
Adaptive Leadership is a critical set of management skills since they apply to every individual in your organization. The logic is obvious and it's well supported by research and experience. These techniques are a "must" for anyone in a supervisory or management position - or a parent nurturing the growth of their own child.
Now that you know how to gauge an employee's level of Personal Autonomy and you know how to adjust your style of management to best fit that level of Personal Autonomy why not try a few Topic Challenges?
Adaptive Leadership Topic Challenges

The following scenario represents an employee at a particular stage of development according to the Adaptive Leadership model. See if you can determine the appropriate stage for this employee and how to handle the situation.
Scenario 1
Martha worked as a software developer at a large manufacturing plant for several years. She loves her job. She liked the creativity and problem solving involved. She could meet with users and managers around the company to find out what they needed then go back to her cube and create a computer solution for them. Every project was different, every project presented new challenges. Martha knew the software well and had gained a reputation in the company as the "go-to" person for development. About a year ago the company found itself behind schedule in addressing its Y2K problem - the computer glitch expected to effect computers around the world on 01/01/2000. The VP of the technical division reassigned Martha to the Y2K Team. She wouldn't be working on her software, she'd be working on mainframe applications where they needed the most help. Martha had never worked on mainframe applications before and asked if management would reconsider the reassignment. It couldn't. The Y2K problem was too critical. It was either send Martha to the Y2K Team or management would have to eliminate her position and hire a contractor to work on Y2K. What stage do you think Martha will be at in her new position (PA1, PA2, PA3 or PA4)? What adaptive leadership style would you use with Martha? On a blank piece of paper describe the approach you would use to work with her. On the next page you will find the correct answer and an explanation.
Scenario 2
Ken just started working at Here's to Your Health, a small chain of exercise equipment stores. Ken will be the Product Manager. He'll serve as liaison to all product vendors for Here's to Your Health. His job is to monitor the vendor's performance and to negotiate the best prices for the company. He's also been tasked with integrating the invoicing system at Here's to Your Health with the receivables systems at key vendors. At his last job he had a similar position working with vendors, but there that company sold stereo equipment. The real challenge will be the integration of the invoicing and receivables systems. Ken knows of companies who have achieved that integration but he hasn't managed the process himself. When interviewing it was one of the opportunities that Ken found very appealing. He was impressed that Here's to Your Health had done such a thoughtful analysis before electing to integrate the computer systems. Ken is very computer savvy and thinks the project will be very challenging. What stage do you think Ken is at (PA1, PA2, PA3 or PA4)? What adaptive leadership style would you use with Ken? On a blank piece of paper describe the approach you would use to work with her. On the next page you will find the correct answer and an explanation.
Scenario 3
Tito has worked at Chambers, a regional bakery, for about 17 years. Chambers makes bread, cookies and pastry products for retail sale at supermarkets. Tito is responsible for a sales route covering an entire state, one of the largest territories in the company. He's done well as a sales manager. Six years ago he was recognized as salesperson of the year after generating the highest revenue in the company. Over the past two years several of Chambers' largest customers (supermarket chains) had been bought out after fierce competition. Chambers' market share in the region began to drop as the new supermarkets stocked national brand bakery items, cutting into Chambers' shelf space. The company had to react. It renegotiated its contracts with the new customers and built a good rapport. However, to cut costs, operations had to be centralized. The territories in the company were consolidated. Tito, was able to keep his job but he now reported to another sales manager rather than the VP of sales. The VP of sales noticed that over the past year the revenue out of Tito's territory had dropped noticeably. The numbers were "okay" but is wasn't the work Tito had produced in the past. What stage do you think Tito is at (PA1, PA2, PA3 or PA4)? What adaptive leadership style would you use with Ken? On a blank piece of paper describe the approach you would use to work with her. On the next page you will find the correct answer and an explanation. Answers are provided on the next page. Then go on to complete several learning exercises.
Adaptive Leadership Topic Challenges Answers

Topic Challenge #1 Answer: PA1 (Low Determination / Low Proficiency)
Poor Martha just got put through the wringer. She lost a job where she was fully competent and successful. Her determination was high since she enjoyed the work that she was doing. It was creative and challenging. Now she's moving to a position where the work is very structured (testing software) and she's working on a software that she's unfamiliar with. She's lost her determination and her proficiency for this new task is low. Clearly she's been knocked down to a PA1. Here you need to use a "modeling" style of management with Martha. Show her exactly what's needed. Be sure she receives ample training on the new software and the testing process. Give her regular feedback to improve her skills. This will raise her ability. Also - let her know that you understand it will take her a little while to get familiar with her new job. This will relieve some of her anxiety. Her determination will be more of a challenge. Since she enjoys creative work and testing tends to be more structured - i.e. you follow very definite steps. However, may be she can design the new testing manual. That will allow for some creativity. Also - she enjoys problem solving. When she tests the software products and comes across problems encourage her to probe into the problem and recommend solutions. These little things will still add value to the company and make the job more appealing to Martha.
Topic Challenge #2 Answer: PA2 (High Determination / Low Proficiency)

In this case, Ken is obviously excited by the opportunity to integrate the invoicing system at Here's to Your Health with the receivables systems at key vendors. He was attracted to that challenge during the interview. So you could assume his motivation for this job/task is high. However, he's never actually managed that type of effort before so he doesn't have a strong skill set or experience to fall back on. Additionally, he came from a position where he managed the vendors for a stereo equipment store so exercise equipment is new to him. He does have similar experience in terms of managing the vendor relationship but his knowledge of the products is weak. In this case the most appropriate style of management would be to "mentor" Ken. Focus on increasing his proficiency by getting him familiar with the exercise products. In addition, provide him with support for integrating the invoicing and receivables systems. In this case, it's likely a technical consultant would be hired to work with Ken since no one at Here's to Your Health really has the necessary technical expertise. However, Ken could serve as project manager for the effort.
Topic Challenge #3 Answer: PA3 (Low Determination / High Proficiency)

Since Tito has been a top performer in the past you know he has the proficiency for the job. Given that his performance has slacked off recently it's apparent he's losing or lost his determination. Surviving the reorganization was good for Tito because he kept his job but he lost some of his stature and responsibility by being reassigned to another "peer" manager. In this case you need to do something to address Tito's motivation. An open, honest discussion is critical. In this case you would share your observations with Tito. Reaffirm that he's a valued employee and that you know he's capable. Find out what would motivate or challenge him. Perhaps he can take on special assignments or projects - i.e. gather customer feedback, find ways to improve the distribution process or reduce expenses - something that will challenge him and take him out of the rut that he's in. Tito needs a supportive style of management at this point. Please complete the exercises found on the following pages.
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Adaptive Leadership
Other Learning Exercises
.
We have provided three exercises to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These exercises are found on the following three pages. Please print out each of these exercises. Below is a short description of each exercise.
Exercise 1: Adaptive Leadership Exercise

This exercise enables you to apply the technique of Adaptive Leadership with your staff!
Exercise 2: Personal Autonomy Assessment Worksheet

This exercise/tool will help you to assess the Personal Autonomy levels of your employees.

Become an Adaptive Leader. You will see a remarkable improvement in the performance of your employees.
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Adaptive Leadership Adaptive Leadership Exercise 1 (2 pages)

This exercise will help you apply the principles of Adaptive Leadership with your employees. The exercise requires you to evaluate one of your employees in terms of Adaptive Leadership. Below you'll find a recap of the employee levels described in the Adaptive Leadership model. . PA Level . . PA1 PA2 PA3 PA4 . . .Motivation X Ability . . Low Determination X Low Proficiency High Determination X Low Proficiency Low Determination X High Proficiency High Determination X High Proficiency .
1. Select one of your employees. In terms of the principles of Adaptive Leadership (Determination X Proficiency). What stage do you think this employee is at - PA1, PA2, PA3, or PA4? Why? Comments
2. Now present the concept of Adaptive Leadership to that same employee. Describe for them the factors of Determination and Proficiency. Do not tell him/her how you rated them. Ask the employee to rate himself/herself - PA1, PA2, PA3, or PA4. Allow him/her time in private if needed. Once they're done compare your ratings. How close were you? Where did you differ? Comments
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3. Now discuss with the employee how you will help them progress to the next level - i.e. if they're a PA1 how will you help them become a PA2? If they're a PA2 or PA3 how will you help them reach the PA4 level? Be as specific as possible - set specific goals for them Comments
4. If you have an employee at a PA4 level (high determination and high proficiency) what can you do to keep them challenged and motivated? Comments
5. Now select another employee and repeat this process. Use this form to help you organize your thoughts until it becomes second nature.
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Adaptive Leadership Exercise 2 Personal Autonomy Worksheet (3 pages)

This tool can be used to estimate the level of Personal Autonomy an employee has for his/her job a task you've assigned them. It will also assist you in determining the type of management style you should use with the employee. Note: An employees' level of Personal Autonomy depends on his/her level of proficiency and determination for a particular task or job You can use this tool when:
x x x x x
An employee has been given a new task or responsibility An employee has been promoted You notice a significant change in the employee's performance (good or bad) You notice a significant change in the employee's work ethic (quality and quantity of work, attendance, initiative etc.) The structure / membership of your company or department has changed
Employee name: Description of new job, task, project, special assignment etc.
Date
1) How much experience does the employee have doing the same job or task? Rating _____ None (0 pts) _____ Little (familiarity) (1 pts) _____ Some (working knowledge) (3 pts) _____ Extensive (capable) (5 pts) x x Are they able to work on the job or task by themselves? How difficult is this job or task (generally)? Criteria to consider x Has the employee done the same exact type of work at your company or another company?
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2) How much experience does the employee have doing a similar type of job or task? Rating _____ None (0 pts) _____ Little (familiarity) (1 pts) _____ Some (working knowledge) (3 pts) _____ Extensive (capable) (5 pts) x If employee has similar experience - how similar is it? (i.e. position requires employee to sell computer software, they have experience selling computer hardware.) Criteria to consider x Has the employee worked on another job or task similar in nature (i.e. position requires employee to sell computer software, they have experience selling real estate. Both require sales skills).
3) How well has the employee performed this task or job in the past? Rating _____ Poor performance (1 pt) _____ Acceptable performance (2 pts) _____ Good performance (4 pts) _____ Excellent performance (5 pts ) 4) What level of enthusiasm does the employee have for the job? Rating _____ Cannot determine (0 pts) _____ Little enthusiasm (1 pts) _____ Some enthusiasm (3 pts) _____ A lot of enthusiasm (5 pts) x Criteria to consider x x Did the employee ask for this job/task? Has the employee expressed any concerns or hesitation about the job/task? Is this job/task a promotion or increase in responsibilities? Criteria to consider x x Have they done the job / task to your satisfaction? Can they consistently do the job/task to your satisfaction?
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5) Overall how would you rate this employees level of determination? Rating _____ Cannot determine (0 pts) _____ Low determination (1 pts) _____ Average determination (3 pts) _____ High determination (5 pts ) x x Does this person seek out new tasks, learning experiences and feedback? How would you rate this persons work ethic (i.e. quality and quantity of work, diligence, commitment to job)? Criteria to consider x Has the level of responsibility in this persons career / job steadily increased?
Scoring To determine the score for this employee add the pts up for each question and enter the score below. You will have a score for proficiency and one for determination.
Personal Autonomy (components) Proficiency (Questions 1 + 2 + 3) Determination (Questions 4 + 5) . .. . Proficiency / Determination
Score . .
Next determine where the scores fall. For instance if an employee was given a total score of 4 for proficiency and a 9 for determination he would fall under coaching (proficiency 0-7 determination 5-10). That would mean for this assignment or job you should start by using a coaching style with the employee. Scores Proficiency 0-7 Determination 0-4 Proficiency 0-7 Determination 5-10 Proficiency 8-15 Determination 0-4 Proficiency 8-15 Determination 5-10 Management Style Modeling Coaching Supporting Delegating
Refer to the modules on Adaptive Leadership for tips on how to apply the appropriate adaptive leadership styles with your employee.
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G Goal Setting and Feedback Fe

Not long ago, I was thumbing through the "One Minute Manager," published by Blanchard and Hersey in the early 1980's. Their book was on the best seller chart for some time and was quickly appreciated as a must for all managers. They took a long established relationship between goal setting and feedback and put it creatively into terms a manager could understand and apply (read it if you get the chance). In order to effectively manage and coach employees a manager must know how to set clear goals and provide effective, timely feedback - both negative and positive. The importance of goal setting and feedback was recognized by organizational scholars in the 1940's and is arguably the fundamental skill of effective performance management. As I reviewed the "One Minute Manager" model I was thinking, "is it really this simple and obvious?" Then I realized... yes it is. Hadn't I applied the very same concepts to successfully paper train and housebreak my golden retriever, Hewston? As a pup I kept Hewston in a carrying crate. When I let him out he'd immediately need to relieve himself so I'd put him on some newspaper. The goal was set. After playing for a brief period, back in the crate he'd go. Eventually, I let him stay out longer and longer until he'd go again. If he went on the floor - back in the crate. Negative feedback. Then he connected hitting the newspaper with staying out of the crate. Positive Feedback. I won't finish the story; you get the point - this stuff works. The only difference is you'll have a hard time cramming your employee into a carrying crate and if you smack them on the nose with rolled up newspaper they'll complain to Human Resources. Take it from me, I know. Goal setting and feedback provide the basis for performance management and developing the skills and abilities of your employees. Whether you're managing individual performance or deploying your strategic plan, setting goals and monitoring is the cornerstone of effective management. If you don't use goal setting to focus your efforts and improve performance you'll find yourself reacting to the same situations over and over.
GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
discusses the critical importance of setting goals and giving feedback
discusses what can interfere with setting goals and giving feedback
provides a description of how managers can set effective goals for employees provides a description of how managers should provide positive feedback to employees provides a description of how managers should provide negative/constructive feedback to employees provides a case study describing goal setting at multiple levels in a company offer tips for how a manger can ask for feedback provides an exercise so you can apply the approaches discussed
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Why is this important? Goal Setting and Feedback are the building blocks of effective management. Just about everything you do in your company has some goal attached to it, i.e., increasing sales, improving service, getting control of your finances, coaching an employee, completing a business expansion, etc. Without clearly defined goals you will waste significant money, time, and energy. Providing timely and effective feedback keeps everyone focused on enhancing their performance. The effective setting of goals and giving feedback can be powerful motivators for employees. The reason should be obvious. Imagine you wanted to lose weight - that's an objective that's important to many people. But, what if you weren't allowed to weigh yourself? You could diet, you could exercise, but you'd have no goal, no way to monitor progress. After awhile you'd probably abandon your diet. As absurd as it sounds many employees and managers work under those conditions. Many managers and organizations lack a reliable report card that measures performance. Either way the result of both scenarios is pretty much the same, liposuction and downsizing.
Goal setting (like most of these techniques) seems so obvious - why do managers have a hard time using it effectively? The reasons are sometimes subtle but very powerful. Knowing the obstacles to goal setting is the first step to understanding and using goals to improve your employees and business. Read on to find out more.
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Goal Setting and Feedback The Importance of Goal Setting and Giving Feedback
To understand the importance of Goal Setting and Feedback to managers and supervisors consider the following questions: 1: Are there things your employees could improve upon - i.e., their skills or work habits? 2: Are there things you could improve upon - i.e., your skills or work habits? 3: Are you uncomfortable reprimanding employees and delivering negative feedback? 4: Do you want your employees motivated to do the best job they can? 5: Do you want to make more efficient use of your time at work? Of course, the majority of managers and supervisors would answer "yes" to most or all of these questions. Goal Setting and Feedback is at the heart of each one. To illustrate this point let's look at each one briefly: 1. Are there things your employees could improve upon - i.e. their skills or work habits? Scenario: John manages a bakery that caters to corporate clients and upscale functions. His business has gained a reputation for its novel desserts and dinner pastries. The trick is maintaining the quality of the desserts while making them in mass to support large banquets and gatherings. The bakery is swamped with orders and the crew is running behind on their preparation for several dinners that day. He notices one employee, Joyce, is constantly restocking supplies and cleaning up when she should be helping with the desserts. Over his shoulder he yells, "Joyce forgot about that stuff, we need you on desserts." Joyce reluctantly starts on desserts until John notices she's having a problem preparing them. Frantic to prepare for the dinners he tells her, "Forget it, let me do this. You're not doing them correctly." Joyce wanders back to restocking and cleaning. Goal Setting and Feedback: Joyce may be reluctant to work on desserts for one of two reasons. Either she doesn't like preparing desserts or she doesn't know how. Since she was doing them incorrectly, as manager, John should have showed her specifically what she was doing wrong and how to prepare the desserts. Instead his response, "Forget it, let me do this. You're not doing them correctly." gave her no explanation of how to improve and left her demoralized. On top of that, John now has to do the work of one of his employees while he should be focusing on other things 2. Are there things you could improve upon - i.e., your skills or work habits? Scenario: Rachael has owned and managed a travel agency for about three years. While the business has enjoyed regular growth and she's added staff, it also suffers from seasonal dips and spikes. Rachael knows her business would be more profitable if she spent some time analyzing trends in her customer volumes over the past few years then developed a plan to be better staffed and budget for the seasonal impacts. However, she's made little progress towards that. It seems like such a big task that she doesn't know where to begin.
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continued
Goal Setting and Feedback: This is very common. As managers or business owners, our intuition tells us we should improve our business, maybe even what to improve, but it requires so much time and thought we become paralyzed to do anything. The end objective seems like such a challenge we never take the first step. What you need to do is identify the sequence of steps (mini goals) to get to that ultimate objective and focus on one at a time. For instance, rather than focus on improving profitability Rachael should simply set a sequence of goals to get there then focus on the first step. For example, a starting point may be to gather seasonal data so her goal is "By 5/1/99, enter or download all customer transactions for the past three years into a spreadsheet." That's a reasonable, manageable goal. After that Rachael may decide that "By 5/15/99, identify type of data analysis to do, i.e., volume per quarterly, type of travel, dollar volume, etc." This way Rachael has a plan to better manage the seasonal impact on her business but is not overwhelmed by the effort to get there. 3. Are you uncomfortable reprimanding employees and delivering negative feedback? Scenario: Jerry, one of your new account reps, has turned out to be less customer oriented than he should be. He comes across as impatient by giving short answers and not devoting his full attention to them. He hasn't offended any of them but he's not winning them over either. You want to address it with him but you're afraid he'll take it the wrong way. Besides, who likes telling an employee he's got a problem. Instead, you let it go and hope he gets better over time. What if he doesn't? Goal Setting and Feedback: As a manager you have to seize these opportunities to redirect your employees otherwise you're reinforcing it. Why else would Jerry change? Also, by not addressing Jerry's behavior his manager lowers the service expectation for all staff. Coworkers will see Jerry's behavior and the fact that it's allowed. Managers tend to shy away from negative feedback for fear that the employee will take it as criticism. The key is to deliver it in a way that is not personal. In other words, separate the person from the behavior. We'll talk more about this later. 4. Do you want your employees motivated to do the best job they can? Scenario: Mary has always been one of your best employees. She's got a great work ethic, knows her job very well and helps out her coworkers. On several occasions you've delegated work to her so you can concentrate on other priorities. She needs no supervision. That's a plus since other employees require more of your time than you'd like. But lately Mary seems to have lost her motivation. She shows less initiative and her work is not quite the same quality. What happened? Goal Setting and Feedback: When a manager has a very capable, motivated employee (PA4 Adaptive Leadership) it's easy to take that person for granted. Many of these employees are self motivated that is they just have a natural motivation to do the best job they can and they feel a sense of accomplishment from work. However, even the best employee needs your attention. In this case, Mary grew stagnant. Her job became rote. With no new challenges (goals) and little feedback from her manager she lost her motivation. Studies show that challenging goals and feedback positive praise and even constructive negative feedback! are key motivators for most employees.
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5. Do you want to make more efficient use of your time at work? Scenario: Shirley manages a data entry unit at a small bank. Seems there's never enough time in the day to get her work done. She's supposed to provide her boss with staffing projections and a budget. She should be working on a project plan for combining her unit and a second area. Instead, she finds herself chasing down data entry errors, training staff on the data entry screens and even entering data when they're behind. Forget the budget and project plan. Goal Setting and Feedback: As a supervisor or manager you've heard the expression, "fighting fires." You spend all day addressing one problem after another. Before you know it, it's 6:00pm, you're going home late again, and tomorrow will be more of the same. If only your staff could "manage themselves." If only you didn't have to spend so much time doing their work. Your staff can manage themselves. As manager, you should be identifying mini development goals for each person so he/she can be more and more self directed. You're not relinquishing your management responsibility or authority; you're developing your staff. You can only do that by coaching them through a sequence of small development goals.
Goal setting is so simple in concept that it's often overlooked as a skill at all. But how often does a business become paralyzed because employees lack clear goals and objectives? How often have you told an employee to do one thing only to be left scratching your head wondering how the employee failed to deliver on what you thought was an obvious request? Don't take it for granted! Go to the next page to learn more.
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Goal Setting and Feedback What Can Interfere With Goal Setting and Giving Feedback?
It's too time consuming. In the busy day to day efforts of management, who has time to sit down and think about tomorrow's goals? Did you ever notice how there isn't time to do things right, but we always make time to do things over again We measure the wrong things. Sometimes limitations in reporting systems or just the vagueness of a task like "customer satisfaction" makes goal setting and feedback difficult. For instance, training departments sometimes measure their effectiveness by how many training sessions or in house presentations they provide. Shouldn't they measure whether or not that training actually improved the performance of participants back on their jobs? The paper chase. Ideally, goals should be documented, formally or informally, in some way, shape or form. Since few of us do that on a regular basis the annual performance evaluation is a real hoot. It becomes an administrative burden that that no one takes seriously. Messenger of death. Feedback usually occurs when something goes wrong. We're quick to slap wrists when the wrong behavior occurs, but how often do we take time to reinforce the right stuff? The numbers game. A goal gets set. Maybe it's unrealistic, maybe it conflicts with other priorities or maybe it's just mismanaged. For whatever reason a target is missed and data gets "re-worked" to avoid the repercussion of failure. Sub-optimization. This is a fancy term used by quality scholars to describe the phenomenon when one department in a company, pursuing a goal, unknowingly sabotages the work of another. In layman terms think of it as "Robbing Peter to pay Paul." For example, a customer service unit fills out request forms that are sent on to a data entry department for entry to a computer system. In order to maintain their telephone response time the department rearranges the request form to reduce talk time. The form then goes to data entry where it no longer matches screens in the system. Now it takes three times as long to enter. True story.
Okay - we reviewed some reasons why goal setting sometimes doesn't work. Now let's review some ways to make it work! The following model offers some simple steps for setting, monitoring and achieving goals. Take a look!
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Goal Setting and Feedback Effective Goal Setting

Use goal setting to improve the skills and job knowledge of your employees. Goal setting can also be used to provide your employees with a more challenging and motivating work environment. Below is an easy to use model for setting goals with your employees: Steps to Effective Goal Setting 1. Involve the employee/department in goal setting 2. Define the goal 3. Make it challenging, but realistic 4. Agree on how the goal will be measured 5. Document the goals 6. Provide Support Let's look at these in more detail.
STEP 1: Involve the employee/department in goal setting

It's critical that managers involve employees in setting their goals. Before setting a goal make sure that you and your employee(s) agree on the responsibilities of the job and the associated priorities.
STEP 2: Define the Goal

It is critical that you are very clear about what the employee is expected to do and how the job or task is to be done. This means ensuring that you have identified each employees job requirements in specific, observable and measurable terms.
STEP 3: Make it challenging, but realistic

If you're using goal setting to improve individual performance, be sure the goal is challenging but realistic. No one is motivated by a goal that is easy to accomplish or one that seems insignificant. On the other hand, no one wants the responsibility of parting the Red Sea with one hand tied behind his or her back. Agree on a goal that requires a stretch or improvement by the individual or department. Raise the bar periodically. In addition be sure they understand why the goal is important and how it will help your organization and/or customer. Be sure the goal is included in their performance evaluation.
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STEP 4: Agree on how the goal will be measured

Are you measuring the volume or output, accuracy or timeliness of the work? Is it measured daily, weekly, monthly, etc.? How will performance results be shared with the individual or staff? Who will measure performance and what action can the employee expect? If identifying goals is difficult, try to state the job or function in terms of a process. Every bit of work can be described in terms of steps or phases. Once you've got a rough idea of the process - the output or result is easier to measure. Here is a brief example. John Berry manages an exercise equipment store - part of a small chain called Here's to Your Health. Every Wednesday suppliers deliver new equipment orders to the small warehouse in the back of the store. It's holiday time so the store is especially busy. To compound the problem one employee has called in sick and that employee was supposed to help a large corporate client set up a new gym. John's got to make a decision. He's only got two people on the floor today, Roger and Bill. Roger has been with Here's to Your Health for several years and is John's "go to" man. John decides to send Roger to set up the corporate clients' gym since Roger is polished, very capable and will present a professional image. That leaves himself and Bill to run the store. Someone has to handle customers and someone has to unload deliveries in the warehouse. Bill has only unloaded two shipments previously and basically made a mess of things. Paperwork was filled out incorrectly, equipment was stored in the wrong areas, shipping invoices ere not confirmed. It had taken him about twice as long as Roger to unload the shipments. To Bill's defense he was relatively new - about 2 months under his belt. In that time he hadn't really received any formal orientation. Also, no one had set any goals with him to coach and improve his performance. While John is trying to unload the shipment as fast as he can he's wondering how many sales are lost because the new guy is trying to deal with the holiday rush. What could he have done differently? Here, measurable goals combined with coaching would have made a world of difference. John should have: Provided new hires with an orientation - New employees especially need clear goals if they are to learn their new job. John should have defined exactly what was required when unloading shipments, then monitored Bill's work closely. Remember, initially you need to spend more time directly coaching a new employee. Made goals measurable - John knew Roger was better at unloading shipments than Bill - but how much better and better at what? This is the only way John could help Bill learn his new responsibility quickly. The process of unloading shipments should be broken down into tangible goals: GOAL: It should take one employee no more than 2.5 hours to unload a shipment. (Speed) GOAL: All equipment should be verified against shipping invoices. Shipping invoices need to be initialized and filed in the Receiving Folder. (Volume) GOAL: All equipment should be shelved according to the manufacturers name/product number. (Accuracy) After each shipment that Bill unloads John could use this simple checklist to review his performance. He could give him immediate feedback (positive and negative) on his performance. Is it taking him longer than it should? Is he getting faster and faster each time? Is paperwork completed correctly? Is equipment shelved properly? The reality is, no one verified Bill's work. They learned he made mistakes after the fact. Then John or someone else corrected them so Bill never learned from them.
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STEP 5: Document the goals

There are different levels of goals. Some are for individuals such as Bill should unload his next shipment in 3 hours rather than 3.5 hours. Other goals are for groups or the company at large such as Here's to Your Health will increase sales by 10% over the next quarter . To keep employees focused on objectives, and as a basis for performance evaluations, goals have to be documented. This is especially true of goals used when coaching an individual. Using the above example, Bill will learn his new job much faster if he can refer to a "report card" explaining his goals and offering feedback on his performance. Besides performance management if you ever find yourself dealing with a "difficult employee" documentation is critical. Group or company goals should be posted for all to see. This is both a motivator and a demonstration of management's commitment to the goal.
STEP 6: Provide support

If you're asking employees to stretch or improve performance by setting ambitious goals then they'll probably require some kind of support. A stretch goal is one that requires an employee to develop a new skill or to exercise an existing one at a higher level. It takes them out of their comfort zone. Stretch goals are necessary to develop self-directed employees. Plan to monitor their work closely at first or to provide formal training. Provide a safe, non judgmental environment so employees will come to you if they're having difficulty reaching their goal. Tell them up front they'll probably make mistakes and for now that's fine. Be sure to reinforce correct behaviors with positive feedback don't just tell them what they're doing wrong! Here's another example: Scenario: You're the manager of an automotive parts and repair center. You have a new employee (Jim) in your tire section whose responsibility it is to assist customers in selecting tires. You want him to learn the different tires and accessories as soon as possible so he can work the floor alone. You call him into your office and set a goal with him as follows: Manager Jim, you need to know the differences among our products so you can help customers in making the best selection. Let's set a goal that in two weeks you should be able to cover the tire section on your own. Okay, but I'll need some help in learning enough about all the tires. Yeah, I'd like you to take two hours out of every shift and review each of the distributor catalogues. Here's a listing of the items you should know about tire selection, things like size, seasonal selection, tread design and wear etc. Also, I've asked Mike (another employee) to serve as your "buddy" over the next couple of weeks. Listen to him as he deals with customers, the questions he asks and how he helps them in their selection. Is that all I'll be doing for the next few weeks?
Jim Manager
Jim
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Manager No, you should still check in the inventory, keep the floor stocked, handle the register. But, devote about half your time to learning the sales and customer support process. After two weeks, Mike or I will see how you handle some customers on your own. If you don't have any problems you're on your own. We'll increase hourly salary by $1.00, too. Alright, is there anything else you'll need? No, I can handle it. Ok, if you need anything or if you're having a problem with any of the products, just let me know. I'm sure you're going to do fine.
Jim Manager
Let's review this simple dialogue in terms of goal setting: 1. Involve the employee/department in goal setting The manager set time aside where he could talk with the employee specifically about the goal. In this case, since Jim is a new employee it's unlikely he'll have input towards the goal since he's learning his job. What he's looking for is direction 2. Define the Goal The manager starts with a clear statement of what he expects Jim to accomplish "Jim, you need to know the differences among our products so you can help customers in making the best selection. Let's set a goal that in two weeks you should be able to cover the tire section on your own." 3. Make it challenging, but realistic The manager doesn't expect Jim to learn the product information overnightor on his own. On the other hand he hasn't allowed so much time that the goal is easy or unmotivating. 4. Agree on how the goal will be measured Some companies will use a written test or some sort of skills checklist to verify the job knowledge of employees. In this case the measurement is less formal. The manager or Mike, Jim's "buddy" will observe as Jim handles some customers on his own. Once he's demonstrated he can handle customers on his own the goal will be met. 5. Document the goals Some companies will document goals such as these in an employee's performance appraisal. You may elect to be less formal. In this case, the manager provides Jim with a listing of items he should learn about each product. 6. Provide Support The manager told Jim to take time out of his regular shift to study the product catalogues. He set up Jim with a "buddy" to learn the sales and customer support process. He also asked if there was anything else Jim needed and reminded Jim to let him know if he had any problems. In this scenario, there was a clear reward for accomplishing the goal. Jim would get a $1.00 raise in his hourly salary. Obviously, you can not offer your employees a raise each time they accomplish a goal. But, you should provide praise and show your appreciation for their effort. Feedback is the second half of the performance cycle. You can set goals but if you don't provide employees with feedback on their progress - it's like clapping with one hand. Positive feedback is a tremendous motivator when used effectively. Effective means genuine and sincere. If employees sense your accolades are just lip service you can actually have a de-motivating effect on employees! Read on to pick up some useful tips for praising your employees.
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Goal Setting and Feedback Providing Effective Feedback - Positive Feedback

You've set the field in motion, now you can sit back. Wrong! Feedback is critical from both a motivational standpoint and to manage performance effectively. Since positive feedback and negative feedback will be received quite differently by your staff, you'll need to use a different approach for each.
Positive Feedback
To give positive feedback follow these four simple steps: 1. Catch the individual doing something right 2. Praise them right away 3. Be specific 4. Be genuine
STEP 1: Catch the individual doing something right.

This is especially important if they're learning a new task or lack self confidence in their ability. If you only provide feedback when they do something wrong - are you sure they know what's right? This takes a deliberate, conscious effort by the manager/supervisor. Expect to monitor a new employee, or one attempting a new task closer than normal.
STEP 2: Make it timely.

Don't wait a month to tell your employee he or she did a great job on that project you gave them. Reinforce their effort as soon as you become aware of it.
STEP 3: Be specific. .What if your boss poked his head in your office periodically and said, "You're doing a great job?" If it wasn't related
to something specific you'd probably think..."Yeah, he's got a clue..." Ineffective feedback can actually be more demotivating than no feedback because the recipient loses confidence that his/her manager understands their performance.
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Step 4: Be genuine
This is a matter of the employees' perception. Nothing can be more demoralizing than positive praise that's delivered half heartedly. It's like saying, "You did something good so I guess I better say something". To be sure your employee knows you're sincere - keep these items in mind.... Go out of your way Go to the employee; don't have them come to you. Make it an effort on your part to deliver the praise. Deliver the message and nothing else This is another reason to go to the employee. If you called the employee to your office to thank him/her and you were on the phone, jotting notes, arranging your desk it would be obvious that thanking them wasn't your priority. Also when you thank them don't follow it up with other questions about work, or other problems (do that later). The only message you want to deliver now is THANKS! Use positive feedback anytime you want to reinforce a particular behavior or work habit.
Example of Positive Feedback

Scenario: Your company sells and installs office equipment and computer hardware. Yesterday, the president of a consulting firm called with an emergency. Their electronic storage system went down and they couldn't access critical documents they needed for a client presentation the next day. Fortunately, the failed equipment wasn't from your company. One of your service reps, Roger, got the call just after your business had closed. Roger was unable to get a hold of his supervisor who had left for the day. Realizing the urgency of the situation Roger gathered the necessary information from the customer. Then he went to your warehouse, loaded the equipment into his car and worked at the customer's site for 6 hours to get the equipment installed. The customer was able to prepare their presentation just in time. You got a voice mail message from the president of the consulting firm vowing that due to Roger's outstanding service and ability the consulting firm would buy all their office equipment and computer hardware from your company going forward. How does the manager respond? 1. Catch the individual doing something right In this case that wasn't difficult, the customer called you to say how delighted they were with the service they received. In some cases, with new employees especially, you should make an extra effort to observe their work so you can catch them doing something right and reinforce (praise) their effort.
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2. Praise them right away In this case, the manager went to Roger first thing the next morning. If you wait too long until after the employees' accomplishment the importance of their effort is minimized. Manager Roger, I got a call from Gerald Greybar, owner of Big Bux consulting. I understand you helped them with a big problem they had yesterday evening. He left me a voice mail this morning and said they were buying all their equipment from us going forward thanks to your service. Yeah, their FileMore data system went down and they couldn't retrieve any of their files. It turned out to be a memory leak. So I replaced it with one of our models and transferred all their files. Well, I want to personally thank you for such an outstanding effort. You went above and beyond what anyone would have expected. You took the initiative to identify the problem with their system and to design a technical solution, and you even sacrificed your own time to help them. And, Gerald couldn't say enough about your product knowledge and professionalism. You're an example for all of us.
Roger
Manager
3. Be specific The manager went to Roger first thing. It's important to be as specific as possible when praising the employee. That does two things. One, it shows the employee you really understand their effort. Rather, than the hollow acknowledgement "Good job.". Also, it reinforces a specific behavior (initiative and customer service in this case) the employee use again and again. Later the manager published an interoffice memo to all staff describing what Roger had done to further thank him for the effort. 4. Be genuine Remember, this is a matter of the employees' perception. Nothing can be more demoralizing than positive praise that's delivered half heartedly. It's like saying, "You did something good so I guess I better say something". To be sure your employee knows you're sincere - keep these items in mind....
If you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all. That worked well on the playground but not in business. As a manager you need to be comfortable providing your employees with negative feedback. If not, you're doing them and your business an injustice. Go to the next page to find out more.
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Goal Setting and Feedback Providing Effective Feedback - Negative Feedback

Negative Feedback
Now lets discuss those situations where you need to confront an employee about his/her performance or to handle other uncomfortable situations where you're giving someone negative feedback. Negative feedback otherwise known as constructive criticism is a bit more difficult. Done improperly and you're left with a demoralized, anxious employee who develops a stomach ulcer and feels like they're walking on eggshells every time you're around. Use negative feedback anytime you need to address mistakes an employee has made or an interpersonal problem at work.
Communicate your commitment to giving feedback

Tell your employees publicly that they will get feedback from you on a regular basis. Let them expect feedback as part of the coaching and improvement cycle. Make feedback, self analysis, and a constant critique of your management style and staff part of your culture. In fact, be a model for receiving negative feedback by pressing your staff for feedback on your performance. Take it graciously. Done properly people will be far less uncomfortable giving or receiving negative feedback. Companies lose a tremendous amount of time, money and productivity because employees (and managers) are reluctant to discuss problems. Instead they spend more time trying to cover up mistakes rather than fixing the cause! When giving negative feedback use the following seven step process: 1. Gather all the facts 2. Tell them immediately 3. Let the employee look in the microscope 4. Focus on performance - not the person 5. Be specific 6. Expect and allow some defense 7. Offer help Lets look at these steps in more detail.
STEP 1: Gather all the facts

If you're going to confront an employee about his/her performance make sure you have all the facts. There are always two sides to a story. Once you're sure you understand the problem, be ready to back it up with specifics details and examples.
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STEP 2: Tell Them Immediately

It's not unusual for an employee to get broadsided in their annual performance review. They find out that six months ago they messed up on a project and should have communicated better, documented the problems, brought it to their manager's attention, etc. Why didn't they know this six months ago? The best time to address the problem is as close to the time when the problem occurred. That way all the details and circumstances are fresh in everyones mind. By waiting, you also run the risk of the employee making the same mistakes again and this will have a negative impact on your departments performance. It will also communicate that performance problems are not acceptable and that you are paying attention to each employees performance.
.. STEP 3: Let the employee look in the microscope

In other words, when discussing a problem, ask the employee for his/her opinion on what's going on. Most times employees will know when they're having a problem and will feel relieved that you want to help. Also, it dulls the negative impact of the manager delivering the same bad news.
STEP 4: Focus on performance - not the person

Managers avoid giving negative feedback because they think the employee will take it as a personal attack. Neither party enjoys that situation. Reaffirm that you value the person as an employee and that they're important to your company, but in this instance their performance needs improvement. If you're uncomfortable giving negative feedback acknowledge that first. Unless you deal with your own discomfort you won't be able to use goal setting and feedback effectively.
STEP 5: Be specific
What if John called Bill into his office and said, "Bill, your work stinks. You better shape up." If you think giving vague positive feedback can de-motivate an employee, try giving them vague negative feedback! Cite specific examples so the employee clearly understands the behavior they must improve. By focusing your attention on what the person actually did as compared to the standard process that he or she was supposed to follow, and not on the reasons why you think they did not follow the correct steps, you avoid making assumptions. It is important that you stick to the facts. What the person actually did or did not do. This reduces the chances that your employee will think you are picking on them personally.
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STEP 6: Expect and allow some defense

In most cases, an employee receiving negative feedback is going to defend their actions. Listen to them. Paraphrase their explanation so you clearly understand it and let them know you've not only heard them - but listened. If you're completely sure their performance is still at issue, don't get caught in a long drawn out battle. That will only undermine your attempt to help them. Get them to focus on the specific behavior. Also get them to agree to change the way they will handle this type of situation in the future. In extreme cases you may ask the employee to come back after he/she has had some time to think about the situation.
STEP 7: Offer help

You can't tell them to improve their performance without offering a plan to do so. Does the employee need training? Do they need daily feedback to change behavior? Set a goal for improvement. Encourage their feedback and ideas on where they think they need assistance.
Now lets look at an example of giving negative feedback. Scenario: You own a family restaurant that's known for its home-style meals. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday it's standing room only. Most of the week it's that way. It's a nice problem to have, but it makes it a challenge to provide the individual service to each party that your restaurant is known for. When it's busy everyone is expected to pitch in. You preach "teamwork" to every person, waiters, waitresses, the hostess, dishwashers, cooks etc. If you have to, you'll bus tables just to keep the customers from waiting longer than they have to. Saturday evening was busy as usual. One section of the restaurant was backed up. The waitress for the section, Maureen, was standing behind the counter watching as Ralph the bus boy ran from table to table trying to cleanup. "Don't you think you should help him?" another waitress said to Maureen. "That's his job." Maureen replied. Later that evening Ralph and Maureen got into an argument in front of patrons. You found out about the incident the next day. The manager on duty, Paul, admitted he pitched in to help bus the tables but he hadn't addressed the problem with Maureen. What should Paul have done? 1. Gather all the facts If you're going to confront an employee about his/her performance make sure you have all the facts. There are always two sides to a story. Once you're sure you understand the problem, be ready to back it up with specifics.
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2. Tell them immediately When Paul realized the back up was because Maureen refused to help Ralph clear the tables he should have counseled her immediately. Not publicly, but in private. Waiting too long to address a problem is like giving you're approval. In that case, you're now part of the problem. 3. Let the employee look in the microscope First determine if the employee has done something wrong because they don't know how to do the job or they don't want to do the job. If they're new or it appears they don't know how to do the job ask them how they think they're doing. If an employee is having difficulty they'll usually tell you because they want the help. Have them tell you what the problem is. This makes it much easier to discuss the problem openly. If it appears they don't want to do the job reinforce the importance of the job and why it's their responsibility. In this case, Paul should have reminded Maureen that this was a team environment. All the waitresses and waiters help the bus boys when things get backed up. Ask the employee if they realize the impact of their behavior. In this case, Maureen not helping Ralph caused a back up in their section, customers had to wait and an argument broke out. 4. Focus on performance - not the person. Anytime you deliver a reprimand or negative feedback expect the recipient to take it personally. Wouldn't you? That's why it's important to focus on the behavior not the person. In this case, Paul could have said: "Maureen, we have to work as a team, especially when it gets busy. That means helping each other when we're backed up." As opposed to saying, "Maureen - you're not a team player." 5. Be specific Refer specifically to the incident or the mistake the employee made. The sooner you address the problem the more likely it will be the employee has no difficulty relating to the experience. The worst thing you can do is provide negative feedback in vague terms, i.e., "You're doing a lousy job. You better shape up". 6. Expect and allow some defense Anytime someone is reprimanded they'll naturally want to defend themselves. This is why you want to have all the facts before you confront an employee. If you reprimand them without the facts and without reference to specific incidents you're wasting your time. It's likely the employee will put forth some explanation -- "Ralph was too slow..., "I was busy prepping dinners, I did help Ralph. Did he expect me to do his job?" Then you've lost credibility and an opportunity to coach the employee. 7. Offer help Especially in a situation where an employee doesn't know how to do a job, be sure you offer help. Merely telling them specifically what they did wrong may not be enough. Offer to walk them through the job, offer training material and pair them up with a more senior employee. Don't just leave them on their own.
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In this case, Maureen didn't want to do the job. She has the ability so it's likely you would not have to offer formal help.
Did you ever stop to think about all the levels to which you can apply goal setting in your business? Every action, every improvement effort, every project is intended to accomplish some goal. Read this extensive case study based on real events to find out how a lack of goal setting can sabotage your business!
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Goal Setting and Feedback Goal Setting and Feedback Case Study
Below is an extensive case study of goal setting and feedback at multiple levels in an organization. The size of the company does not matter. The same dynamics apply regardless of your size or type of business...... Goal setting and feedback are routinely taken for granted as management skills. They are so simple in concept that we dismiss them off-handedly. But if the responsibility of a manager is to lead change, and to demonstrate improvement, that can only be accomplished by setting clear, effective goals, and having the discipline to monitor them. Ask yourself this: "How much time and money do you and your organization waste because goals and priorities are unclear?" At first that may be tough to answer. To help you answer that question we've provided an anonymous case study based on real events. It looks at goal setting from several perspectives: communicating among levels in the organization, defining specific measurable goals for a project, and using goal setting to augment training and personal development. John is the manager of a software development team for a medium sized manufacturing company. His team is responsible for building, implementing and supporting the various Management Information Systems used to manage the company. His department is made up of eight employees. Jack is the team's lead developer. Jack has the most experience developing applications and probably the broadest technical background. Bob assists with some development but is primarily responsible for developing training materials to support the new systems, customer support and soliciting feedback from customers to design and improve the systems. Susan is the newest member of the team. She can develop applications very quickly and has tremendous motivation but tends to make mistakes. Bertha has been with the company longer than anyone can remember. She's responsible for testing new applications. The other team members assist with administrative responsibilities and additional software development. Recently John's team implemented a new Resource Tracking System across the company. The RTS keeps demographic information on all employees and serves as the front end to several other systems and processes. It was designed to eliminate the need to track resource demographics in each department and to serve as a demographic repository that other systems could draw from. About four months ago John's department showed a prototype of the system to upper management who immediately endorsed the idea and set an implementation date. John was encouraged by management's enthusiasm but knew their expected timeframe was extremely aggressive. He decided to commit to the date anyway knowing his staff would welcome the challenge. Initially he was right - ultimately he was wrong. By the time the implementation date had arrived his staff had volunteered many hours and weekends in an attempt to meet that date. Their burnout and frustration was starting to show. Illusions of any relief by making their target date quickly disappeared as user complaints and inquiries came pouring in. A large chunk of the complaints were corrected by additional one-on-one coaching and training from John's team. Some of the problems were technical bugs; others were caused because the system didn't quite support the real business process. There was resistance to use the system as some questioned the objective of RTS since it appeared to be in conflict with other initiatives. They'd met their target date but John and his team didn't consider the rollout a success. In fact, several are still angry. In preparation for his next meeting with management John began to make some notes as he reviewed the last four months privately.
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Factors that impacted the successful implementation of RTS Upper management had differing expectations of RTS Lack of a defined project implementation plan for RTS Timeframe was unrealistic Inadequate user training Inadequate testing Programming errors John realized the common theme among these factors was goal setting and feedback - or a lack of effective goal setting and feedback. Upper management had differing expectations of RTS John was particularly frustrated to find out that RTS was in conflict with several other development efforts within the company. Though minor, the conflicts required rework for his team to retrofit the RTS with those other efforts. Suddenly John found himself in meeting after meeting trying to sort out the objective of RTS versus other projects. For instance, HR was building a system to record the demographics for new hires so to support both systems managers would need to enter demographic information in two places. He assumed there was consensus regarding the purpose of RTS but in retrospect he realized there weren't any defined operational, financial or service goals. He should have facilitated the development of a scope document - a written statement of the measurable impact (goals) RTS was expected to have on operations, service and financial indicators. That scope document should have been reviewed and endorsed at the appropriate executive level so redundancy among initiatives could be avoided. Lack of a defined project implementation plan for RTS John thought getting together everyday for a quick meeting would be enough to keep the group on track. In retrospect he realized those casual meetings didn't provide a short and long term focus. Instead, they worked on today's problems - today. They worried about tomorrow's problems - tomorrow. This caused unnecessary rework as portions of the project were delivered out of sequence. For instance, Bob started developing the training program before the design was complete and wound up rewriting his material. Instead of testing the application in parallel with development they waited until the end and had to reprogram major portions of it. They should have had a clearly defined sequence of goals in a project plan. Some goals would be contingent on others. This would have enabled the team to work on today's goals (short term) but still focus on the deliverable (long term).
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Timeframe was unrealistic John should have been more assertive in assisting upper management with a realistic timeframe for implementation. The aggressive timeframe forced his team to cut corners. Even seemingly little corners added up. Like the old saying goes, "You can bleed to death from 10,000 paper cuts." The aggressive timeframe made the goal unrealistic to begin with. By emphasizing the implementation date John inadvertently deemphasized the goal of implementing a quality application. Here again, a project plan with a clear sequence of tasks/goals would have illustrated that the date was unrealistic. Inadequate user training John's team worked with the training department to provide users with an orientation to RTS. Based on inquiries from users and a close examination of the training material, John realized the training really didn't target the skills a user would need to use the system - it was more like a high overview. His team helped develop the material but they were probably too familiar with the process to represent general users. It wasn't a surprise they were getting all these phone calls now. They should have broken the training into defined skills (goals) that a user would need to master to use RTS. Inadequate testing John's team tested the new application but given the time pressure they were under didn't do as thorough a job as they should have. In general the system worked fine but there were some details they missed during testing. They should have had clearly defined scenarios (goals) for testing the RTS in order to simulate the user environment. Programming errors Of the problems where the root cause was determined to be a programming error about 80% were Susan's mistakes. To his credit John didn't blame her - he blamed himself. Susan was a good developer but wasn't ready to be let loose on her own with so little oversight. Now he had to coach her without further damaging her confidence. He should have monitored and coached Susan's performance early on to eliminate some of her programming errors. With better attention to the dynamics of goal setting let's look at what John could have done in each of these scenarios. Upper management had differing expectations of RTS John (and upper management) assumed everyone understood the purpose of RTS and why it was being implemented. John reviewed the executive communication:
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Resource Tracking System Our Information Technologies Department will be implementing the Resource Tracking System in all departments on 11/03/97. RTS will serve as a demographic repository to locate employees and will allow managers to request employee access to Email, LAN Access, Security Cards, mainframe applications and other corporate systems from a central menu. RTS will also provide management with reports on how many employee/contractor resources are being used in our operations and support divisions. RTS is designed and programmed using Lotus Notes technology. Please be sure that all staff in your area have requested and installed a Lotus Notes ID on their PC. To request a Lotus Notes ID contact Systems Administration at 555-9898 A member of the Information Technologies Department will be in contact with you shortly to assist in your department's conversion to the new system. Please make every effort to assist them in this worthwhile effort. It sounded more like a mission statement than a set of defined goals describing what RTS was supposed to accomplish. From the "C.Y.A." perspective, John found some relief in that there were no real goals for RTS. Calling it a flop would be difficult. However, he should have defined some measurable objectives: RTS will reduce the amount of time/resources required to request and gain systems access by 35% ($185,000.00 cost savings annually). RTS will eliminate the need for departments to track resources in multiple systems thus cutting administrative time/resources by 30% ($60,000.00 cost savings annually). RTS will eliminate the need for multiple and redundant reporting systems by centralizing that function. Result will be a 25% reduction in necessary time/resources for Management Reporting ($55,000.00 savings annually). The above represents the results of a hypothetical cost benefit analysis Lack of a defined project implementation plan for RTS There is an art to planning and managing a project. Some people follow such strict methodologies they make Rain Man look spontaneous. Others are less disciplined but follow a general sequence of predefined phases. Others just wing it and hope for the best. John failed (as many of us do) because he focused on the end product at the expense of planning the project. Basically, planning a project should be a sequence of specific, tangible goals.
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Below is a generic project implementation plan for our example. Item Present RTS Scope document to executive mgt. secure executive endorsement Develop RTS Project Implementation Plan Document RTS Business Process Develop RTS Technical Design Document Develop RTS System (phase 1) Test RTS - signoff Testing Document (phase 1) Develop RTS System (phase 2) Test RTS - signoff Testing Document (phase 2) Develop Training materials Present RTS Training Implementation of RTS Start Date 08/12/08 08/13/08 08/15/08 09/01/08 09/16/08 09/23/08 09/23/08 10/01/08 10/01/08 10/16/08 Due Date 08/12/08 08/16/08 08/30/08 09/15/08 09/30/08 10/07/08 10/07/08 10/15/08 10/15/08 11/01/08 11/01/08 Owner John Warren John Warren Mary Clark Jack Thomas Jack Thomas Bertha Higgins Jack Thomas Bertha Higgins Bob Austin Bob Austin John Warren Support R. Baxter IT Department J. Warren S. Jones S. Jones D. Pickens S. Jones D. Pickens S. Jones HR Dept. IT Department
The key to an effective Project Plan is to ensure that each step has a measurable, tangible outcome Timeframe was unrealistic Upon receiving the executive endorsement for RTS John should have offered to draft a project implementation plan for RTS that would to help determine a realistic implementation date. The fact that the date was a challenge was initially a motivator. Quickly that date frustrated his team and their efforts to deliver a quality application. Inadequate user training Training should have been based on some defined skills rather than a broad overview of RTS . The module on Orientation Programs describes a Skills Checklist that you can design to orient new employees. Likewise the module on Effective Interviewing describes how to conduct a Job Analysis to identify skill requirements. Both could be used to assist in designing skills oriented training. Training must have definite goals. Here's a hypothetical sample for our RTS example:
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Skill Description User understands content of RTS Main Menu and how to locate information in the system User is able to add a new resource to RTS User is able to request specific systems access using RTS User is able to resubmit a request that has been returned due to error User is able to change the demographics for a resource User is able to delete a resource from RTS User is able to assign a resource to a project using RTS User understands how RTS interfaces with existing systems in HR User knows how to request a resource report from RTS Accomplished? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
Assuming these are the specific steps in using RTS, users should have been able to demonstrate these skills during training as evidence that the training was successful Inadequate testing The timeframe for implementing RTS may have contributed to the lack of thorough testing. But in addition, John's team should have used a standard testing matrix. This would have provided specific goals for testing. For example: RTS Test Item Check Main Menu to ensure it provides direct access to appropriate information. Add a new resource to RTS - should result in a demographic record being added to RTS - all fields and lookups on demographic form should be functional. Request specific systems access using RTS - should send a request to appropriate systems area(s) to gain user access. Resubmit a request that has been returned due to error - notification should be sent to requestor mailbox - correction by user should return request to appropriate system's area. Change demographics for a resource - all fields and lookups in demographic record should be functional - changes should be sent to appropriate system's areas. Delete a resource from RTS - record should be removed for RTS - request should be sent to all systems. Assign a resource to a project using RTS - all fields and lookups should be functional. Verify data integrity of RTS Reports - pull mock reports on sample data and verify accuracy. Functional? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
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Programming errors Here's where John should have spent some time coaching his staff. Let's assume that he started with a defined project implementation plan (specific sequence of goals). As his staff developed each piece of the RTS application the piece should have been tested. The results of the testing could have gone to John - where he could review the results with the appropriate staff and coach them. Performance management. It sounds incredibly obvious but how often do we really do it? Things would have been different had John:
1. 2. 3. 4.
Included staff in developing a project implementation plan (goals) for RTS Set a realistic but challenging implementation date Drafted specific goals for RTS to accomplish Documented and monitored the goals during design, training, and implementation.
Summary This case study was selected because it illustrates the use of goal setting at several levels in an organization. Take some time to assess goal setting in your organization. Strategic Plans, meetings, conversations, phone calls, email, sticky notes - just about any communication in your company takes place because someone expects or needs action from someone else. How well those actions are defined and executed will determine the success of your company.
Well if giving feedback is a trick - imagine getting feedback from your employees! Your employees know more ways to improve your business than you could ever dream of - hard part is getting them to share those ideas! The next page provides an illustration of how you can get objective feedback from employees on how to increase productivity to how you can improve your management skills.
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Goal Setting and Feedback Getting Employee Feedback

Okay, if you think giving an employee negative feedback is difficult, trying asking employees for their feedback on management and their work place! Employees can give you lot's of ideas and suggestions on how to improve. Of course, getting them to open up can be tricky. Check out these simple techniques for encouraging open communication and trust. Example of Asking for Employee Feedback Scenario: Tom Martin, owner of Here's to Your Health, a chain of exercise equipment stores, watched his company grow four-fold in just three years. While that growth was rewarding Tom had concerns about the impact all that rapid change had on his small company culture. Here's to Your Health had opened eight new stores and hired or promoted about a dozen supervisors and managers. There were indications some of the stores were having problems. Higher customer complaints, employee turnover, sloppy inventory control, etc. Tom decided it was time to ask some questions. He made a series of visits with each of the stores and while there scheduled visits with individual employees. Listen to some of the ways Tom encouraged employees to share their opinions and feedback: Thanks for making the time to talk with me. I'd really like to talk about ways we can make Here's to Your Health a better place to work better for both our customers and employees. I'm talking to as many employees as I can to gather ideas, comments, problems whatever's on their mind. What ideas, suggestions, or concerns do you have? I want you to know that I'm really interested in what you have to say, and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable giving criticism, if that's what's necessary. This isn't a trap, and I'm not going to get angry or retaliate for any criticism you might make. This is really a team process and we're on the same side. If it's OK with you, I'd like to go through some specific questions, and get your thoughts. If you'd rather not do this now, let me know. We can reschedule a time to meet or you can jot some thoughts down on paper if you'd rather. If the employee seems really uncomfortable or uninterested, you might conclude the session now. If the employee seems to want to continue participating, you could then go through a list of questions or topics and ask the employee to comment about them.. Here are some topics that might get your discussion going: x x x x x x x x x x the good and bad habits of supervisors and coworkers the employee's future at the company and how he or she feels about it the employee's workload and the distribution of work in general the employee's working conditions and how he or she feels they could be improved the employee's feelings about the importance of the work he or she does how employees get along with each other the condition of the equipment with which the employee must work the pay and benefits the employee receives and how they compare with other companies the consistency and fairness of the way employees are treated and disciplined whether the employee feels that supervisors and coworkers tell the employee what the employee needs to know
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Goal Setting and Feedback Getting Employee Feedback

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x x x x x the potential for growth/advancement the employee's experiences with and feelings about coaching and feedback the usefulness and appropriateness of instructions and training received the effectiveness of communication among coworkers and between workers and supervisors the attitude of the managers/owners toward the employees
You might ask the employee to respond to each of these topics. Be sure to take good notes. After the discussion, sum up by saying: Thanks very much for taking the time to let me know how you feel. I appreciate your honesty, and I hope you'll feel free to come and talk to me if you have questions, suggestions, or additional comments. Let the employee know what to expect: After I conduct some more meetings with other employees, I'm going to look at this information and try to figure out ways that we can change things to make your job even more fulfilling and rewarding. I hope to have some information back to you within two weeks that will tell you where we'll go from here. Thanks again.
Next we will provide a short summary and then you will have an opportunity to try these techniques out with a great exercise.
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In Summary
Goal Setting and Feedback probably seems so obvious that we often take it for granted. We assume employees will know exactly what they're doing wrong and how to fix their own problems. However, with a little extra attention and awareness to effective goal setting, how to provide feedback and where to apply these techniques you'll see an immediate improvement in your staffs' performance and motivation. This may sound like a lot of work, and initially it is. However, by managing performance through effective goal setting and feedback, you'll be eliminating more work in the long run. Think back to the course on Adaptive Leadership and you will no doubt see the connection to goal setting and feedback. Combine the two and you'll be able to move your employees along the "personal autonomy" continuum. If you manage staff directly - these techniques are the most important tools at your disposal. It is simply your choice to use them.
Learning Exercises
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We have provided one exercise and an action plan to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These are found on the following three pages. Please print out each of these exercises. Below is a short description of each exercise.
Exercise 1: Goal Setting and Feedback Exercise

This exercise enables you to apply the techniques covered in this course with your staff.

Follow these approaches to setting goals and giving your employees feedback. You will see a remarkable improvement in the performance of your employees.
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Goal Setting and Feedback Goal Setting and Feedback Exercise (3 pages)
This exercise will help apply the techniques for effective goal setting and feedback with your employees. Goal Setting 1. Consider one of your employees for whom you can set a specific goal. For example, do they need to improve their productivity (improve what by how much)? Maybe you want them to manage a project. What's the measurable result (goal) of the project (i.e. Develop an employee training program that covers X, Y and Z by 9/1/99)? Below write a brief measurable statement for the goal.
.comments:
2. Next, share the goal with the employee. But before doing so write a statement describing how you will present the goal. Be sure to cover the following - Why is this goal important? How will their progress be measured or monitored? What will be documented? What support will you provide? Write a statement below of how you will present this goal to the employee. comments:
3. Do you think this is a challenging goal for the employee? Why or why not? comments:
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4. Now apply the same approach using a goal that you'll set for yourself. You can set a goal related to work or a personal goal - i.e. to get in shape, manage your personal finances better etc. comments:
Positive Feedback 5. Consider an employee who deserves positive feedback for something he/she has accomplished (Note: Be sure it's a legitimate accomplishment!). Before you approach him/her write a statement describing what you will say. Be sure to include what specifically they did. Why was it important? How did it make you feel (proud, impressed, confident in their ability etc.). And of course, thank you. comments:
6. What was the employees reaction to the above? What specifically did he/she do or say that gave you this impression? comments:
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7. What can you do to make sure that providing positive feedback to your employees is a regular part of your management style? Note: This will have a tremendously productive impact on your staff. comments:
Negative Feedback 8. Consider an employee to whom you must provide negative feedback - i.e. they need to improve the quality or quantity of their work (Note: Be sure it's really a problem area!). Before you approach him/her write a statement describing what you will say. Be sure to include what specifically needs improvement. Why was it important? How will you present this so the employee does not take it personally? How will you make sure they walk away feeling motivated rather than demoralized? .comments:
9. Most managers have a difficult time giving employees' negative feedback. As the course on Goal Setting and Feedback illustrates, by avoiding to give timely feedback, it is likely managers will actually create more problems. What can you do to make it easier for you to provide employees with negative feedback in a timely and productive manner? comments:
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E Empowerment and Motivation M

It's the universal management question - "How do I motivate my employees to do more?" Except for, "What is the meaning of life?" and "Where's the beef?" no question has been more perplexing to humanity (at least management), and no answer has been more elusive. It would be easy to cite decades of research and debate regarding the dynamics of motivation and what impact managers can have on an employee's willingness to extend that extra effort. Unfortunately, any practicality for today's manager will be lost in theory and watered down buzzwords. Let's keep this simple. Here are a few well-grounded assumptions we'll abide by: x Each individual has a level of motivation that he/she brings to a job (and life). That level will fluctuate. Overall though, some people are more intrinsically motivated than others. It's much, much easier to de-motivate someone than it is to motivate him or her. "What" motivates an individual differs from person to person. There is an important distinction between empowerment and motivation, but the two are closely related. There are some specific things a manager can do to create an environment where an employee feels more motivated. De-motivated employees will have a devastating effect on the quality of your product or service. The best way to determine what motivates your employees is to ask them!
x x x x x x
GETTING STARTED
This course:
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explains the impact of motivation on an employee's performance. describes some of the factors under a manager's control that can influence an employee's motivation. illustrates the impact low motivation can have on an employee's performance and what it can cost your business. provides a simple model for motivating your employees. provides a sample survey for assessing morale in your organization. describes actions/behaviors that typically motivate/de-motivate employees. provides a description of specific initiatives a company/manager can use to motivate employees. provides a case study of how one organization implemented a program designed to improve motivation/morale.
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Why is this important? An employee who comes to work each day motivated to do the best job he/she can is an invaluable asset. These are the employees who require little supervision, who look for ways to satisfy your customers and opportunities to improve your business. On the other hand, an employee with low motivation requires extra supervision and is prone to mistakes and poor service. The key for managers is the ability to assess motivational levels and to understand what he/she can do to motivateor at least avoid de-motivating an employee. Employee motivation can have a dramatic impact (positive and negative) on the quality of the service they provide. By acknowledging motivational issues you can develop employees willing to give 110% and you'll keep those employees longer.
The secret to motivating employees is one of the most elusive management charms there is. In fact, some say forget about motivating employees just learn what not to do to de-motivate them! But with some careful consideration you'll become more sensitive to the dynamics of employee motivation.
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Empowerment and Motivation The Impact of Low Motivation

Increased tardiness and sick time Unmotivated employees tend to have a higher incidence of tardiness and sick time. That means constantly covering for that employee. More errors and mistakes Employees with low motivation for their job tend to make more errors and mistakes because quality is unimportant. Poor customer service The unmotivated employee is less likely to return a customer's phone call, less likely to drop what he/she is doing to help a customer, and is more likely to show their lack of motivation in their non-verbal behaviori.e., lethargic voice, talk to customers while walking away, avoid eye contact when speaking. In general they display little interest in the customer's needs. They're break even at best In other words, an unmotivated employee will do nothing to improve your business. The best you can hope for is to break even. Hopefully, they come in and basically do their job without making too many mistakes and offending too many customers. But face it, it's only a matter of time until they really mess up.
The secret to motivating employees is one of the most elusive management charms there is. In fact, some say forget about motivating employees just learn what not to do to de-motivate them! But with some careful consideration you'll become more sensitive to the dynamics of employee motivation.
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Empowerment and Motivation What Can a Manager or Supervisor Do?
1. Analyze yourself 2. Select motivated employees 3. Provide a motivating environment
Analyze yourself
As with many personnel issues the best place to start is by analyzing yourself. A manager or supervisor that has spent some time thinking about the factors impacting their own performance is likely to assess others more accurately. For instance, in terms of motivation consider the following:
1. 2. 3. 4.
On average, what level of motivation do you bring to work? What specific actions or behaviors illustrate your level of motivation? What situations or job responsibilities motivate you the most? Which tend to demotivate you? In this job or another, what has a manager done that motivated or demotivated you?
These questions are critical. If you can apply these to yourself you'll have a much better appreciation for the factors affecting the motivation of your employees. Now, if you've got an unmotivated employee, then one of two things has happened: you either hired an unmotivated employee, or an employee has lost his motivation. Let's look at both scenarios.
Select motivated employees

When interviewing new employees do you assess their level of motivation? Maybe not directly but most supervisors or managers get a "gut feeling" about candidates. Here's how you can make that "gut feeling" more objective. Ask why they want this job Some job candidates, especially overqualified ones, may consider your job temporary or just a stepping stone. They'll likely bring little motivation to the job. Look for candidates that view your job as a career opportunity or at least an advancement. Do their interests match the job? Find out what kind of work they enjoy most. Do they like work where they can exercise some creativity like setting up store displays. Do they prefer working with customers directly? Do they like opportunities to solve problems and make suggestions. Ask them what their favorite job has been and why. Be sure you know the characteristics of the job before you interview candidates.
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Pay attention to non verbals Do they emit energy in the interview? Are they asking questions? Were they eager to schedule an interview? Do they look professional?
Provide a motivating environment

You may also have an employee that was motivated but for some reason lost their motivation. That loss of motivation may be temporary. Let's face itwe all lose our motivation once in awhile. When that happens we may migrate back to the responsibilities that motivate us or we seek to create new ones i.e. seek new responsibilities, suggest ways to improve the business, volunteer for a new task etc. However, that loss of motivation may be an indication of a long, slow spiral into a problem employee. Either way there are some general things a manager can do to provide a motivating environment for employees: Maintain equity - Nothing will de-motivate your employees faster than unfair treatment in the workplace. For example, if you tend to favor one employee over others by giving him/her perks or special attention, employees will notice. If you give out raises but they're not linked clearly to actual work performance, employees will notice. If you expect employees to follow certain rules but managers don't have to, it will be obvious. Understand individual differences Make an effort to find out what type of work motivates each of your employees. You can ask them directly or administer a simple survey. In either case, make it clear to them you want to know because their motivation is important to you. That alone will motivate them. Provide rewards Rewards come in many forms. For some employees a simple pat on the back for a job well done is motivating. Others like public acknowledgement such as a certificate or being selected as Employee of the Month. Still others are motivated by a monetary reward or gifts. The key is to find out what rewards motivate your employees. Here are some items that tend to motivate employees. These items are taken from research and independent surveys. Motivators Getting feedback from my manager To be involved in decision making Challenging goals To be involved in problem solving Receive increased responsibilities Public/peer recognition Manager displayed confidence in me Social/fun initiatives at work Promotional opportunities Money Understanding the "big picture" Demotivators Unfair/inequitable management practices Promises from management not kept Boring/unchallenging job Not able to make improvement suggestions Ideas not listened to/no follow up by manager No feedback from manager No career advancement Dirty/disorganized work environment
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As you can see, many of the items described as motivators and demotivators actually cost little to no money. Good thing, since in reality not every company can just hand out more and more moneynor would that be motivating. Much of an employee's motivation can be influenced by actions taken by a manager or supervisor. Let's look at a few scenarios: Here are three situational examples which illustrate how a manager's actions can motivate or de-motivate employees.
Scenario 1: Manager takes credit for employee's work

Rick Berg was the manager for a software development team. His team had been challenged by the company's president to redesign one of their key products and get it tested and to market in two months. The task was going to be very difficult since the team had estimated it would take five months under normal circumstances. The president took Rick and his team to lunch to explain the urgency. This would put their company in front of competitors and allow them to capitalize on two major contracts a strong foothold going forward. The team was pumped up especially after meeting with the president who they'd rarely seen much less spoken to. At first the team made tremendous progress. They worked long hours sometimes grabbing dinner together then returning to work. They organized themselves into mini teams to work more efficiently. They worked weekends and pitched in wherever help was needed. They were excited that after the first two weeks they believed they could deliver the new product in the remaining time. Then Rick sent a status report to the president. In the status report Rick made statements such as: "I suggest we modify the product design by", "I have reorganized the development team by", "I believe I can have the product ready for shipment by", "I will direct the team to." A member of the team saw the status report while retrieving papers from the printer. It was clear their manager was taking credit for their work and their suggestions. Their motivation was gone. Summary: This was unfair of the manager. Employees need to get credit for their ideas and hard work even if it's simply acknowledged in a status report. While acknowledging the contributions of employees in a status report may not be tremendously motivatingtaking the credit has a disastrous effect.
Scenario 2: Employee receives a challenging assignment

Beth had worked at Pamela's Bridal Boutique for about two years. In that time she'd learned a lot of the business and helped with almost all aspects. She became good friends with "Pam" the owner and had no complaints about their working relationship. However, over the past six months Beth found the environment less and less rewarding.
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Sure they were busy but it seemed like the same thing day in and day out. Her job had grown stale. She continued doing the best she could but it was getting difficult. Then one day she commented to Pam on something she'd noticed. "You know, we send out so many of our dresses and gowns for special fitting and tailoring it's too bad we can't do it right in our store. We'd save a lot of time and money.". After kicking it around casually Pam agreed. They could reduce the time it took to deliver the fitted dresses. They could reduce the administrative paperwork required to send it out for fitting. And, they could increase their own profits since they had to pay the fitting company. Beth told Pam she'd be interested in getting trained. It might take several months but they would need to set up equipment in their shop anyway. Pam asked Beth to arrange for training and the company would pay for it. Pam also asked Beth to find out what equipment was needed and to recommend how she'd like the area set up. They set a goal to have the new function in place later that year. Beth's motivation skyrocketed. Summary: Anytime an employee is allowed to make a suggestion and to have a hand in implementing their idea, they're going to feel more motivated. Additionally, challenging goals can have a very motivational impact on the employee. It's a chance for them to step out of their tired old job and exercise new skills and creativity. It also illustrates management's confidence in the employee by saying "I believe in you."
Scenario 3: Employee receives recognition and is de-motivated!

Terry worked at the service center for a utility company. The company had a quarterly reward and recognition program where managers could nominate their staff for a special plaque and luncheon certificate. Everyone gathered in a large auditorium. The award was to go to employees for outstanding efforts. A secretary for Human Resources ran the program since the manager for HR was too busy. It was her job to make sure the managers for each department nominated employees each quarter. Over the past year participation and nominations slowed to a trickle. Since recipients were named in the company newsletter it would look bad if no one was in there. Terry's manager was called for a nominee. Two people in Terry's department had already received the reward so were ineligible. The other ones definitely didn't deserve it. Terry's work had been average so the manager figured at least he didn't not deserve the award. At the ceremony Terry's manager took the podium and read the nomination. "This employee comes to work day in and day out and does his job. He can always be counted on. He's been with our company for five years now." Terry was mortified when he heard his name announced for the lackluster nomination. He took the plaque and quickly returned to his seat. Summary: Empty praise or rewards with no clear tie to performance can de-motivate both the recipient (in this case Terry) and other employees. For instance, some companies avoid the hassle of determining merit increases by simply giving all employees the same raisei.e. everyone gets 4%. What does that say? It says it doesn't matter how good you areyou still get 4%. It doesn't matter how many times you screwed upyou still get 4%. So what does your effort matter?
If you master the ability to motivate staff you may have run out of challenges as a manager. As the examples above reveal, de-motivating is easy. But to motivate staff is difficult because individuals have different needs. Still you can build an environment that provides motivators for your staff. Go to the next page to find out how.
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Empowerment and Motivation A Model for Motivating Employees

Here's a simple model for motivating your employees:
1. Establish a baseline for employee motivation/morale in your company 2. Ask your employees what motivates them most 3. Which motivators does your work environment lack? 4. Fill in the gaps 5. Communicate an overall plan and purpose to staff 6. Reassess staff motivation and the work environment periodically
Simple, yes - easy, not necessarily. But if you devote the time and approach the effort systematically you can increase the motivation of your employees and improve morale. To help you understand how to use this model we shall present (on the following 6 pages) its application through an extensive and true case study of one organization's (Organization X) endeavor to implement the above model. The organization is a regional operating unit for a paper manufacturer with about 300 employees. This same process can be applied in much smaller companies. In fact, it's easier.
The first step is to gather information on the level of motivation in your department or company. That's the only way to determine if you're improving or not. Go to the next page to find out how.
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Empowerment and Motivation Establishing a Motivational Baseline

If you want to improve motivation/morale in your company, you'll first have to determine "How good or bad is it?" Below is a sample of the survey questions that Organization X administered to its staff. You will also find a link below so you can download a sample of this survey including the rating scale that was used. You can use the same one for assessing motivation/morale in your company. The rating scale for these first ten questions was a six point scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. I receive adequate recognition for my efforts There are ample opportunities to grow and develop in this company. The work environment here offers a satisfying level of social interaction. The compensation and benefits here are adequate. Decisions here are fair and equitable. Individuals here are treated with respect. I am satisfied with the job security here. My job is satisfying and rewarding. Overall I have a good level of motivation to perform my job as best I can. Overall most employees here have a good level of motivation to perform their jobs as best they can. Select the statement which applies best. I have no interest in working elsewhere I am actively looking for another job I plan on leaving this company 12. Rank the following items in terms of how rewarding / satisfying you find them: (8= Most rewarding/satisfying, 7= next most rewarding/satisfying, 6= next most rewarding/satisfying etc.) Challenging work Compensation & Benefits Increased responsibilities To be involved in problem solving Social interaction Fair equitable treatment Respect towards all employees Career growth
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Empowerment and Motivation Establishing a Motivational Baseline

continued
Before using the Empowerment and Motivation Survey to assess your work environment please do the following: 1. Explain to employees why you're doing this and what they can expect as a result. Remember - asking employees about their morale and motivation then doing nothing with their feedback is worse than not asking. Ensure employee confidentiality. Make sure employees can share their feedback anonymously. Review the modules on Empowerment and Motivation to assist you in determining ways to use employee feedback. Consider conducting the survey twice a year. That will allow your management team time to react to feedback and make improvements. Consider including staff in follow up initiatives. That alone will improve empowerment and motivation.
2. 3.
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Whenever you collect survey data be sure to summarize the data and provide respondents with high level results and your plans for follow up.
What's the best way to find out what motivates your employees? We wish it were more complex. We wish it required some fancy management intervention but the truth is...ask them!
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Empowerment and Motivation What Motivates Your Employees?

We administered a simple survey to all staff asking the following two questions: Choose a situation where you were especially motivated by your work (current or former employer) and describe specifically what your manager did (if anything) that influenced your level of motivation. .Choose a situation where you were especially de-motivated by your work (current or former employer) and describe specifically what your manager did (if anything) that influenced your level of motivation. The questions are mirror opposites and as you might expect so were the responses. We intentionally left this a "free text" response. If we offered a checklist we felt we'd be assuming we knew what motivated or de-motivated staff. Upon return, we reviewed each survey and highlighted common themes (motivators/de-motivators). After reviewing the surveys, all responses were summarized as follows: Total respondents = 178 Motivators Getting feedback from my manager To be involved in decision making Challenging goals To be involved in problem solving Receive increased responsibilities Public/peer recognition Manager displayed confidence in me Social/fun initiatives at work Promotional opportunities Money Understanding the "big picture" # 58 48 46 34 33 20 18 16 11 8 4 De-motivators Unfair/inequitable management practices Promises from management not kept Boring/unchallenging job Not able to make improvement suggestions Ideas not listened to/followed up on No feedback from manager No career advancement Dirty/disorganized work environment # 60 33 27 27 19 18 11 3
Note: Total responses do not equal total respondents since some respondents noted more than one motivator or de-motivator. Review these - are they what you expected? How do they compare to what motivates or de-motivates you?
Once you find out what motivates your employees the next step is to examine your environment to see if those motivators exist. It's tougher than you think. Some motivators are intangible. Review the next page for more details.
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Empowerment and Motivation What Motivators Does Your Environment Lack?

Organization X acknowledged that it provided some of the motivators staff were interested in but they were inconsistent. Examine your work environment. You may have some initiatives in place - reward programs, employee involvement teams, etc. Review them to make sure they're having the intended effect. Ask employees if they're worth continuing or if they should be modified. Organization X's Strategy We categorized the motivators identified by staff as follows:
Management Skills Getting feedback from my manager Manager displayed confidence in me To be involved in decision making To be involved in problem solving Challenging goals Reward and Recognition Public/peer recognition Promotional opportunities Money
Quality/Employee Involvement To be involved in decision making To be involved in problem solving Receive increased responsibilities
Human Resources Getting feedback from my manager Understanding the "big picture" Promotional opportunities
You've identified your motivational deficiencies - now figure out how to deliver them! The next page will give you some ideas on doing just that.
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Empowerment and Motivation Fill The Gaps

Note: Even if you own or manage a small company you can still apply the same concepts. The size of a company only impacts the amount of time and resources necessary to implement these motivators. Small companies will actually find it easier to supply employees with these motivators. Category - Management Skills
Organization X developed an in-house Management Training Program made up of 10 weekly workshops for managers. The management program covered specific management skills including some of the specific motivators mentioned by staff: Goal Setting and Feedback, Participative Management, and Respect/Integrity. In addition, Organization X instituted a Management Assessment Program that allowed employees to rate their manager on his/her management skills. The assessment was conducted twice a year and gave managers feedback on where to concentrate their personal improvement. Finally, new managers were hired and promoted based on their ability to demonstrate these management skills. A third management initiative was the publication of Organization X's "Management Commitment." This commitment outlined a number of pledges regarding the work environment management would create for employees:
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To treat all employees with respect and maintain the utmost integrity; To develop employees to the greatest of their abilities by acting as coach and mentor; To create an environment where employees can participate in continuously improving our business; To recognize that our employees are the foundation of Organization X's long term growth and success.
This "Management Commitment" was printed on certificates and given to all staff to post in cubicles and offices. Motivators Addressed Getting feedback from my manager Manager displayed confidence in me To be involved in decision making To be involved in problem solving Challenging goals
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Category - Reward and Recognition Organization X instituted several Reward and Recognition Programs targeted at different levels of employees and different motivators. For public/peer recognition, award certificates were made available for staff to nominate each other for outstanding efforts. Once a month the nominees were treated to a company sponsored breakfast with the vice president. Promotional opportunities represented a bit of a challenge since Organization X, like many companies, had few positions for employees to "move up" to. Since "vertical" opportunities were limited, they looked at "horizontal" opportunities. That is, if an employee had an idea for an improvement, or if they demonstrated the ability to take on a special project, they could be given extra responsibility without a formal title change. That extra effort was then acknowledged in their performance evaluation (i.e. a salary increase or minibonus). Similarly, with regards to monetary recognition Organization X had to be prudent in how bonuses/merit increases were distributed. As part of the performance evaluation process, Organization X added to their criteria Quality Improvement contributions by employees. A portion of every individual's performance evaluation was dedicated to QI contributions. A person could score extra points for their ideas but could not be penalized if he/she didn't offer any. Motivators Addressed Public/peer recognition Promotional opportunities Money .
Category - Quality/Employee Involvement To promote involvement in decision making and problem solving and to offer employees increased responsibilities, Organization X implemented an Employee Improvement program. Employees and managers met regularly to identify problems and ways to improve them. For example, they reviewed customer feedback from surveys to determine the top five complaints of customers. Employees were encouraged to come up with creative recommendations and had a part in implementing their ideas. No matter what size your company is - three people to three hundred thousand employee involvement has long been proven a valuable way to improve companies. Ask for their ideas and suggestions!!! They'll be motivated and your company will see dramatic improvement. Motivators Addressed To be involved in decision making To be involved in problem solving Receive increased responsibilities
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Category - Human Resources To encourage feedback from managers and to promote effective goal setting for employees, Organization X put all managers through performance evaluation training. Each employee's performance was reviewed annually, though managers were expected to provide employees with regular informal feedback. Organization X, like many companies, was committed to the idea of "pay for performance." Each manager was allotted a pool of money based on an average merit increase of 4% for his/her staff. The manager could distribute the pool as he/she sees fit based on objective criteria and QI contributions. Also added to the performance evaluation was a section for assigning "Special Projects" in lieu of promotional opportunities. Finally, the remaining motivator, "understanding the big picture" had to be addressed. Organization X instituted quarterly all-staff meetings where the vice president would discuss the strategic objectives of the company as well as market performance. Motivators Addressed Getting feedback from my manager Understanding the "big picture" Promotional opportunities
Don't keep the plan for motivating and empowering staff to yourself - share it! Just the fact that employees see you taking a sincere interest in them will motivate them! Up next, communicating your plan.
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Empowerment and Motivation Communicate Your Plan to Your Staff

Most of the initiatives that Organization X implemented are not unique. What is unique is the way the company integrated these initiatives into an overall plan based on the specific motivators identified by staff. Often times, efforts to impact the motivational levels of staff are short lived because the initiatives occur in isolation or as a "program of the month." There appears to be no logic or game plan for management's efforts. By starting with staff input and working backwards, an easy to communicate "game plan" can be developed.
Once you've done all this work you can't rest on your heels. Be sure to reevaluate the environment periodically to see if you're still providing the motivators your employees need.
Evaluate Staff and Environment Periodically

Organization X used a number of methods to determine how well its motivational program was working. The Management Assessment Tool provided feedback in six areas: Goal Setting and Feedback, Communication Skills, Change Management, Respect and Integrity, Team Building and Empowerment and Motivation. An employee survey was also administered twice a year asking staff for input regarding the work environment in general. Finally a number of measurable indicators were observed such as turnover; the number of special projects assigned, the number of Quality Improvement Suggestions submitted by staff, and the number of grievances submitted to Human Resources. Simply identifying motivators for your staff and linking management initiatives to those motivators, will heighten everyone's attention to your effort. That alone can have a positive effect on staff morale. And if you suspect you have a morale problem, it may not be as bad as you think. Studies show that individuals commonly rate others as less motivated than themselves. In other words: "We've got a problem - but I'm OK." Another note...of course the economy ebbs and flows. Currently there's a shortage of qualified workers. In order to keep your best ones you have to be creative and committed to motivating and challenging your employees. If you think you're busy now, imagine the problems that low morale and employee turnover will create for you! This program was an ambitious, but a worthwhile undertaking for Organization X. If you are considering a similar initiative, or implementing portions of it, devote the necessary time to secure management commitment to the effort.
Now its time to do an exercise. Go to the next page.
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Learning Exercises
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We have provided one exercise and an action plan to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These are found on the following three pages. Please print out each of these exercises. Below is a short description of the exercise.
Exercise 1: Empowerment and Motivation Exercise

Try these techniques to empower and motivate your staff!

Be the kind of manager that creates an environment where employees strive for excellence.
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Empowerment and Motivation Empowerment and Motivation Exercise (2 pages)

Try these techniques to motivate and empower your staff. 1. Choose a situation where you were especially motivated OR de-motivated at work. What impact, if any, did your manager have on your level of motivation? Describe the situation and your manager's role, in detail.
2. In your present position, what could your manager do to empower and motivate you more?
3. Think of a situation where you noticed one of your employees or colleagues especially motivated by their work. What was it specifically that motivated them?
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4. What do you think are motivators for your staff / employees?
5. How can you verify your assumptions? Please be specific.
6. What new motivators could you offer your staff/employees? Please be specific.

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C Coaching
Coaching
From the sports arena to the shop floor or office cubicle, by far one of the most essential skills that a leader can have is the ability to coach others. For any of you fortunate enough to have or have had a great coach at some point, you will no doubt agree that this individual had a positive impact on your performance. It should come as no surprise that excellent managers and supervisors are also excellent coaches. They ensure that each individuals development is aligned with the Organization and the department/team vision and goals.
GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9 9 9
describes what it means to coach your employees discusses how to become an effective coach identifies what an effective coach does describes a structured process to increase the effectiveness of your coaching activities discusses coaching and goal setting provides a process for assessing and tracking performance improvement
Why this is important. As a manager, you are only as effective as the least capable person on your team. One of your critical roles is to develop the capabilities of every employee in your department. The most effective way to do this is by employing highly effective and structure coaching practices.
Lets first explore what coaching is and what the benefits to this critical management practice are. Read on to find out more.
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Coaching What is Coaching and why should you do it?

The short definition is: Coaching is providing guidance, feedback, and opportunities for growth. When you act as a coach, you are giving your employees your time and attention and, more importantly, you are helping them master their work and grow their own knowledge and skills. You are also showing respect for their individual capabilities and providing the opportunity for self-development. Coaching is not telling your employees what to do or providing simple answers to their questions. Coaching is helping your employees discover the answers themselves. It is unlocking an employee's potential to maximize their own performance, helping them to learn. Coaching is much more time-consuming than giving orders, but is also much more satisfying to both the employee and the supervisor. When you hold a coaching session with an employee, you guide them through a thinking process, helping them to discover the answers to their own questions, rather than imposing a solution. Like professional athletes, employees have individual strengths and weaknesses. The coachs job is to provide: x x x x x x guidance advice strategy feedback support opportunities for development
Coaching helps employees analyze their performance so that they gradually assume more responsibility for evaluating their own abilities.
What are the Pay-offs?

The pay-offs to coaching are significant and impact on the entire Organization. a) for the employee b) for the coach - increased job satisfaction; stronger motivation to succeed - reduces costly mistakes and problems - increases relationships with employees/team members c) for the Company as a whole - provides growth opportunities leading to retention of high performers - increased productivity and quality of work
Next lets take a brief look at old management practices versus new.
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Coaching The Old Way Command and Control

Although workplaces and management styles have come a long way in the last decade, the command and control style of management remains common practice in many companies. This approach basically means that employees are told exactly what to do, when to do it and even how it should be done. The manager is in charge, has all the answers, and fixes all the problems. Its no surprise that plenty of people find this approach demotivating, and that workplaces with a commandcontrol style are rated as pretty unsatisfying. When it comes down to it, none of us really enjoys being told exactly what to do. When people feel as though they have no say and are given no opportunity to contribute outside of their work tasks, then they switch off and become disengaged. In a work environment, the role of a coach can be described as: x x achieving results and excellence through others rather than personally taking care of things, and focusing on developing employees in order to achieve business results rather than micro-managing their every move.
Coaching helps people unlock their potential and enhance their own performance. Its about supporting people to learn instead of telling them what the answers are. The mindset of the coach is to create an environment that fosters learning, independent thinking and opportunities to contribute. Coaches are a role model for others. They are excellent listeners and communicators, providing perspective and encouragement while setting high standards and expectations.
Okay. So enough rhetoric. Now lets what you need to do to become an effective coach.
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Coaching How to Become a Coach

Based on our extensive research of highly effective coaches here's what these experts suggest you will need to do to become an effective coach
1. Realign your thinking 2. Listen, Listen, Listen 3. Focus on development 4. Endorse effort/growth 5. Stop providing solutions 6. Stop making all decisions 7. Create a participatory environment
Follow these seven steps and you will become a highly effective coach.
1. Realign your thinking Stop thinking about your team members as people that need to be controlled or managed and give them the latitude to take actions and make decisions. Trust is a vital component of this equation. If you cant trust people to do their jobs well, then you either have the wrong people in the jobs, or you have the right people but you havent trained them sufficiently. A third option is that the people are properly skilled, but you just cant let go.
2. Listen, Listen, Listen Listen, listen, listen. If there are unhappy or disgruntled people in your team, you can guarantee that at some stage theyve tried to tell you what the problem is. Its likely you werent listening (or didnt want to listen), or perhaps your initial reaction made the person think twice about bringing the problem to you. Truly listening is one of the greatest skills to develop.
3. Focus on development Focus on developing the strengths of each team member. Identify each persons development needs and commit to following through on them. When people are growing and improving, their enthusiasm and effectiveness is greater. And they feel more connected and loyal to you for supporting them.
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Coaching How to Become a Coach

continued
4. Endorse effort/growth Endorse effort and growth instead of pointing out failures or errors. As individuals, we all know how seldom we are given positive feedback, but how often we are reminded of our mistakes. Instead of pointing out errors, the coach sees them as learning opportunities and uses them to develop their employees. The focus is on making sure the same mistake doesnt happen again by fixing the source of the problem.
5. Stop providing solutions Stop providing solutions. Supervisors often achieve their positions after being technical specialists, and so will have an opinion or view on how to "fix" situations or problems. The mindset is that it's usually faster to tell someone what to do, or do it yourself, than give your employees an opportunity to figure it out. If you catch yourself about to provide the answer, take a deep breath and ask a question like: What would you do in this situation?
6. Stop making all decisions Stop making all the decisions. You don't have all the answers all of the time. Include your team. Involvement breeds ownership and motivation. The more you can find opportunities for people to contribute to the decisionmaking process and encourage people to have their say, the more your employees will feel connected and satisfied with their jobs.
7. Create a participatory environment Create an environment where people want to work with you, and feel valued and respected. Make it clear to your employees what they are responsible for, and then treat them the way you would want to be treated. The true success of managers/supervisors can be measured by the success of the people that work for them. When you coach your staff; productivity, motivation and satisfaction of your employees increases, which filters through to the quality of the end product and the success of the Company.
So what do effective coaches do? Next we will present a proven step-by-step process followed by seasoned coaches. Read on to find out.
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Coaching Focused Coaching

Successful managers and supervisors routinely incorporate a highly structured approach for coaching employees to improve their performance. It is a participative, problem-solving process in which you and an employee meet to discuss performance needs and agree to solutions. The primary goal of focused coaching is to help the employee achieve developmental and performance goals and, as such, should be approached in a positive and constructive manner. Focused coaching is a one-on-one discussion with an employee where feedback is given to the employee on a specific situation that recently occurrednot on performance in general. For example: An employee has been observed directly by the coach during a team problem-solving meeting which was led by the employee. Immediately following the meeting the coach provides feedback based on specific behaviors that were observed during the meeting. Focused coaching comes in two basic formats:
1. Brief Catch them doing something right sessions 2. Formal structured coaching sessions
The duration of the session can range from a few minutes to a more lengthy, formal discussion. Brief sessions should take place as soon as possible following the activity or event being discussed. A brief focused coaching exchange might go like this: John, I overheard how you dealt with Bill regarding the ABC situation. He seemed pretty upset about the time it took to get the support material you had to get to him. I thought you handled the situation really well. You were very professional when you said, I understand your frustration. You have every right to be upset. What can I do to help? He responded very well and seemed to understand that the delays were unavoidable. I also liked the way you worked together to figure out how to avoid these kind of delays in the future. Im glad to see such a good example of teamwork. In this exchange two key elements of good feedback are evident. The employees specific behavior was described and the situation is tied to the departments goals of improving teamwork.
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continued
Focused Coaching- Formal Sessions

These coaching sessions are developmental and longer term. You can maximize your effectiveness at these sessions by using the process illustrated in the graphic below.
The Focused Coaching Process STEP 1 - PRE- OBSERVATION Review Assessment and Plan Prior to conducting your coaching session you need to have a clear picture of the employees current performance. In other words, you need to be able to articulate their current behavior, what they are doing now. You also need to be able to describe or demonstrate what they need to be doing in the future. With these two factors clearly described, you can formulate a developmental plan. You can now develop a coaching plan for this employee and begin the coaching process.
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continued
Set Goals Developmental goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Sensitive and within the employees Span of Control. The coaching process is a two-way street and you need to involve the employee in determining which skills you will be coaching. If you dont have enough information to know where to start you may need to formally observe the person in action and then, based on your observations, determine the starting point. Remember to define your expectations in behavioral terms. In other words explain exactly what it is you would like to see the person accomplish. Set Time People tend to keep appointments. By setting a time and ensuring you keep to it, you are communicating the importance of the session and your desire to help the person to succeed. Observe Performance With the goals for the coaching session agreed upon you can observe the performance and then move to the next step. STEP 2 - POST OBSERVATION Create Atmosphere Establishing the right atmosphere for the session will reduce the tension the employee is undoubtedly feeling, particularly if this is the first of these types of discussions. Sit beside the person rather than across a desk. Consider your tone and remember your objective is to help this individual to perform more effectively. Specify the Purpose Re-state clearly why you are getting together and the specific outcomes you hope will arise from the session. Discuss Observed Performance Discuss in specific behavioral terms what you observed. Be careful not to insert any of your opinions into your summary. Focus on what you saw the employee do. Ask for Self-Assessment Then ask the employee to give you their own personal assessment. Ask them to identify what went well and what could be improved.
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continued
Compare and Acknowledge Compare performance to standards and goals and acknowledge good performance. These two steps often occur simultaneously. Based on what the employee says, you can now compare what you saw to what is expected. Acknowledge the things that the person did well. Then describe the things you would have preferred to have seen done differently. It is important that you speak in terms of behavior. In other words, what the person did or said, and what you would prefer the person do or say. Remember it is not a question of right and wrong. It is a matter of learning how to do things better. Generate Alternative Solutions Working together, search for other ways the person can approach the areas requiring development. Discuss these options and determine what the person will do in the future. Contract for Further Action Then get agreement from the employee and a commitment to try the new approaches. Also set the time for your next coaching session.
As you can see, focused coaching also requires that you become very efficient at goal setting, giving feedback and interacting with your staff using the most appropriate leadership style. Lets discuss the types of goals you need to set as a goal.
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Coaching Coaching and Goal Setting

People respond well to goals for a number of reasons. Goals increase performance by providing a focus for activity, establishing time limits, and by appealing to the competitive instincts in all of us to do something well or better than others. People feel confident when they create goals for themselves. They know their own capabilities and what they want to achieve. Most people, however, tend to stay too long in their comfort zones and, as a result, set personal goals and objectives that are too low. Developing goals becomes a little more complicated when we do it for others. To do this we need a thorough understanding of what needs to be done, the current skill level and limitations of our employees, and what will challenge them and what will turn them off. Focused Coaching involves setting two types of goals:
1. Developmental goals 2. Productivity goals

Developmental goals are focused on building knowledge and skill. Productivity goals are focused on outcomes; for example - production results and internal service delivery. If you have not already done so, please review the courses Goal setting and Giving Feedback and well as Adaptive Leadership. You will need these skills to be an effective coach.
Coaching is on ongoing process. You will need to monitor and track your employees progress. Read on to find out more.
Tracking Performance
In the observation stage of the Focused Coaching process, clearly you need to identify and then look for specific performance relative to the employees performance during your coaching session. It is essential that you focus on what the person does not why you think they might have done it a certain way. When we use the term behavior we are referring to the key actions, steps, commentary that the employee being coached actually exhibited. These behaviors must be observable. You can then compare these to the established processes, standards or procedures that you want the employee to be able to know and do. Coaching Observation Checklist To help you, we have provided a Coaching Observation Checklist form that you can use in your coaching sessions. This simple checklist will help you to organize and document the coaching session. Record the goals of the coaching session. In the column headed Behavior identify the key actions, steps or behaviors that you would like to see the employee demonstrate. There is room provided for you to record examples of actual behavior observed, so that you can give tangible and specific feedback. A printable copy of the Coaching Observation Checklist form is provided in the Exercises section of this course.
So let's review a quick summary of the key points covered in this course.
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Coaching In Summary
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Coaching is providing guidance, feedback and opportunities for growth. Coaching team members includes helping them learn from past mistakes. Successful coaches routinely incorporate a highly structured approach for coaching employees to improve their performance. The primary goal of focused coaching is to help the employee achieve developmental and performance goals and, as such, should be approached in a positive and constructive manner. Focused coaching is a one-on-one discussion with an employee where feedback is given to the employee on a specific situation that recently occurred - not on performance in general. Prior to conducting your coaching session you need to have a clear picture of the employees current performance. Set a specific time and place for the coaching session. It is important that you speak in terms of behavior. Remember it is not a question of right and wrong. It is a matter of learning how to do things better. Be aware that your expectations significantly influence your employees performance.
10. Expect a lot and create a positive and supportive climate and you will likely see performance beyond your expectations. 11. Set Goals. Developmental goals are focused on knowledge and skill. Productivity goals are focused on outcomes. 12. These goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time sensitive and within the employees Span of Control. 13. Track the progress of your employees and ensure your feedback focuses on specific behavior and ensure you have examples when describing what you observed.
Learning Exercises
. Learning activity
The only way to learn how to coach is to become one. Select an employee and follow the process recommended in this course. Analyze what worked well and what you would do differently next time. Then modify your approach and do again, and again, and again...you get the point.
Coaching Observation Checklist: This will help you with this activity. Personal Action Plan
The payoffs to becoming a coach are significant. The next step is up to you.
Please go to the next page to view and print the Coaching Checklist (this consists of 2 pages)
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Coaching Observation Checklist

Coaching Observation Checklist Employees Name: Date: Goals of Session
Behavior
Yes
No
Examples
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Behavior
Yes
No
Examples
COMMENTS
GOAL OF NEXT SESSION:
DATE OF NEXT SESSION:
TIME:
OBSERVERS NAME:
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Listen Up! L
- How H to Really Listen
Listen Up - How to Really Listen

What's the difference between hearing and listening? Barring any physical impediments you can't avoid hearing. You don't choose whether or not to hear. Listening on the other hand is very different. We have to consciously make an effort to listen. We have to put aside opinions, distractions other priorities and devote our mental ability to the message at hand. If you've got children how many times have you used the phrase: "You're not listening!" Though it's half the equation in effective communication we routinely devote our attention to what we're going to say (let them listen). Here's a hypothetical conversation between two managers that illustrates an interaction where listening skills fail and what can happen as a result. I pop into Bob's office at 3:15 PM for a quick informal meeting. Bob is our MIS manager and like most MIS managers is always busy fixing some systems problem. "We need to redesign the application for Customer Service to improve the response time. They didn't meet the service standard last month." I say. "Yeah. I know." Bob answers as he continues pecking away at his keyboard. "Any thoughts on where to start?" "Their QI Team suggested the look up function in the registration process is taking too long. It's an average of 25 seconds. We should be able to shave some time off that. I think if we break apart the database we won't have to dump as much information from the demographic form to the registration form." "Uh huh." he responds without looking away from his terminal. I'm starting to get annoyed now. "So we're going to shorten the registration form?" "No we're not shortening it - we just won't be passing as much info back and forth. That's what slows down the process for them. Can you change the enrollee file like we discussed?" "How are we going to cut down on the amount of information?" he asks as he sifts through the clutter on his desk for his notes. "I just told you. We're going to split the database apart. Can you change the enrollee file like we discussed?" I repeat. "Twenty five seconds doesn't sound like a lot?" he says with surprise. "The changes..." I say again. Bob then starts in with a barrage of MIS terms that sound like some kind of alien talk. I know I'm tuning him out. My attention is being replaced with frustration. Now neither of us is listening. "Just put it in layman's terms..." Here are some of the things that standout from our conversation: x x x x x Bob was not giving me his full attention Bob's questions demonstrated clearly that he wasn't listening Bob was not acknowledging the purpose or intent of my message As speaker, Bob was not communicating in a way appropriate for his listener Bob's an idiot
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GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9 9
describes the basic rules for listening and speaking so it's easy for others to listen explains some of the barriers to effective listening so you can avoid them describes the different types of listening styles and how they impact our interpretation of what we hear gives you a proven technique for handling situations when you haven't got time to listen tells you how to handle situations where it seems the other person isn't listening (Or is it you?)
Why is this important? Effective communication is crucial to the success of any business. Listening is often the forgotten communication skill. It's assumed that if we can hear we can listen. But listening is a choice. If not exercised properly you severely hamper your ability to communicate effectively with coworkers and others.
Have you ever really thought about the rules for speaking and listening? If you're like most anyone - it never crossed your mind! The next section provides some insights on speaking and listening. Check it out!
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Listen Up - How to Really Listen Speaking and Listening The Rules

In any conversation there are duties for both the speaker and listener. As the conversation continues those duties flip flop back and forth. Here's an outline of them:
Speaker Diffuse emotion FIRST! If you know that a conversation is going to be heated or that there is a strong difference of opinion deal with the emotions first. Explain that you know this is a controversial topic but that you're committed to coming up with a solution that best supports the organization. In situations like this be sure you've clearly identified the objective of the discussion - i.e., you need a solution to a systems problem, you need to balance the budget, you need to address an interpersonal issue that's impacting work.
Speak loudly enough Speak clearly and concisely Be aware of your non verbals Are you making eye contact? Is there a reasonable distance between you - not too far to be antisocial - not so close as to be confrontational. depending on your audience
Use appropriate language and terminology Know the interest of your audience Have a point.
(why should they listen).
"Here's a tip - when you're telling your little stories - have a point. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener!" (Steve Martin to John Candy - Trains, Planes and Automobiles). When you've finished speaking the listener should know if you're supporting a position, asking for help, telling them to do something, asking a question, etc. What is your intended outcome? Deliberately phrase your comment so the listener knows how to respond. That sounds obvious but how many times have you listened to someone ramble on and you don't know if they're sharing an opinion, asking a question, asking for your opinion - whatever. Just as when preparing a presentation be sure you let the listener know what you expect of them. Do you expect action immediately? Are you asking for their opinion? Are you asking them to troubleshoot a problem or provide a solution?
Listener Do not be judgmental - remain objective Ask for clarification if necessary Be attentive both psychologically and physically Ask for clarification when needed so you fully understand the message We'll cover the duties of the listener in more detail. Before we do here are some barriers to effective listening:
Listening seems so natural - how can it be difficult?! Of course, there are a lot of obstacles to really listening effectively. Being aware of them will help keep you focused on the message. Read on!
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Listen Up - How to Really Listen Barriers To Effective Listening

Fear of public speaking - It may sound odd, but fear of speaking will interfere with your listening. If you're concerned about how you'll respond or the attention your response may receive by others - you won't be listening to the best of your abilities. You'll be too busy forming your response to listen. Speaking/Listening rate - Psychologists have shown that humans can hear and understand language at a rate of several hundred words per minute (500-900). Most people speak at a rate of 100-200 words per minute. That leaves a lot of idle time for the brain while you're supposed to be listening. Did you ever notice yourself finishing someone else's sentences, thinking about your response or just drifting in and out of attentiveness? If someone does that to you recognize that this type of listener needs you to get directly to the point (what do you expect of them). Interruptions - Interruptions can be anything from typing or working on something when you're supposed to be listening to actual interruptions from your telephone or other staff. If you allow or attend to interruptions - you can't be listening. Being judgmental/biased - Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles to effective listening is that you may have an opinion that conflicts with the speaker's message. While they're talking, you're preparing a rebuttal rather than remaining objective enough to evaluate their idea. The judgment may be about the message (i.e. you have a different - better idea) or it may be about the person. Not verifying intent of message - As listener you have the obligation to verify that you've understood the speaker's message and their intent.
Everyone has their own preferred style of listening. That style acts as a filter to your conversations. Knowing your predominant style can keep your filter from clogging your communication! Read on to learn why.
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Listen Up - How to Really Listen Listening Styles

To improve your own listening skills you must first recognize several different styles of listening. As with most personality traits - you probably have a predominant listening style but occasionally use other ones: Lazy listener These people tend to hear what pleases or interests them. Did your ears ever "perk up" while you were otherwise detached from a conversation because you heard a certain word or phrase? Some individuals will not actively listen unless the topic is significant to them. Ideolic listener An ideolic listener listens for the core idea first. Once they're sure they understand the speakers intent, they relax and absorb the details. Stylistic listener The stylistic listener pays attention to the medium and mannerisms of the speaker. Grammar, presentation skills, non verbals, and even clothing can catch their eye. These listeners often sacrifice a real understanding of the speaker's message. Technical listener These individuals are very fact oriented. They listen for data and specific concrete statements about cause and effect. They also look for instructions that involve them. Emotive listener As the name suggests the emotive listener will be attuned to the emotional state of the speaker. "Not a chance" This person appears to be listening but their mind is really made up. They are not open and objective enough to appreciate the real intent of the speaker.
L I S T E N
Someone has your attention. They're speaking, your ears are open and the sound vibrations are hitting the tympanic membrane of your ear - aka you're listening - or at least hearing. Now what? Review the next section to find out.
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Listen Up - How to Really Listen So Im Listening Now What?
Let's now review the duties of an effective listener. Don't be judgmental - remain objective For you to respond effectively and in the best interest of your company you need to set aside your opinions when listening to others. Understand their position first, then reassess yours. We guarantee that if you practice this it will be noticed and respected by your peers and coworkers. This type of objectivity is crucial in an environment where you want to endorse employee participation and innovation. Ask for clarification if necessary Don't assume you've understood the speaker's message. Paraphrase what you've heard and present your interpretation of it. State specifically what you believe the speaker wants from you. Be sure it's accurate. You can usually tell at the start of a conversation if you're both at the same technical level. If you're far below the speaker tell them immediately to keep it in layman's terms. For instance, you could go to a mortgage broker who knows balloon loans, buy downs, conventional loans, adjustable, FHA loans etc. like the back of his hand. But if he can't communicate them to you in terms that you understand would you be comfortable giving him your business? Be attentive both psychologically and physically We've talked about some of the psychological aspects of listening, but how about the physical? "Looking" as if you're listening isn't going to help you understand and interpret the speaker, but it will encourage the person to be open. Here are a few things to keep in mind: x x x x x x Lean towards the person to appear genuinely interested in their idea. Don't attend to anything else while they speak. Give them your full attention. Maintain eye contact. Nod and respond with reinforcements (Uh huh, I see, Okay...). Maintain appropriate posture. Don't slouch or appear bored as they speak. Take notes when appropriate.
Assist the speaker Here are some things you can do to encourage the speaker: x x x x x x Use openers. "What's on your mind?" "You look like you want to respond?" Show interest verbally and non verbally Ask open questions Use paraphrasing - restate what you've heard to make sure you understand the point Don't be afraid of silence! Silence will encourage the speaker to continue Fight the urge to interrupt
More often than not someone catches you on the way to a meeting, they call you when you're busy, or they pop into your office while you're working. What's the common denominator? You haven't got time to listen. But how do you tactfully tell them that? Read on for some tips.
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Listen Up - How to Really Listen When You Know You Cant Listen
It happens to all of us and we've all done it to others. You're stopped in the hall on the way to a meeting. A coworker wants to run an idea by you so you "fake" an interest in what they're saying all the while edging away towards your meeting and not really absorbing their message. Chances are you've offended them. Ironically, you tried to "fake" listening so that wouldn't happen. Keep in mind, it's extremely easy for someone to know when you are and aren't listening. Try this the next time someone stops you or walks into your office at a bad time: Be genuine Listen quickly (ideolic style) for the core of their message. Assess if it's an urgent matter. If it's not don't let them go any further. Be straight with them Explain that you've only got three minutes to get to your meeting - a half hour to finish this report - you're about to start a conference call whatever the case. If you can't listen, but you offer the speaker a justifiable reason, they usually won't be offended. Offer follow up Explain that their idea is important to you and offer a time that they can stop by or when you can call on them. This sounds very obvious but most people fail at the first step. When they've determined the speaker's issue isn't immediately urgent they let them continue. The listener's non-verbals make it obvious they're not listening and everyone's time is wasted. Be assertive. If you're consistent and if you always follow up, people will respect your style of communicating.
What do you do when it seems someone isn't listening to you? First, don't jump to the conclusion it's all them. Remember as a speaker you have some responsibility to help them listen. What? Check out the next section for some tips.
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Listen Up - How to Really Listen But Youre Not Listening

How many times have you been in conversation with someone and you say or think "You're not listening!" Could be a bit of both. They might not be listening and/or you might not be communicating clearly. Is it an impasse? As you're speaking clarify the; who, why and what of your message. This applies to business conversations or important interpersonal issues. Casual conversation obviously does not have to be so structured.
Who
Why are you asking or speaking to this person? If they don't assume some ownership or accountability for your message they may just dismiss it as gossip or useless banter. If you expect them to understand and react to your message they have to recognize that they have some accountability for the issue. "John, I'm bringing this to your attention because you're the materials manager...." "Mary, I understand you're responsible for processing rejected claims?" "Noel, I was told you could help me locate the nearest service center." "Kay, we've got to discuss the divisional budget. There's not enough to cover your department and mine without some adjustments. Only you can represent your area."
Why
If the listener doesn't perceive some urgency or importance to your message they may dismiss it as casual conversation or unimportant. Be sure to tell them why your message demands their attention. "John, I'm bringing this to your attention because you're the materials manager. We've got a spill in Area C that may pose a health risk to some of the workers." "Mary, I understand you're responsible for processing rejected claims? This claim was rejected. It's for a network practitioner and the doctor is really upset." "Noel, I was told you could help me locate the nearest service center. I've got to get the brakes on the delivery truck fixed before the next shipment comes in." "Kay, we've got to discuss the divisional budget. There's not enough to cover your department and mine without some adjustments. Only you can represent your area. If we don't have this done by afternoon we'll miss the deadline."
What
Though it sounds obvious, the listener has to understand what you expect of him or her. For example, if one person is identifying problems while the other assumes it's time to identify solutions you'll be spinning your wheels. "John, I'm bringing this to your attention because you're the materials manager. We've got a spill in Area C that may pose a health risk to some of the workers. Can you come down immediately and see if it's hazardous?" "Mary, I understand you're responsible for processing rejected claims? This claim was rejected. It's for a network practitioner and the doctor is really upset. Can you review the denial code, see if it's applicable and contact the provider as soon as possible?" "Noel, I was told you could help me locate the nearest service center. I've got to get the brakes on the delivery truck fixed before the next shipment comes in. Can you pull up the directory and see which service center is closest to route 23A?"
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Listen Up - How to Really Listen But Youre Not Listening

continued
"Kay, we've got to discuss the divisional budget. There's not enough to cover your department and mine without some adjustments. Only you can represent your area. If we don't have this done by afternoon we'll miss the deadline. Can we grab a conference room at 2:00pm today and get this settled?" Finally, if you're frustrated by ineffective communication be sure you're listening. Test your own understanding of the person's message FIRST. As in the module Managing Difficult Employees - you need to assess your own contribution to problems or difficult situations before you can rectify them!
Improving Your Listening Skills

Feedback from others is one of the best ways to improve listening or any management skill. Here's a quick assessment that you can ask coworkers to complete: Since you can't always get immediate feedback from others consider conducting a self assessment periodically. You'll find one at the end of this course. When you and a coworker or a group of coworkers are in conversation try to start with a definite statement about the purpose of your conversation. This is very similar to the Objective Statement required for problem solving teams. For instance, imagine you're about to ask "Bob" your MIS manager about a systems problem: "Bob I need some help with a problem we're having in Customer Service. It's taking too long for our phone reps to complete the registration process and it's affecting our performance standard. Can you suggest any ways we could improve the system response time? " Here you've stated why you're asking Bob (who) - you've emphasized why it's important and as an ending you've clarified what you expect of Bob. Listening plays a bigger role in effective communication than most people expect. Listening is a difficult skill to improve because we so often take it for granted. Make a sincere effort to pay attention to your style of listening and that of others. Critique yourself and others to make you more attuned to effective listening.
Like many skills in this system we've included a self assessment to get you thinking about this skill. Try our listening assessment and see if you identify any areas for improvement. Go to the next section.
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Listen Up - How to Really Listen

Learning Exercises
.
We have provided three exercises to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These exercises are found on the following pages. Please print out each of these exercises. Below is a short description of each exercise.
Exercise 1: Effective Listening Exercise

Try this exercise to rate how well you listen.
Exercise 2: Effective Listening Self-Assessment formUse this form to circulate to others if you want you get real feedback on how well you listen.

Listening is risky. To be a good listener you have to be willing to change your point of view. Learn to Listen up.
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Listen Up Effective Listening Exercise (3 pages)

Listening should be considered the lost art of communication. Most people have no problem "talking." Rather the most common complaint when it comes to communication is "He/she doesn't listen!" The problem is listening takes work a lot of it! It's hard to remain objective and to really try and understand someone's opinion especially when it contradicts yours. Other times the person talking isn't talking fast enough and your mind is darting between the conversation and some other mental task. As with most personal development skills the first step towards improvement is awareness! Try this self-assessment to critique your own listening skills.
Instructions: Complete the following Effective Listening Self-Assessment Exercise. Review the results and complete the Personal Action Plan to identify what you want to improve to become a better listener. Extra credit: Print a copy of the Effective Listening Self Assessment and ask a coworker or friend to critique your listening skills.
The rating scale for this assessment is as follows: 5 = exceptional effort to this detail 4 = consistent effort, better than average 3 = average 2 = adequate but can be improved 1 = needs major improvement
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Effective Listening Self-Assessment

Below is an Effective Listening self-assessment you can use to critique your listening skills. Use it periodically as a refresher or to raise your awareness of the importance of listening as a communication skill. A more effective way to use this survey is complete this survey yourself and have your coworkers to fill out an Effective Listening Feedback Form anonymously for you.
5 = exceptional effort to this detail 4 = consistent effort, better than average 3 = average 2 = adequate but can be improved 1 = needs major improvement
Name: Please check the most appropriate response: 1
Date:
I stay focused on a conversation versus drifting in and out of attention.

____ Needs major improvement (1 pt) ____ Adequate but can be improved (2pts) ____ Average (3 pts) ____ Consistent effort, better than average (4 pts) ____ Exceptional effort to this detail (5 pts) ____ Cannot Evaluate / Not observed (0 pts)
I devote my full attention to the individual speaking.

If I don't understand the speakers intent I verify/clarify the message with him/her.
I wait until the speaker finishes before responding rather than interrupt or finish his/her sentences.
When there is silence I often fill it with some comment rather than waste time.
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When someone is speaking I wait for them to finish rather than focusing on, and forming my response.
I remain open and objective towards the speaker's idea before responding.
My non verbals convey that I am interested and attentive to the speaker.

I demonstrate that I've listened to the speaker (i.e. paraphrasing, asking questions)?
10
I ask for clarification on technical issues or language unfamiliar to me.

11
When speaking to me individuals often have to repeat themselves.

12
I give the same degree of attention to all levels of staff when they're speaking to me.
Add up the points from each response and enter the total below.
Total points:
57-65 Excellent, no major improvement needed 49-56 Good Listening skills, minimal improvement 42-48 Average Listening skills, need improvement and consistency 35-41 Below Average, significant improvement needed Below 35 Poor listening skills - significant improvement needed
Effective Listening Self-Assessment

Below is an Effective Listening self-assessment you can use to critique your listening skills. Use it periodically as a refresher or to raise your awareness of the importance of listening as a communication skill. A more effective way to use this survey is complete this survey yourself and have your coworkers to fill out an Effective Listening Feedback Form anonymously for you
Name: Please check the most appropriate response: 1
Date:
I stay focused on a conversation versus drifting in and out of attention.

I devote my full attention to the individual speaking.

If I don't understand the speakers intent I verify/clarify the message with him/her.
I wait until the speaker finishes before responding rather than interrupt or finish his/her sentences.
When there is silence I often fill it with some comment rather than waste time.
When someone is speaking I wait for them to finish rather than focusing on, and forming my response.
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I remain open and objective towards the speaker's idea before responding.
My non verbals convey that I am interested and attentive to the speaker.

I demonstrate that I've listened to the speaker (i.e. paraphrasing, asking questions)?
10
I ask for clarification on technical issues or language unfamiliar to me.

11
When speaking to me individuals often have to repeat themselves.

12
I give the same degree of attention to all levels of staff when they're speaking to me.
Add up the points from each response and enter the total below.
Total points:
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Straight Talk St
- Making M Your Point

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone at work and they're trying to explain a problem to you but they're all over the board and you can't tell what the heck they're saying? Are they telling you something? Asking you something? What?
Here's a hypothetical example of a conversation between an employee and his manager who oversees the Technology department: John "We've got a problem. That software isn't triggering the scheduled jobs like it's suppose to."
Jennifer "What software are you referring to?" John "That software by IBEX. It's suppose to kick off a program that sends work requests to all the units but it's not working."
Jennifer "What's it doing?" John "It runs through the cycle and then it checks the requests - but first it opens that directory and if it can't, it shuts off. But even if it does, the requests are checked and sent but not all of them."
Jennifer "Wait a minute, which directory?" John "The DBA directory."
Jennifer Then it checks some of the requests, but not others, or does it check all requests, but only sends certain ones?" John "Sometimes it'll shut off completely."
Jennifer "I thought you said it sends some of the requests?" John "If it runs. But then the requests might be sent or they might not."
Jennifer "What have you done to pinpoint the problem?" John "Well, we tried calling the work units to see what they received but we weren't sure if their requests were even scheduled so they wouldn't know if they were suppose to get them. We tried forcing the program - no, first we tried all the directories to see which ones weren't working then we called the work units but they hadn't received their requests, except for two."
Jennifer "Do you mean two work units hadn't received requests or two requests went through...." (In frustration) Yada, yada, yada. We've all been in these conversations. They're frustrating, confusing and often lead to unnecessary work or missed opportunities. And, let's admit it. We've also been the one that couldn't get the message straight to begin with. This type of communication goes on in every business, everyday. If you're effective at communicating and making your point you'll get far more accomplished and people will be more likely to listen.
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GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9 9
provides a description of three critical steps in providing straight talk. present the 3W's and why they're critical to your message. offers helpful tips to keep in mind when conveying information to another person. provides a worksheet for outlining your approach next time you have to convey important information to someone. includes an exercise for evaluating your ability to make your point effectively.
Why is this important? Is there a more important business or interpersonal skill than being able to convey information in a manner people will listen to and understand? The more effectively you communicate the faster you can raise problems, learn new procedures, offer suggestions, help customers - the list goes on and on. Master this skill and it will make a significant difference in your performance and the performance of your employees.
Let's review the critical elements for Straight Talk. These are important if you intend to make your point and have people understand and take action.
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Straight Talk: Making Your Point The Three Critical Elements

There are three critical elements to straight talk. These are:
1. Getting and keeping attention 2. Know where you're headed before you start 3. Confirm understanding
Let's look at these in more detail.
1. Getting and keeping attention The first thing you need to do is get the person or audience to listen. In the module on Presentation Skills one of the key elements to an effective presentation is letting the audience know why they should listen to you. That point is just as important in impromptu conversations. There are three ways to get that attention. The first is somewhat obvious, explain why the issue is important to the listener, for example: "We have a problem with the Martin Engineering order you wanted delivered today. Do you have a minute?" "I found an error in the reports today. You might want to look at it before you make your presentation." "Our department is changing the way we code our software before we send it to you guy's for implementation. Can we review that so your team isn't caught off guard." The second way to encourage people to listen is to check their current understanding of an issue or problem and then start from there. For instance; "Tom, I wanted to run an idea past you. How familiar are you with the problem we've been having with the machine calibration on our X400 units?" This does two things. First, it gets Tom actively engaged in the conversation. Second, if you start at a level that's too far below or above Tom's understanding of a situation or problem he'll have a hard time listening and will probably tune out. If they're familiar with the issue just provide new information, if they're not - start with the basics. A third way to get their attention is to alter your speech. Have you noticed your ears perk up when someone speaks slower than normal? Focus on a clear message they can understand.
2. Know where you're headed before you start The second important element when conveying information is to have a logical way to present your message and to start with your ending. Why? When you are speaking with someone, unless it's just chit-chat and storytelling you should have an expectation of them.
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Straight Talk: Making Your Point The Three Critical Elements

continued
For instance; Are you seeking their opinion? i.e. "Jane, you have experience with sales distribution, I'd like your opinion on something........" Are you expecting them to take action? i.e. "Bill, can you come to the conference room for a minute, we need your help on......." Do you want them to be aware of something? i.e. "Mary, this is just a heads up. We're changing over the database tonight in case your department wanted to use it." Once you let them know up front what you expect of them they won't be mentally dissecting your message looking for that clarification. Many people are "hectic" when describing a situation or problem because they start a message then recall bits and pieces as they go. Depending on your message here are some logical ways to present information: If you're describing a process do so in a sequential manner starting with the first step, then second and so on. If you're describing a problem start with the origin, the impact, action taken so far then the current status. A common teaching and presenting method is to tell the person "What" you're going to tell them. Then tell them. Then tell them what you just told them. Sounds redundant doesn't it? It means starting with an overview, then telling them the message, then recapping. If you're presenting multiple options list the pros of one approach versus the pros of the other, then the cons of both.
3. Confirm understanding The third important step is to verify that the listener heard what you intended them to hear. The sooner you do that during the conversation the less time you'll spend re-explaining yourself and frustrating everyone. Here are some easy ways to check for understanding; One way you've probably used when giving someone directions is to ask them to repeat back to you what they heard. If you're explaining a task ask them to demonstrate the task. If they understood you message they'll be able to do it. Another way to confirm they heard your message is to ask them for their opinion on the matter. If they can't offer a logical opinion repeat the message. NOTE: Logical doesn't mean they have to agree with you. It just means that they understood your position clearly enough to offer a position that isn't at least a reasonable alternative.
Now let's look at some examples of messages that draw upon these three elements. These examples will also demonstrate another important aspect of "Making your point" It's called the 3W's.
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Straight Talk: Making Your Point Is Your Message Clear?

How many times have you been in conversation with someone and you say or think "You're not listening!". Could be a bit of both. They might not be listening and/or you might not be communicating clearly. Is it an impasse? As you're speaking clarify the who, why and what of your message. This applies to business conversations or important interpersonal issues. Casual conversation obviously does not have to be so structured. It's called the 3W's.
Who
Why are you asking or speaking to this person? If they don't assume some ownership or accountability for your message they may just dismiss it as gossip or useless banter. If you expect them to understand and react to your message they have to recognize that they have some accountability for the issue. "John, I'm bringing this to your attention because you're the materials manager...." "Mary, I understand you're responsible for processing rejected claims?" "Noel, I was told you could help me locate the nearest service center." "Kay, we've got to discuss the divisional budget. There's not enough to cover your department and mine without some adjustments. Only you can represent your area."
Why
If the listener doesn't perceive some urgency or importance to your message they may dismiss it as casual conversation or unimportant. Be sure to tell them why your message demands their attention. "John, I'm bringing this to your attention because you're the materials manager. We've got a spill in Area C that may pose a health risk to some of the workers." "Mary, I understand you're responsible for processing rejected claims? This claim was rejected. It's for a network practitioner and the doctor is really upset." "Noel, I was told you could help me locate the nearest service center. I've got to get the brakes on the delivery truck fixed before the next shipment comes in." "Kay, we've got to discuss the divisional budget. There's not enough to cover your department and mine without some adjustments. Only you can represent your area. If we don't have this done by afternoon we'll miss the deadline."
What
Though it sounds obvious, the listener has to understand what you expect of him or her. If one person is identifying problems while the other assumes it's time to identify solutions you'll be spinning your wheels. "John, I'm bringing this to your attention because you're the materials manager. We've got a spill in Area C that may pose a health risk to some of the workers. Can you come down immediately and see if it's hazardous."
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Straight Talk: Making Your Point Is Your Message Clear?

continued What
"Mary, I understand you're responsible for processing rejected claims? This claim was rejected. It's for a network practitioner and the doctor is really upset. Can you review the denial code, see if it's applicable and contact the provider as soon as possible." "Noel, I was told you could help me locate the nearest service center. I've got to get the brakes on the delivery truck fixed before the next shipment comes in. Can you pull up the directory and see which service center is closest to route 23A." "Kay, we've got to discuss the divisional budget. There's not enough to cover your department and mine without some adjustments. Only you can represent your area. If we don't have this done by afternoon we'll miss the deadline. Can we grab a conference room at 2:00pm today and get this settled."
The next section just provides some general tips on "Making your point" more effectively. Keep them in mind....
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Straight Talk: Making Your Point Making Your Point: General Tips
Communication experts offer the following advice to keep in mind to get your point across quickly and accurately. Some of these we already covered but here's a recap: Always verify that you have the person's attention. If you're competing with the phone, another task at hand or other interruptions wait for a better time. Avoid jargon and technical terms unless the audience is as expert as you. Always check for the individual's current level of understanding. If you're dealing with an audience cater to the lowest common denominator if that person's opinion and involvement is critical. Point out the benefit to the listener or why it's important at the beginning. Otherwise they'll be waiting for it and ignoring the rest of your message. Verify the listener understood your message as you intended. Speak at a rate that matches the speaking rate of the listener. If you're still struggling to get their attention speak slower at first. Be sensitive to the amount of detail you share. Is it relevant? If not, it only clouds your message. Know what you expect of the listener before you start. Then use a logical process for presenting your point. It's okay, and encouraged, to tell the listener what process you're going to use - i.e. "I'm going to explain this in chronological order of how it occurred...."
Think of a problem or issue you need to present to your boss, employee or coworker. Given what you've learned so far how will you present it? The next section provides a worksheet for planning that conversation.
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Straight Talk: Making Your Point Making Your Point: Next Time
The following process will help you to plan a conversation you intend to have or should have with your boss, an employee or a coworker. Answer the first three questions based on the conversation you plan to have. Then use points 4, 5 and 6 to plan how you will apply the three critical elements for conveying information. 1. Who will you be talking to? 2. What is the issue, problem or suggestion? 3. What do you need from them? What do you expect them to do as a result of your message? How will you apply each of the following three critical elements for conveying information (You can also script what you're actually going to say): 4. Getting and keeping attention 5. Know where you're headed before you start 6. Confirm understanding We have provided a printable worksheet on the following 2 pages which will help you to apply this process. Pick an important problem, an issue, a suggestion, etc. Then take a few minutes to complete it before continuing.
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Making Your Point Worksheet (2 pages)

This worksheet is designed to help you apply what you learned in the Straight Talk: Making Your Point module. Instructions: Think of a problem, an issue, a suggestion, etc that you need to discuss with your manager or coworkers. Complete the worksheet below to help to layout that conversation using the points from Straight Talk: Making Your Point. 1. Who will you be talking to?
2. What is the issue, problem or suggestion?
3. What do you need from them? What do you expect them to do as a result of your message?
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How will you apply the three critical elements for conveying information (You can also script what you're actually going to say): 4. Getting and keeping attention
5. Know where you're headed before you start
6. Confirm understanding
Once you have finished working on this worksheet, continue to the next page and complete the exercises provided.
Go to the next page to find out more.
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Straight Talk: Making Your Point In Summary
Conveying information in a concise, logical manner that focuses on the purpose you're conveying to the listener and the needs you have for making your point is important, if you're presenting information. See....if you'd focused on your ability to convey information effectively you might sound like that last sentence!
Learning Exercises
.
We have provided one exercise and an action plan to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These are found on the following pages. Please print out each of these exercises. Below is a short description of each exercise.
Exercise 1: Straight Talk Self-Assessment Exercise

Try this exercise to see if you provide straight-talk!

This is a remarkably easy habit to get accustomed to with a little practice and attention. The payoff is enormous. Try it!
Please go to the next page to view and print Exercise 1. (this exercise consists of 1 page)
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Straight Talk Self-Assessment (1 page)

This survey instrument will help you assess how well you convey information. Respond to each question by ticking the most appropriate rating. Then add up the points for your ratings and place the total in the space provided below. You can then compare your total to the breakdown provided.
People usually seem to pay attention when I try to explain something.

____ Strongly Disagree (1 pt) ____ Disagree (2 pts) ____ Somewhat Disagree (3 pts) ____ Somewhat Agree (4 pts) ____ Agree (5 pts) ____ Strongly Agree (6 pts)
I am confident people understand fully what I say.

I rarely have trouble presenting my ideas and opinions in a logical, concise manner.
I rarely have to repeat myself or explain myself further

People usually take the action I expected after I present my ideas and suggestions
Add up the points from each response and enter the total below. Total points:
5-12 13-22 23-30
Focus on using the Making your point: Worksheet until you are more effective at conveying information. Average communication skill for conveying information. Use the Making your point: Worksheet as a refresher periodically. Outstanding communication skills - but be sure others agree!
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Notes:
Straight Talk is a remarkably easy habit to get accustomed to with a little practice and attention. The payoff is enormous. Try it!
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M Managing Difficult Situations Si
Managing Difficult Situations

As a manager or supervisor you are going to run into countless scenarios where you have to pull some magic out of your hat (or at least be good with smoke and mirrors). You've got to deal with individual problems, mass mutinies, as well as your own problems. When those challenging situations arise, you can't react haphazardly. You need to approach the situation with a logical way of diagnosing the problem and coming up with a plan to change an individual or group's behavior. Not an easy task.
GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9 9 9
describes typical difficult situations explains why people are usually reluctant to address difficult situations illustrates the impact problem situations can have if not dealt with quickly and effectively describes a method for managers and supervisors to use when dealing with employee or workplace problems describes 15 common employee problems with recommendation on how a manager should respond provides and exercise and action plan for how you can deal with your own difficult situations
Why is this important? How much time have you wasted dealing with an employee who's constantly tardy, an employee who makes the same mistakes over and over, a group of employees who are fighting due to personality differences? The list goes on. Let's face itif your company only employed one personyou, then there would never be any problems, right? But that's not the case. Managers avoid dealing with these situations for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they go away, more often they just get worse. It may not be obvious but those little problems are costing you money, service and customers.
Some days seem like one long string of difficult situations all running together! Unfortunately that's exactly how some managers perceive their job and when doing so become insensitive to the real root cause of the problems. The result is a knee jerk style of management. The first step is recognizing a difficult situation. Go to the next page to find out more.
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Managing Difficult Situations What Are Some Typical Difficult Situations?

Unfortunately coming up with a list of these isn't hardjust the solution. Here are some examples. This certainly isn't an exhaustive list:
1. Employee talks too much and is interfering with work 2. Possible wrongful accusations by one employee about
another
3. Employee is publicly refusing work you've assigned

them
4. Employee is criticizing you and undermining your authority 5. Employee is unhappy about new assignment and complaining openly about it 6. Entire department is unmotivated and "burned out" 7. Employee's work performance has steadily declined 8. Employee isn't using his/her time productively 9. Employee is not performing his/her most important job for some reason 10. Employee is constantly tardy 11. Defensive employee who takes constructive criticism personally 12. Employee is not following new procedure properly 13. A rift occurs among the staff, one person leads the others against an individual 14. Whole group is resisting new procedure
These are just a few. Think about your workplace. What situations have you run into? Do you run into the same ones over and over? What, if anything, have you done to address these problems? Note: We will be examining each of these difficult situations in this course.
Truth is - many managers are uncomfortable confronting difficult situations. Responding means confronting employee's, it means managing conflict and it means sharing negative feedback - three things most people are uncomfortable doing. But understanding why managers have difficulty is the first step towards taking action.
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Managing Difficult Situations Why Do We Avoid Difficult Situations?

Managers and supervisors have a tendency to avoid intervening on these situations for a number of reasons: No Time It's hard enough to find time to do your job, correct mistakes, satisfy your boss and put out day-to-day fires now you have to counsel employees? The irony is that most of your work is multiplied by or impacted by these common problems. Avoiding Confrontation Most people will avoid or prefer to avoid negative confrontations with other people. Managers and employees are certainly no different. The hope is the problem will correct itself, go away or can be swept under the rug. Usually not. It's not significant John, comes to you and says Ron is creating problems for the team. He's not doing his shareHe and so and so don't get alongHe's so negative all the timeblah, blah, blah. Often times the messenger is labeled the complainer or the manager assumes employees should fix their own problems. It's true employee differences are better addressed among peers but when that fails management has to intervene. On the surface these problems seem insignificant compared to the manager's problems but behind the scenes these situations are impacting morale, costs, and the quality of your service.
What's the impact of these difficult situations? Usually the impact the manager sees is just the tip of the iceberg. You can bet that if a manager is aware of a problem situation then employees have been tolerating it for longer. Click the Read on to review some simple illustrations.
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Managing Difficult Situations Whats The Impact?

Because the impact of these problems isn't always obvious they're best illustrated with some simple scenarios: Scenario 1: Manager is losing credibility with staff George just seems like one of those people who always has a complaint. You changed procedures in your department and he thought they were "stupid." You announced changes in scheduling because your department received new responsibilities and he was adamantly against it. When you hired a new team member George complained he was unqualified when he made mistakes. On occasions employees came to you in confidence because George was criticizing you and your management. You tried to address the situation indirectly by emphasizing the reasons for your decisions in staff meetings and offering an "open door" policy. Lately, productivity in your department was dropping. Little did you know employees were splitting into factionsthose that supported you and those that enjoyed listening to George. Scenario 2: Employee is constantly tardy Heather, one of your customer service reps, is supposed to be in by 8:30am. It's 9:10am and once again, she's late. The rest of the department gets here on time and since the call volume is relatively low they can cover it usually. You tried to address it but you're usually tied up in meetings. On occasions you notice from your call reports she logged into her phone late again so you call her and remind her of the policy. That should correct it. Instead, her coworkers notice everyday when she's late. They resent the fact that you haven't done anything and wonder why she's privileged. They decide to start coming in late. Now you're short staffed and customers are hanging up because they can't get through to anybody. Scenario 3: Employee makes a lot of mistakes that are costing money You manage an insurance agency that sells a full range of insurance products. One of your junior agents, Bill, has the responsibility for documenting customer demographicsi.e., name, address, phone, current coverage, type of inquiry, etc. on a customer request form and passing that on to a senior agent who will meet with the customer. You've gotten some complaints from the senior agents that Bill's work is sloppy. He gives them wrong information, request forms that aren't filled out correctly, his handwriting is illegible, etc. You call Bill and tell him to "be more careful." But you don't tell him specifically what he's doing wrong or how you'll follow up with him to see if he's improved. Bill thinks the more request forms he fills out the better so he's grabbing every phone call he can. The problem continues. Now you have senior agents who you pay three times the salary of Bill, fixing his mistakes. Then you wonder why their output has slacked off lately..
So what can a manager do to react to these situations. Better yet what can managers do to respond to these situations? Like any management skill dealing with difficult situations it takes some forethought. In the next section we provide a step-by-step approach.
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Managing Difficult Situations What Can a Manager Do?
As a manager or supervisor you must have a logical way of diagnosing and responding to these problems. Let's review a basic framework to do that:
Step 1: Put your antennas out Step 2: Define the problem in behavioral terms Step 3: Determine what could be the cause Step 4: Ask yourself "Could I be contributing"? Step 5: Determine - How should I react?
Step 1: Put your antennas out Often times staff will bring these problems to your attention. In that case, all you need to do is listen objectively. Don't dismiss the issue as just another complaint. For most people the decision to go to their manager with a complaint is a difficult one, so employees don't usually make these complaints haphazardly. By the time they've mustered enough courage to come to you the problem is usually pretty well entrenched so you need to react. Not all problems are brought to your attention by employees. If you know how to look and listen many of them you can "nip in the bud" before they become major. For instance, examine your work environment for rework and constant mistakes. Look for points where work is piling up. Do you have a high incidence of tardiness? Is motivation or morale low? All these can be indicators of employee problems.
Step 2: Define the problem in behavioral terms Next, figure out what the problem is. This sounds obvious, but many managers make the mistake of trying to deal with "symptoms" and not the root cause. For instance, if you've got a productivity problem in your department you may cancel employee meetings, ask for overtime, pull some resources from another area - things start to improve (for the short term), but your quick fixes didn't alleviate your problem. Two months later you're in the hole again. Perhaps it's a problem in the workflow, employees are improperly trained or lack motivation. Another mistake is to define employee problems in terms of personality. "He's just a negative person by nature." "She's not a team player." You've got to define, in specific behavioral terms, what it is that's interfering with the quality of their work.
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Managing Difficult Situations What Can a Manager Do?

continued
Step 3: What could be the cause? Usually there's not just one root cause for performance or group problems, but rather an interaction of several. Brainstorm factors you think are involved - some may be environmental (constant changes in procedures or policies) or individual (employee lacks certain skills and/or training). You'll have a chance to validate these later.
Step 4: Could I be contributing? This is one of the most important characteristics of effective managers and leaders. A manager must be able to do an honest appraisal of how he or she may have contributed to a particular problem. The manager who looks critically at his or her own behavior with an eye for self improvement can then work with others to improve their performance. If a manager is contributing to the problem and he/she makes an effort to change, the employee will do the same.
Step 5: How should I react? Outline a specific sequence of actions you can take to alleviate the problem. Document your decision so you can refer to it and critique yourself. Documentation is critical if disciplinary action is involved. Finally, sharing the documentation with the employee or group commits you to a sort of social contract. Your response should address the specific behavioral problem you identified in your original problem statement. Present it to the employee in a way that addresses the behavior, not their personality. Also, be sure your company has a documented disciplinary process for dealing with employees whose performance or work habits are unacceptable. Consider the following questions: What employee related problems have you had in your work environment? (make a list) How did the problem get resolvedor did it? What could you have done to better address the situation? How could you have contributed to the problem?
Let's look at this framework in action. The next section provides 15 common work place situations and walks them through the Difficult Situation framework. Review them so the next time you're facing one you can respond not react!
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Managing Difficult Situations Difficult Employee Situation Case Studies

The following are 15 common types of employee or group problems a manager may face. For each scenario we have gone through the 5 step process of diagnosis and resolution. You may certainly consider other alternatives. CASE STUDIES 1. Employee is making waves over some change you're making 2. Employee talks too much and is interfering with work 3. Possible wrongful accusations by one employee about another 4. Employee is publicly refusing to comply with your expectations 5. Employee is criticizing you and undermining your authority 6. Employee's unhappy about new assignment and talking publicly about it 7. Entire department is unmotivated and "burned out" 8. Employee's work performance has steadily declined 9. Employee isn't using his/her time productively 10. Employee is not performing his/her most important task for unknown reason 11. Employee is constantly tardy 12. Defensive employee who takes constructive criticism personally 13. Employee is not following new procedure properly 14. A rift occurs among the staff, one person leads the others against an individual 15. Whole group is resisting new procedure
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Managing Difficult Situations Case Study #1
You have just presented a new procedure to be used in the Customer Service department. As usual, Roger has strong objections saying that the new procedure is going to make their life difficult. And as usual, he's trying to speak for the entire department. Even after explaining your justification for the procedure Roger is still adamant, tossing out new reasons why it won't work. The rest of the group appears uneasy as, once again, Roger has challenged your direction. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x You have an outspoken employee who is resistant to change.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x Employee(s) not involved in identifying or implementing the change - no ownership Employee(s) lack confidence in management decisions Roger could just be overly skeptical by nature or have problems with authority Change may actually add work for employees
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x How involved were employees in identifying this change? Have you allowed this employee to question your decisions (non constructively) in the past? Are you sure this process is not adding an unreasonable amount of work for the department? Do staff have a chance to add their opinions/recommendations on changes? Do you feel threatened or intimidated by Roger?
4. How should I react? x First, you should be able to defend your stance in the meeting. Reinforce the reason for the change. Be sure the group understands why it's necessary. Be strong in your conviction. If later you find out the change is detrimental you can revisit your decision. That way, you've stood up initially for your decision but demonstrate that you're willing to listen and reconsider your position. Draw out other members and ask their opinions. Consult with Roger after the meeting. Explain that there is a proper way to provide feedback regarding changes and ideas. He needs to realize his approach is destructive to the department. Give him a specific example of how you'd like him to share his ideas and suggestions going forward. If you believe it, reinforce that he is an important asset to the department and his opinions are valued when they are shared constructively.
x x
Case Study 2 on the next page.
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Millie has always been one of your most consistent Data Entry Specialists. Her work is accurate; she follows procedures well and really has a good understanding of the department's workflow. The only problem is she's constantly talking and distracting others in the department. It's no wonder her coworkers can't keep up with her. Some have complained about it in the past but you've just recently realized how loud and aggravating she really is. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x You have a talkative employee whose socializing is interfering with work in the department.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x Employee has never been counseled on disruptive behavior Employee is not challenged by her job or is overqualified Employee seeks social interaction/recognition Employee is unaware her behavior is bothering other employees
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x Have you counseled the employee regarding her disruptive behavior? Have you unintentionally reinforced it by allowing her to engage in excessive conversations with you or others? Have you kept the employee challenged and motivated by her job? Are there other constructive avenues for this employee to gain social interaction?
4. How should I react? x Counsel the employee immediately. Use specific examples of how her constant talking has bothered others. You do not have to share names of fellow employees. Define what is an acceptable level of socializing. Set a goal for her - i.e. no complaints or observations of her disrupting others for three months. Monitor her closely. Provide regular feedback. Determine if the employee is challenged / motivated by her job. If she can maintain her expected productivity and take on more stimulating work ask her what she would be interested in. Consider including her on a project / QI Team if she is rewarded by social interaction
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Russell, one of your claims representatives, steps into your office to discuss a new procedure in the department in which representatives are asked to verify the providers address according to the one listed in the your computer system. Most have had difficulty managing the new task since it increases their talk time. However, a few have not. Bertha, in particular, has adapted very well. In fact, just yesterday you made a point of praising Bertha for maintaining such a high call volume. Russell has just told you that he heard Bertha is not verifying the provider address. That's why she's able to maintain her call volume. You're fairly sure Bertha is verifying the address because you've heard her using your call monitoring process and her documentation is clean of problems. What do you say to Russell? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x You have an employee who may be wrongfully accusing another of lying/poor work performance
2. What could be the cause? x x x x x Employee is presenting inaccurate, secondhand information from another source Employee is anxious/threatened by other employees' performance Employee is trying to divert attention from their own performance Only individual performance is recognized and reinforced creating competition Employee is interpreting your praise of the other individual as favoritism
3. Could I be contributing? x x x Are you sure the information the employee has provided is false? Have you shown any favoritism towards Bertha in the past? Do you provide regular feedback and reinforcement for all employees?
4. How should I react? x The first thing you need to do is verify Bertha's performance. If she is not practicing the new process counsel her immediately. Be sure she understands the process and monitor her closely for a short time to see that she complies. Also, review your productivity requirements. It may be that staff cannot maintain expected productivity (at least initially) given the new task. Identify ways to streamline the process. If Bertha is practicing the process effectively - you need to counsel Russell. Explain how detrimental it is to teamwork in the department to falsely accuse another person's work. Find out if Russell is concerned about his own performance or if he needs assistance. Also, identify what it is that allows Bertha to maintain her productivity and see if the rest of the department can be trained in those skills. Consider how it is you evaluate employee performance and what you reward and recognize. You may need to add more team oriented goals that lessen the emphasis on individual achievement and competition.
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You're in a staff meeting when, Janice, one of your Data Entry people has just reacted to a new task that you've asked your department to do. "I don't care. Those sheets have to be reentered because the engineers didn't fill them out correctly. I'm not doing it." With that she folded her arms defensively. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x You have an employee who is publicly refusing to comply with your expectations. This is a more extreme example of case study #1.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x x History of antagonism between the manager and this employee Employee does not react to change very well Employee fears additional work will interfere with productivity expectations Employee has been allowed to challenge you (non constructively) in the past Change will genuinely add undue work to the unit and should be reconsidered
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x Have you reinforced ways for employees to constructively voice concerns/ideas? Have you allowed this employee to challenge you (non constructively) in the past? Are you completely confident your change is the most efficient way to enact this process? Have you prepared your staff to deal with change effectively? Have you asked your staff to clean up problems for others instead of fixing the root cause?
4. How should I react? x Confront Janice immediately (preferably in the meeting). Explain the purpose of the change and why it's important. Entertain other options as long as they're presented in a constructive, professional way. Give Janice an example of how she could have presented her opinion. Anytime your authority is challenged you must react quickly and unemotionally if you are to maintain credibility in front of your staff. If there has been a history of this type of behavior you may consider formal disciplinary action. Educate your staff as to the importance of change and your process for implementing it. Encourage open communication and input regarding changes. This way when changes occur employees will know they can respond constructively rather than immediately being defensive. If what Janice is saying is true, address the errors made by engineers as a training issue. Include her in drafting an outline to help them minimize mistakes.
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You have just overheard one of your employees, Zelda, criticize you in front of several coworkers. "She has no idea what's going on in this department. How are we suppose to work when she keeps changing procedures. "It's stupid. She's stupid." she told them. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x An employee is openly criticizing you in public and undermining your authority.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x There may be a personality conflict between you and this employee. Staff may not have a regular opportunity to discuss issues in a controlled environment/constructive way. Lack of trust and communication. Employee feels s/he cannot speak openly to manager regarding problems within the department. Constant change and/or inefficiency in department has employee(s) anxious/stressed
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x x x Have you encouraged open, honest communication with your employees? Do you have personal biases toward this employee? Have other employees expressed concern about the way the department is functioning? Do you listen to and act upon your employee recommendations? Have you provided the necessary support for them to do their jobs? How well have you managed changes in your department? Have you allowed employees to speak disparagingly/unprofessionally towards others?
4. How should I react? x Call Zelda into your office immediately. If you feel you are going to respond emotionally rather than rationally - explain that you overheard her comments and will speak with her later. When you do speak with her explain, in no uncertain terms, that her behavior was inappropriate, unprofessional and detrimental to the department. Describe how she should have constructively voiced her concerns. Reexamine the ways that you encourage employee input and communication. Educate your staff to accept change more readily and to expect change. Reinforce publicly examples where employees effectively communicate concerns or share constructive criticism/feedback.
x x x
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You overhear one of your technicians complaining about a new assignment you've given him. The assignment means some additional clerical work on his end but you're sure he can handle it. At least that's what he said when you discussed it with him. You even asked if he thought he had too much on his plate to handle it now. You've tried to be open with your employees. Why do some of them insist on constantly whining behind your back? What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x Employee is unhappy with new assignment he agreed to and is complaining openly about it.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x Employee really didn't think he had the opportunity to turn down the project Employee was afraid turning down the work was a sign of weakness/inability Employee is concerned he needs more direction or support for the new assignment The new assignment will genuinely interfere with his workload
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x Did you present the task as an option? Did the employee really have a chance to voice concerns about it? Personal preference toward employee--do you consistently give more work to a particular individual? Did you ensure that the employee has the skills and support necessary for the new work? Is there some type of reward that's meaningful for the employee?
4. How should I react? x Talk with the employee. Explain what you overheard and why you're concerned. Ask if he perceived the opportunity as a choice or not. If not, what was it about the way you presented it that mislead him? Does he still want the assignment? Determine if he is confident he has the skills / ability to perform the job. Reaffirm why you offered it to him and what's in it for him. Encourage him to come to you in the future if he has concerns. Give him an example of what he could have said. Explain publicly that you will be offering special assignments as growth opportunities for staff and that staff should not always feel obligated. If it is mandatory you will explain so.
x x x x
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You just can't seem to figure it out. Your department's performance just remains mediocre. Their work meets the minimum required - but barely. When you try to make improvements they just don't seem to comply with the changes. None of them seem to have any suggestions on how to improve things even though you've asked. They just don't seem to care. They're completely sapped. 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x Your department is unmotivated and barely meeting the minimum expected. Everyone seems demoralized, burned out, unhappy, and just plain sapped.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x x x Employees have unrealistic workload Employees don't understand connection between their product and the goal of organization Lack of recognition for efforts Job is not challenging No reward or recognition for their effort No teamwork or team oriented goals
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x x What steps have you taken to motivate your employees? How often do you provide your staff with feedback? How do you make their jobs challenging? How do you involve them in improving the efficiency of your department? Have they been subjected to numerous changes? What rewards and incentives exist?
4. How should I react? x You're faced with a problem that most every manager deals with from time to time. You need to find a way to energize your staff and get them motivated again (or for the first time). First determine immediate needs. Are all staff trained and capable to perform their jobs? Set some challenging goals for the department to achieve (team and individual). Encourage employee involvement in improving the department. Link their efforts to rewards and recognition. Review how you reinforce their efforts. Examine your Quality Improvement initiatives to determine if they really are effective. Draw a clear connection between their responsibilities and those of the organization to emphasize the importance of their jobs.
x x x x
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Two of your Account Executives have just complained to you. Apparently, the customer orders being sent from the service reps are all screwed up again. They're mixed together and the paperwork is incomplete. This is the third time in three weeks that someone has brought this problem to your attention. Lulu, one of your service reps is responsible. To this point her work has always been "average" but recently you've noticed a steady decline in her performance. In fact, her personality in general has changed. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x An employee's work performance has steadily declined.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x Employee has personal problems interfering with work Employee is not motivated/challenged by their work Employee is not held accountable for poor performance Recent changes may have added work for the employee
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x Did you address the performance problem as soon as you became aware of it? Are you aware of changes that may have effected this employee? What have you done to keep this employee motivated? Has this employee gotten the necessary support/training necessary for their job?
4. How should I react? x x Since the employee's performance has declined, it's assumed that something "changed" to cause that decline. First determine if it's personal in nature or work specific since you'll respond differently. If the problem is "personal" explain that it is interfering with the employee's work and that you want to help. The fact that you're discussing it will relieve them of some anxiety. Offer your personal services if you are qualified or offer your EAP (if available). Explain that you will provide any work related support you can until the employee addresses their problem. Set a specific time to meet again to discuss progress and in the meantime monitor the employees performance. Remember, personal problems or not they still have an obligation to their job. If the problem is strictly a performance issue (work related) explain the trend you've seen in their performance (use data). Ask them what they see as the problem. Is it training/skills related? Have there been changes you're not aware of? Is the employee lacking motivation? Set an improvement goal with the employee. Ask them what they need in terms of support to get their productivity back up. Document the goal and meet regularly to review progress.
x x
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This is the second time in an hour that you've walked by your Administrative Assistant and seen her scrolling through the latest download of "Dilbert" on her computer. Manager: "Heather, don't you have anything to do?" Heather: "No, not really." Manager: "Do you think Max or Betty need any help?" Heather: "I don't know." Manager: "Well do you think you could ask them and see? And if they don't have anything there's always the monthly report package that can be run." Heather: "Okay, do you want me to ask them?" Manager: "Yes - that would be good." You have to turn away as you feel yourself making a fist. If you didn't lead her by the hand she'd probably just sit there all day. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x Your employee is not using her time productively. She needs to be constantly monitored to make the best use of her time.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x x x x x Not enough direction/specified job responsibilities Heather lacks initiative/motivation Poor communication between Heather and manager Position has inadequate or incomplete job description - unclear responsibilities. Heather needs better training/orientation Lack of priorities set by supervisor Heather lacks challenge Heather is lazy
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x x Did you effectively communicate (verbally and/or in writing) duties, job description and priorities? Have you done an effective job analysis on Heather's position? Is this person and job a good match? Have you allowed this behavior to occur? Have you been involved enough? Is it possible that you over or underestimated Heather's qualifications?
4. How should I react? x x x x x x Start with a full review of Heather's job responsibilities. Does she really have enough to keep her busy? If not, what can be added? Next, how have you prioritized her responsibilities? Once you've gone through this analysis ask Heather what she thinks are her responsibilities and how they're prioritized. Look for differences. When you've reached agreement, document her duties so she can keep them posted. It also sounds as if you expect more self direction from Heather. She needs to develop some self management skills. Make it a personal goal for Heather to remain busy and take the responsibility to find work when it's lacking. Ask her to submit a brief status report each week on her accomplishments. Review it with her each week to verify progress.


Ziggy's complaining again. He feels the work that he does in the Medical Records Department is just too boring and monotonous. On top of that, the volume of work in the department is incredibly high. Often times he seems overwhelmed. You've found him, several times, creating work for himself to avoid his regular responsibilities. He offered to shred papers for another department when he should have been making new records. Other times he'll prioritize his work so he can do the few things he likes. This has caused a problem with getting records to nurses in a timely manner. His attitude in general has gotten progressively worse. It's obvious he doesn't like the work he's doing. But, when he was hired you explained the requirements of the job very clearly. He seemed a good fit since he had some administrative experience in record keeping. At the time he said he really wanted the job. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x Your employee is not performing his/her most essential tasks and not meeting the requirements of his/her position.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x x x x Ziggy may have used this position as a "foot in the door" - thinking it was just a stepping stone Ziggy is bored with, and unchallenged by his position - he may be overqualified There is a lack of direction/supervision from manager Lack of efficiency in department Lack of motivation and/or an atmosphere to encourage motivation Ziggy lacks an understanding of how his role affects others Ziggy lacks self management skills
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x x x Review your initial assessment of Ziggy. Why did you think he was right for the job? Have you clearly explained the impact his responsibilities have on other departments? Have you clearly set priorities? Did you provide enough training? Does he have the tools he needs? What have you done to make his job personally rewarding? Have you investigated ways to streamline his work so the volume is more manageable?
4. How should I react? x Has Ziggy's performance declined or always been poor/mediocre? If it's always been poor / mediocre identify Ziggy's training needs and your style of management to support him. If it has declined then you have to identify the precipitating factor (de-motivated, changes in responsibilities, personal issue. Explain your observation to Ziggy. Ask him how he thinks he's doing. Ask Ziggy how he prioritizes his responsibilities. Are they consistent with your expectations? Review the standards for measuring his productivity. If you don't have data you'll need to establish appropriate measurement systems. Examine the department workflows to see if efficiencies can be gained.
x x


You walk past Olga's desk, one of your telemarketing operators. She's not there and it's already twenty minutes past the hour. She didn't ask for any time off so you can only assume one thing--Olga's late again. Sure enough here she comes rushing in, offering some half-baked excuse about "black ice, the dog ate her car keys, locusts swarmed her car", etc. This has got to stop. All your other reps are conscientious about getting here on time. What are you going to do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x Your employee is constantly tardy.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x It's a personal problem, not work related. She has not been disciplined, nor reprimanded so she does not see this as a problem. Work hours not clearly communicated. Just poor time management .
3. Could I be contributing? x x Have you inadvertently reinforced her behavior by not addressing it or addressing it inconsistently? Have you effectively communicated your expectations about work hours? Are you setting a good example by being to work on time?
4. How should I react? x Meet with Olga immediately. Rule out any personal problem as the basis. If it is a personal problem offer support or your EAP (if available). Explain that her personal problem cannot continue to affect her work and that you want to help her. If there is no personal problem start by stating your expectation regarding work hours. Explain how her tardiness is detrimental to the department and unfair to coworkers. Initiate disciplinary action process if appropriate. Touch base with your HR department just to be sure you're following appropriate procedures. In any event, document that you spoke with her about her tardiness. Set a specific goal for Olga - i.e.: no tardiness over the next three months. Make sure you have a reliable means to ensure her timeliness (consider phone messages from her work phone if they are time/date stamped). Provide regular feedback on her progress.
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"I'm doing my best, but I feel like you're always criticizing my work. I don't know why you're always picking on me. I delivered what you asked for - isn't that enough?" Here you go again. It seems like every time you bring a performance issue to Tootsie's attention she gets defensive. Even mere suggestions are taken as personal attacks. You really are concerned and are trying to help. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x You've got a defensive employee who takes "constructive criticism" personally
2. What could be the cause? x x x x x Tootsie lacks the skills necessary to do her job Tootsie does not recognize inefficiencies. Tootsie tends to be over-emotional or places unduly high expectations on her work Lack of positive feedback in the past Tootsie was treated unfairly in the past
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x Have you provided the necessary support for Tootsie to do her job? Do others in the department react the same as Tootsie? Do you provide constructive feedback or just negative feedback? Have you been objective with regards to Tootsie's work? Are your requests or work assignments clear?
4. How should I react? x x x x Examine your own style of providing feedback. Do you balance positive and negative feedback? Explain to Tootsie your observations about how she receives feedback. Reassure her that your intent is to help her. Are policies and procedures well documented? Make sure employees have resources to help them. Assess the level of direction and support you're providing Tootsie. Does she have the self direction skills to monitor and improve her work? Each time you assign a task or goal with an employee confirm that they understand it clearly.
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You've just taught your data entry staff a new procedure for entering customer orders when there is a discrepancy with the customer account number. The procedure is a bit complicated but will alleviate many problems that could occur later on. While doing an audit on returned orders you notice that Gilbert, one of your Data Entry people, is responsible for almost all of the errors. You've emphasized how important this procedure is - you're surprised to see this. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x You have one employee not following a new procedure properly.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x x Gilbert lacks an understanding of the procedure -- perhaps absent for training. He does not understand how his mistakes will impact customer service He has a tendency to be careless He may be distracted by personal issues Equipment malfunction
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x Have you assumed he knew the procedure without offering additional training? Has Gilbert asked for assistance? Have you emphasized the importance of this process? Have you monitored his performance? Have you tolerated Gilbert's carelessness in the past?
4. How should I react? x Since everyone else in the department has been handling the new process efficiently, you have narrowed it down to an individual issue. Explain the performance problem to Gilbert using data, if possible. Ask him if he was aware of this problem and what he thinks may be the cause. He may just need clarification of the new procedure. Set a goal to improve his performance. Monitor him closely and provide regular feedback. Determine if Gilbert's has a problem with the quality of his other work also. If so, include those responsibilities for improvement. Document your actions and the solution you've come up with. Consider whether or not this is a formal disciplinary step. This would depend upon your past actions with the employee and the magnitude of the problem.
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An employee has brought to your attention that Ernie, one of your line workers got into a pretty nasty fight with some coworkers in the lunchroom. Apparently, he and Clyde were at it again. Clyde accused Ernie of not doing his job and making more work for everyone else. Three of Clyde's buddies were agreeing with him. Ernie's explanation seemed justified. Everyone knows there was some kind of personal issue between the two of them. Now Clyde had made it four on one. It's starting to interfere with their work and that of the department. You were aware of some differences between them but always assumed they'd work it out. Now what? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x A rift has occurred among your staff. One person has become an informal leader in a campaign against another one.
2. What could be the cause? x x x Antagonistic relationship/personality conflict between them One individual is reacting (inappropriately) to a real performance issue involving another There is a lack of teamwork/cohesiveness in the department
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x x Have you allowed this feud to go on? If there is a performance issue with Ernie have you not addressed it? Are you uncomfortable confronting Ernie and/or Clyde? What have you done to promote teamwork among your staff? Have you treated all individuals in your department fairly? Have you created an environment where employees are comfortable coming to you with issues?
4. How should I react? x There are two separate issues that need to be addressed. First, is there a performance issue with Ernie? Second, Clyde has inappropriately taken this personal issue and made it a departmental one. If there is a performance issue with Ernie address it as in case studies 8 & 10, using goal setting and feedback. Now you have to address Clyde. Explain to him that his behavior has been inappropriate and will not be tolerated. You are the manager and you are responsible for any performance issues. Document the conversation and explain that you expect no further arguments. If he has a concern about Ernie's performance or anyone else, he needs to come to you. Now you have to repair the damage between Clyde and Ernie. They don't have to be friends but they have to be coworkers and teammates. While most managers would find it uncomfortable have a meeting between the three of you, that's what you need to do. It's more likely that issues will be presented accurately and it's better for others in the department to "see" the problem being addressed. Document what is said in that meeting and later review it with the two of them. Documentation is critical if the problem flares up. You should state your position as manager - Do you want your employees to attempt to work out their problems completely amongst themselves or, should you always be the mediator? Typically it's best if employees try first.
x x


This is turning into a nightmare. You're presenting a new form to be used in the Administration Department and your employees hate it. "It's too confusing..., We never had to fill out that stuff before..., This will take us forever...", are some of the complaints. The new form is necessary to gather data for the quarterly report and your manager made it clear to start using it as soon as possible. By the time you get your employees to stop complaining the quarter will probably be over. What should you do? 1. Define the problem in behavioral terms x Your whole group is resisting a new procedure.
2. What could be the cause? x x x x x Lack of employee input in determining the change Group doesn't understand the importance of the data requirements General lack of flexibility among team members Employees concerned that this will interfere with other work Group has been inundated with change
3. Could I be contributing? x x x x x x Have you stressed the importance of gathering this information? Did you ask their input in designing the form? Have you managed past change in the department effectively? What have you done to lessen their anxiety? Are you expecting too much from your employees? Are you firm enough with your employees?
4. How should I react? x Clearly communicate why the form is important and that it is necessary and non negotiable. However, solicit their feedback on how the process can be improved. Perhaps the layout of the form can be streamlined or even automated. Assign this as a team project but set a measurable goal. For example, upon implementation it may take an extra five minutes to complete the form. After implementing their recommendations, you may get it down to four or three minutes. Also, this data is valuable in communicating productivity issues to your manager.
Continued on the next page.
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Managing Difficult Situations In Summary

The solutions to the preceding case studies are simply suggestions that have had positive results in the past. Your situation may not fit any of these exactly. It's more likely you will find yourself dealing with a combination of situations. The process, however, is the same: Keep your eyes and ears open, identify the problem(s), assess possible causes, assess your responsibility, and determine a response.
Learning Exercises
.
We have provided one exercise and an action plan to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These are found on the following pages. Please print out each of these exercises. Below is a short description of each exercise.
Exercise 1: Dealing with Difficult Situations Exercise

They happen all the time. Make sure you're prepared next time. Do this exercise.

Take action which is based on careful analysis and focus on the kind of performance you want and expect.
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Managing Difficult Situations Dealing with Difficult Situations Exercise (2 pages)

This exercise will help you diagnose and address situations where you are having difficulty with an employee. The difficulty could be something minor such as excessive socializing, or minor mistakes to something severe such as gross errors or fighting with other staff. When you're confronted with a problem situation review it in terms of the steps described in the Managing Difficult Situations course. The course may contain a similar scenario. If so, feel free to use the recommendations. If not, use the framework from the course to diagnose the problem and take appropriate action 1. Write a Statement of the problem in behavioral terms
Statement:
2. Identify possible causes or contributing factors Possible cause(s):
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3. Conduct a self assessment - could you be contributing to this problem in anyway? Comments:
4. Determine your response to alleviate the problem - be as specific as possible. Your response should include specific goals for the employee - i.e. should improve X by Y% by Z (date): Response:
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Managing Conflict M
Managing Conflict
Without a doubt, the most damaging, counterproductive dynamic in the workplace is conflict. Not just any conflict, but personal conflict. Largely, because it's so common. You just can't put groups of people together and expect them to always play nice. Of course, conflict doesn't necessarily have to mean actual physical abuse. In fact, that type of conflict in the workplace is quite rare. Rather, the most common type of personal conflict manifests itself in more subtle, smoldering ways. It's behind those factions of employees who can never seem to work together. It's often behind those hour and a half lunch breaks and tardy arrivals. When customer service goes sour or productivity drops don't be surprised if conflict is bubbling near the surface. There's a fine line between functional conflict that's good for your organization and personal conflict that can spread like a disease. At some point you'll find yourself involved in a disagreement. Do you know how to use conflict to improve your work environment versus destroy it?
GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9
defines two types of workplace conflict describes situations with the potential for conflict explains techniques for addressing conflict provides mini case studies that illustrate conflict in the workplace
Why is this important? A little conflict can be a productive catalyst for some groups to take action or to reexamine decisions and their work environment. But if left unattended it will likely spread like a weed. The impact conflict can have on productivity, morale and turnover is staggering.
You'll hear this over and over - conflict isn't necessarily bad - just personal conflict. What do we mean by that? Check out the next section for some examples.
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Managing Conflict Personal vs. Functional Conflict

The difference between personal and functional conflict is illustrated in the brief case studies below. Personal Conflict Personal conflict has roots in a personality clash among individuals or groups of individuals. In the first case study, Roger bases his decision on nothing more than a perception he has about Claudia. Claudia will take credit for the work. Right or wrong he's elected not to assist her. This is perhaps the most costly type of conflict because it goes undetected. Their company is losing out on an opportunity and no one knows it! CASE IN POINT.... This is an example of Personal Conflict. It's Friday, 5:30pm. Roger is trying to decide if he should stay late tonight. Claudia is backed up putting a cost estimate together for a proposal their company is sending out. It's due Monday. He could help her but the last few times he did that she took full credit for the work. He finally mentioned something to her too which she got defensive and stated "I think you're really blowing this out of proportion". Finally he decides to let her flounder on her own. He packs up and goes home. Rarely is personal conflict productive except in the event it's noticed by management and funnelled into constructive channels. Because personal conflict is based on emotion and perception, not a work-related issue, neither party has any energy to rectify the relationship. In fact, in the example above, if the relationship between Roger and Claudia continues to fester it's likely both parties will become totally entrenched in their opinions of one another and there will be no working relationship between them. This is why personal conflict needs to be recognized and addressed as soon as possible. If left unattended it grows. Often times conflicting parties recruit coworkers into the fray and before you know it factions have developed. Functional Conflict. In this example, Mary and Doug have not made this disagreement a personal one. They simply have a difference of opinion as to the best course of action. This can be a good thing. If a group gets too comfortable, or if its members are afraid to challenge one another it can easily make a bad decision. If handled appropriately this disagreement can lead to a better decision and can actually bring the group closer together! The key here is "if the conflict is handled appropriately". We'll talk more about this later. CASE IN POINT.... This is an example of Functional Conflict. During a management meeting Mary and Doug are having a heated disagreement over the implementation date for a new Human Resource software system their company is installing. Mary wants to wait until fourth quarter when things tend to slow down. Doug wants to implement the system in the third quarter because he thinks it will take much longer due to the necessary hardware upgrades and training the system requires. The rest of the group is sitting by as each states their case.
One way to deal with conflict is to recognize the likely situations when it will occur. That way you can take action to avoid the situation all together. Want some indicators? Check out the situations in the next section.
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Managing Conflict Situations With The Potential For Conflict

There are some situations where conflict is likely to occur. Knowing that, you can be on your guard. Here are some things to watch out for: Conflicting Personalities Some individuals are destined to argue. For instance, suppose you have two employees with very driven, domineering personalities in your department. It's likely these two will eventually find themselves at odds as they try to assert their opinions. Other personality types likely to spark conflict include those with prejudices/stereotypes towards other groups, overly negative individuals, overly opinionated individuals and individuals who seek to assign blame to name a few. Conflicting organizational priorities In one of our workshops on conflict management a participant shared the following story. "I work in the technology division for a large investment firm. We're constantly implementing enhancements to our computer systems and our Internet applications. It's really hectic. A minute of downtime can literally cost thousands of dollars in trades and customer confidence. We have a technical consulting group in the division that's suppose to assist the departments in keeping up with the latest and greatest in technology. They usually offer some good advice but the administrative process they put you through is ridiculous. They expect you to fill out a consulting request, send it to their review committee, they assign a consultant, then you have to make a presentation to their consultant team, signoff on funding the consultant internally etc, etc. By then the customer's left for another investment service. So we don't usually use them. Then they get all bent out of shape or have this I told you so attitude if something goes wrong. They just don't have the same urgency about making these enhancements as we do so we're constantly fighting." This is very common especially in larger organizations. Departmental priorities conflict with one another and friction occurs. On a more micro-scale this occurs often between individuals. For example, you make a request for assistance because you've got priorities and deadlines. The person you're asking help of is busy on something for his boss so he'll get to it when he can. You've called six times to find out when he can help you. Suddenly you think he's lazy and he thinks you're a pain in the backside. Decisions regarding Rewards / Promotions / Compensation In every organization employees must be recognized for their accomplishments if that organization expects to keep its' top performers and to encourage an environment of pay-for-performance. Whenever a manager must assign rewards, promote employees or determine fair compensation it's likely some individuals will perceive inequity in the decision. Deadlines / Stressful periods If individuals or groups have any predisposition to conflict it will certainly manifest itself when tight deadlines or problems occur. Pressure puts a magnifying glass on perceptions and differences of opinion. Non Collaborative Language It's amazing how quickly a functional disagreement can deteriorate to a personal one simply by using the wrong language. Later we'll review a list of phrases / words to avoid. The last section described likely situations where conflict could occur so you could avoid it. But what if you find yourself in the middle of conflict - then what? Next we'll offer some techniques for handling conflict constructively.
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Managing Conflict Techniques For Dealing With Conflict
Self Assessment Are you contributing? As the course on Dealing with Difficult Situations suggests when assessing a work place problem take a moment to determine how you may be contributing to it. In the case of conflict it's tougher than it sounds because you need to be willing to put yourself under the microscope. If you're involved in a conflict or disagreement with someone and things are getting worse not better! CASE IN POINT.... Consider the following questions Do I consider the other person(s) incompetent or untrustworthy? Do I respect the other person(s) opinion? Do I avoid or dislike the other person(s)? Would I react the same way to this situation if it were someone other than this person involved? Do I want to "win" this disagreement? If you answer "Yes" to any of these questions consider carefully whether or not your motive behind this conflict is personal or functional. If your motive is personal be willing to refocus on a constructive solution to the conflict. Finally as you assess your role in the conflict if you're wrong Say so! The longer the conflict is perpetuated the more damage it will do.
Refocus on Functional Conflict If you find yourself in a personal conflict you can still salvage the situation by redirecting your attention to the functional basis of the conflict. The negativity you bring to a personal conflict only encourages the other person to "fight fire with fire". By maintaining a focus on the relevant, work related issue at hand you de-personalize the conflict.
Avoid unnecessary escalation Put the brakes on!!! This is a common culprit behind those small issues that suddenly mushroom. The closer a problem is taken care of to the point of origin the healthier it is for the organization. Problems are corrected faster and people trust one another more. Potential conflicts are nipped in the bud.
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continued
CASE IN POINT.... Randal works in the Human Resource function of a company that manufactures modular homes. One of the supervisors in the assembly division has completed about half the employee profiles for his area and of those many are missing information. Randal tells his manager he can't complete his assignment of loading employee demographics to the HR system because of the missing and incomplete data. Randal's manager goes to the manager of the supervisor and explains the problem and the impact on Randal's assignment. That manager, assuming this a big deal or why would the HR manager be involved, then goes to the supervisor and goes up one side of him and down the other. Now the supervisor is angry at Randal for getting him in hot water. A simple phone call from Randal to the supervisor would have saved time and a working relationship.
Use Collaborative Language Language alone can turn a functional disagreement into an all out grudge match. Consider the following examples; For Example: Joan manages a mortgage unit for a large bank. Since rates are low everyone seems to be refinancing. Her closing counselors are getting delayed by the administrative unit because paperwork is not ready when needed. Joan says to the supervisor of the administrative unit; "You never seem to have the paperwork ready on time". A less combative comment would have been; "Your department seems to be having difficulty with the volume of requests. Is there anything we can do to help?"
For Example: Charles gets an email and question from another employee about changes to the purchasing contract their company has with an outside vendor. The employee's question was addressed in a document Charles distributed separately. Charles responds with another email; "If you bothered to read the report I sent out earlier in the month you'd realize I've already made accommodations for the fixed pricing structure we received previously." A less antagonistic response would have been; "We discussed this issue in a document distributed previously. Perhaps it wasn't clear. We intend to address the fixed pricing issue by.." or; "You bring up a good point. I discussed that issue I the document I distributed earlier this month. Please take a look at that and if you still have concerns please let me know as soon as possible. Your feedback is appreciated."
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continued
Some language and phrases aren't meant to instigate a fight or bad feelings but they can be interpreted the wrong way. This is especially true when used in writing. Here is a list of things to avoid (when possible) because they may be interpreted as combative/negative: Phrases that are sarcastic / patronizing "Obviously you should" "You understand of course.." "If and when you have the time." Phrases that assume carelessness on another person's part "You neglected to" "You failed to." Phrases that seem to question someone's competence "How could you have" "What were you thinking?" "I can not see how" Phrases that pressure or coerce someone into action "You better.." "You must" This is a little extra work but in the long run it will make for more productive working relationships.
Prevent Personal Conflict Whether you're a participant in a conflict or an observer don't allow yourself or another person to turn a disagreement personal. Here are some signs/phrases to watch out for; Comments that place blame i.e. "you should have", "you shouldn't have." Demeaning comments i.e. "How could you do that?", "Wasn't it obvious.", "I don't know how you could have" Changes in personal / behavior. Recognize when you or another person is reacting differently to some person simply because you/they don't like the person. When this occurs it's your duty to step in and redirect the focus of the conflict to something constructive.
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Practice Objective Listening Everyone does it. We get into an argument or some debate and while it appears we're listening we're really either waiting for our turn to talk, formulating our next response or mentally dissecting the other person's statement to look for holes in their logic. If we could just condition ourselves to set aside our opinion for a moment and really attempt to understand the other side we'd be far more effective at resolving conflict. CASE IN POINT.... A manager at a managed healthcare company used a simple technique to encourage objective listening. When two people were at odds over some issue he asked one of them to stand at the board and write down the pros / cons of the other person's argument as that person presented it. Then he switched the individuals. If anything it ensured each got to state their opinion while the other listened and understood it.
Model constructive conflict If you practice constructive (functional) conflict it will send a powerful message to the rest of your peers. Likewise, if you're willing to understand opinions other than your own by listening and asking questions others will do the same.
Watch those Emails! Today email allows us to communicate faster than ever. Now thanks to the Internet we can communicate from any place in the world. The difficulty with email is people often apply their own assumptions about the emotions behind it. Consider the following example. Below is an actual excerpt from an email described in one of our communication workshops. This excerpt comes from a note sent to a team of managers from the manager of their company's Finance Division; CASE IN POINT.... "I've sent several emails now asking for input on restructuring our Travel and Expense policy. If no one responds I will assume our proposed policy is agreed to. I've got copies of that proposal at my desk. Under that new policy lavish dinners and expensive hotels will no longer be tolerated." The last line was meant in jest. However, there was no clear indication of that in the email. As a result rumors escalated and suddenly everyone thought the company's management team was treating itself like royalty when just the opposite was true!
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Emails (or any written correspondence) can sound combative or non-collaborative. Collaborative language is often broken into positive and negative components (positive supports collaboration while negative language undermines collaboration). Positive: x x x x Negative: x x x x Tends to include words like "can't", "won't", "insist", "must" Focuses on negative implications Suggests blame or appoints ownership of the problem Tells the recipient what can not be done Is supportive and helpful rather than sterile and bureaucratic Focuses on positive outcomes and actions (rather than negative consequences) Offers alternatives and choices Tells the recipient what can be done
Justify your opinions with data Nothing de-personalizes an argument like data. When you present data to justify your position your audience cannot conclude that your opinion is based on some personal motive, your personality or any other quirk.
When To Go to Your Manager

When is it time to go to your manager regarding a conflict or disagreement? That's a tough decision. If it's not, maybe you should pause for a moment before you go storming into your manager's office. You may be acting prematurely. Any manager will tell you they'd much prefer that employees work out problems amongst themselves. Not just because it frees them of the chore but because it builds healthier relationships among employees. But there are situations where employees should involve their manager immediately. Here are some suggested guidelines: Immediate escalation
Legal or ethical issues If another employee is engaged in behaviors considered illegal or unethical you should approach your manager. Provide detailed facts as well as your understanding of why the behavior is illegal or unethical.
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When to go to your Manager continued
Safety concerns If you see another employee engaged in behavior that is dangerous to him/herself or others you should tell them immediately. If the behavior continues bring it to your manager's attention. NOTE: In some industries safety violations require you to immediately notify your manager. CHECK WITH YOUR MANAGER AND COMPANY POLICY.
Discrimination or Harassment Discrimination and harassment are real issues in the work place. If you observe or experience discrimination or harassment in the work place see that it is addressed immediately. NOTE: CHECK WITH YOUR MANAGER AND COMPANY POLICY RE: DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT.
Persistent Problems If you've tried to address a particular problem with an employee but it continues bring it to your manager's attention. Be sure to explain exactly what the problem is and be prepared to provide examples. Explain what steps you or others have taken to try to address the problem. Sometimes managers may not realize the real impact of the problem so illustrate the impact the problem is having on you, your department or your customers.
That Tricky Situation

There will be times when you want to go to your manager because someone "wronged" you. This is a grey area. Certainly, no one wants to be discredited at work or have another employee attack their work or reputation. Personal credibility If you feel a situation imperils your personal credibility or recognition you may decide to approach your manager after the first incident. That's a judgment call. If you feel another employee is;
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That Tricky Situation continued
CASE IN POINT.... x x x x x discrediting your performance impeding your performance taking credit for your accomplishments or work intentionally lying about issues pertaining to you or your performance disrupting your working relationship with others
You may decide to approach your manager immediately. This is a gray area and really depends on your comfort level in approaching your manager. If you do go to your manager be sure to provide the following: CASE IN POINT.... x x x A specific statement about what the employee did or said that you want to see addressed. If you discussed this with the employee what was said and what was the outcome. If you have not discussed this with the employee, why not? Provide some magnitude of the problem or incident - i.e. Did the employee take a box of paper clips off your desk or did they take all your supplies. Did he demean your work and performance when the two of you met or did he yell it across the office so everyone could hear about it? Describe the impact the problem has had. Is it interfering with your work? If so, how? Provide specific examples when describing the situation. Offer a suggestion. Since the manager is going to ask you, "How can I help you in this situation?" anyway, you might as well be prepared.
x x x
The next section provides valuable case studies that describe a conflict situation - the type of conflict and what's at the root of it. This is an extremely important point. If you can't get to the real underlying cause of conflict it's likely you'll never eliminate it.
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Managing Conflict Conflict Case Studies
Case Study #1 Scenario: Passive Aggressive Conflict Howard, the manager of a rental company that specializes in industrial equipment has a problem with one of his employees. Reggie has been tardy and the quality of his work has steadily declined over the past six months. As Howard puts it, Reggie has always been a handful. Every time Howard makes a change to procedures Reggie is questions the reason. If another employee makes a mistake Reggie is the first to complain. His work was always pretty good he just has a lot of opinions and is generally pessimistic. For instance, when Howard changed work hours and required someone to be in at 7:30am Reggie complained. "Why do I need to be in that early? We don't even get that many customers. Things don't get busy until about 9:30am." "It may not be many but shouldn't we be there for the ones that call.", Howard responded. "But, I doubt we get enough to even cover the cost of having people in.", Reggie countered. "Well if I let you change your hours then everyone else will want their hours changed." About three months ago Reggie had his performance review and was stunned to find out he got a below average rating. As expected he objected to the rating and felt it was not reflective the work he did. Howard stuck to his evaluation and suggested Reggie focus on being more cooperative and supportive of his coworkers. That's when Reggie's work really went down hill. He was tardy. His work turned sloppy. He ignored paperwork and customer callbacks. When Howard brought it to his attention he would improve temporarily then revert back to half an effort. Even Reggie's coworkers noticed they had to pick up the slack for him. What's the conflict? Howard made a classic mistake that signals a personal conflict rather than a functional conflict. When Reggie asked him why he required employees in so early it was a legitimate functional conflict. Howard dismissed his reasoning saying "If I allowed you to change your hours everyone would want theirs changed." There's no functional basis for that reasoning. Howard objected because he has a personal problem with Reggie. If another employee offered the same argument Howard would probably be more receptive. Reggie on the other hand is displaying a common conflict technique used by employees. He can't "win" the argument with his manager by confronting him directly so he'll do the next best thing. He'll passively resist his manager. This situation will only deteriorate further. Howard should have done a better job of performance management. That means addressing Reggie's negative, resistant behavior immediately by providing specific examples of his resistance and how he could more constructively assert his opinion. This way Reggie would not have been surprised by his evaluation.
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Managing Conflict Determining

continued
Case Study #2 Scenario: Interdepartmental Conflict The medical record department of Chadbury Regional Hospital is very busy. The department has to prep, deliver and maintain all the medical records for the emergency and outpatient units. The department is understaffed and recently matters were made worse by the introduction of a new computer system that no one was really trained on. The Intake staff for both units have complained to the record clerks about the time it takes to deliver the records and that many times when they're received they're the wrong records. The clerks have told the Intake staff they could help by keeping the records in order and by dropping them off in the designated bins rather than leaving them in examination rooms. To that the Intake staff claims, "That's not our job." Tempers really flared up one Saturday evening when the emergency room was especially backed up. Routine patients were waiting over three hours because paperwork in Intake was so behind. Patients watched as Belinda an Intake Nurse started yelling at Eric one of the record clerks. "What are you guys doing?", she growled. "Can't you see we've got patients waiting?" Eric went to his supervisor to complain about the incident but she was so busy prepping records for patients she told him she'd deal with it later. What's the conflict? You didn't exactly need a crystal ball to see this one coming. Take a stressful, high paced environment like an emergency room, work short staffed, change procedures and provide inadequate training and you have a recipe for disaster. When conflict among employees breaks out it's often due to frustration with a broken process. That's clearly the case here. A manager familiar with conflict and change management could have taken measures to avert this conflict. Belinda was guilty of three offenses that only fueled the conflict and frustration. First she personalized the conflict by saying "What are you guys doing?" Second, her sarcastic remark enraged Eric even more "Can't you see we've got patients waiting?". Third, she attacked Eric publicly. A more appropriate (collaborative) response from Belinda would have been to take Eric aside and say; "We're really getting backed up here. Is there anything we can do to help turn the records around quicker?" Eric's supervisor should have interceded and told staff from both units that they need to work as a team and that personal and/or public attacks will not be tolerated.
Let's do a quick summary of what we have discussed and give to a chance to complete a learning exercise.
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Managing Conflict In Summary

It's impossible to believe that over the course of your career you won't find yourself in conflict with your coworkers or a manager. If you stay focused on keeping the conflict constructive you'll be respected by all involved. Managers especially appreciate the employee who can solve problems and address conflict without having to escalate it to management's attention. A lot of company time and money is wasted on "he said she said" spats that never seem to do anything but detract people from the most important objective their jobs!
Learning Exercises
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We have provided three exercises to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These exercises are found on the following pages. Please print out each of these exercises. Below is a short description of each exercise.
Exercise 1: The Good versus the Bad and Ugly

This exercise will help you understand the important difference between constructive and destructive conflict.
Exercise 2: Steamwork
This exercise will help you understand your typical reaction to conflict at work and how to better handle disagreements.

If you're able to handle problems among coworkers in a constructive manner you'll gain the recognition of your peers and management.
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Managing Conflict Exercise 1: The Good versus the Bad and Ugly (2 pages)
Q: I recognize when conflict or disagreements are constructive versus destructive and know how to react. Good conflict? Yes there's such a thing. The key is to recognize the flashpoints that cause a conflict to move from constructive to destructive. Instructions: 1. 2. 3. Review the instructions for the Good versus Bad & Ugly exercise with your manager Complete the exercise and review it with your manager Set a goal with your manager that you will identify at least one example of constructive and one example of destructive conflict at work by a certain date. Then recommend a response to the situations involving destructive conflict.
For the hypothetical scenario below write a response that describes constructive conflict and one that suggests destructive conflict. Here's an example: Scenario: Martha and Bill both work in the technology department of a department store. They're responsible for managing the groups that maintain the register and inventory systems in all 130 stores. Martha and Bill have had heated disagreements about a possible upgrade to the system. Martha is encouraging the upgrade while Bill is convinced the upgrade is too much for the stores system to support. They're in a meeting with the executive committee when the issue comes up. How do Martha and Bill handle the situation? Constructive: Martha and Bill acknowledge openly that they have differing opinions on what to do about the system upgrade. Both agree they're open to whatever is in the best interest of the company. They ask if the executive committee is willing to spend some time during the meeting to help them arrive at a decision. To start they make a list of the important factors that should be considered if an upgrade is attempted i.e. x x x Upgrade should not cause any down time / negative impact on store operations Upgrade should be cost justified (i.e. benefit outweighs the cost) Upgrade should take no more than six months to complete
Then Bill and Martha present the pros and cons of the system upgrade and post them on a whiteboard for all to see. Once the pros and cons are on the wall the executive committee can help them evaluate the options against the important factors. Destructive: Bill starts in immediately. "I don't know what you're thinking, if we upgrade the system I can just about guarantee that we're going to have outages." Martha snipes back. "You can't prove that. What's it based on? You haven't done any capacity studies. You just don't want to go with the upgrade because your department didn't recommend it." Bill loads up another volley. "I don't like it because it doesn't make sense. To top it off my department gets stuck with the work for a reckless idea." Martha replies, "I'm not going to discuss it here. We can talk about this off line."
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Note: Just some key points about these examples. The constructive example illustrates a clear willingness to communicate and to commit to a common goal (best interest of the company). Likewise, in that example the group used a set of common criteria for evaluating differing opinions. That helps to achieve small agreements that build towards a larger consensus. If you'll notice in the destructive example there was a lot of personalization i.e. using the word "You" assumes blame and typically aggravates conflict.
Scenario: John and Egbert both work in the customer service department of an online internet store. They handle incoming calls from customers and process on line orders. John and Egbert got into an argument in the lunch room about a month ago because John thought Egbert's idea for a new call script was way off target. The two traded barbs while their coworkers watched. Afterwards, it seemed like a lot of the staff had aligned themselves with one or the other. That increased the tension as coworkers who had gotten along fine suddenly found themselves labelled as "the other side". About a week after, their manager sensing some tension in the department, asked the group what was going on during a staff meeting. How do John and Egbert react? Constructive:
Destructive:
Managing Conflict Exercise 2: Steamwork (2 pages)

Q: I am comfortable confronting another employee when I sense tension or conflict between us so we can work things out. Most people will avoid direct conflict at work. That's because the boundaries of constructive and destructive conflict are often blurred. Also, though conflict can be a good thing (i.e. healthy expression of differing opinions that helps a group or individuals arrive at the best decision) no one promotes it. In fact, mention the word conflict and it immediately conjures up negative connotations. The result is, we don't learn to disagree constructively. So what can you do? The first thing to do is recognize when you're avoiding conflict. If you're avoiding the conflict chances are the effects of it are seeping into other aspects of your work i.e. You spend more and more time talking with friends about so and so, You find yourself avoiding any work that brings you into contact with the person(s) you're in conflict with, Your motivation begins to wane because of the stress the conflict produces. Exercise: SteamWork Instructions: x Complete the following exercise. x Develop a personal response plan for handling conflict on your job. Set a personal goal for rectifying a difficult situation at work.
Recall a situation when you were in conflict (at work, home, school etc) and you didn't really handle the situation as well as you should have. What was the cause of the conflict?
What did you do or not do that prolonged the conflict?
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How should you have handled the conflict?
Now recall a situation when you were in conflict (at work, home, school etc) and you handled it effectively. What was the cause of the conflict?
What did you do to address the cause of the conflict?
What was the outcome?
Personal Conflict Plan Based on your negative and positive experiences, what specific actions will you take next time you're in conflict with another employee (or person outside work)?
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Managing Change M
Managing Change
Look at the business section in today's newspaper and you're likely to read about a few of the ways companies are "positioning themselves in their competitive market:" Down-sizing, mergers, restructuring, making incredible leaps with technology - whatever the motive or means what it all boils down to is change. Cut throat competition, cautious investors, finicky consumers all converge to place incredible, often unrealistic, demands on companies. They're expected to do something different and something better with fewer people. But, not to worry - management has authored a roadmap - even put together a thick binder of fancy charts and graphics (maybe in color) explaining the entire change process. Soon they find out the "real" challenge is in cascading that plan down to the employee level - "where the swatter meets the fly." Unfortunately, implementing a seemingly rationale change can have irrational results. Start dates get bumped one after another. Management is frustrated, employees are anxious, and the workflow seems suspended between the old and new...what happened? A natural human reaction occurred...resistance to change. To understand what you as a manager or supervisor can do to manage lead change effectively, you must first understand two important facets of change - dynamics and mechanics. Dynamics of change deals with the human reaction to change. The mechanics of change focus on designing processes that ensure changes occur effectively within an organization.
GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9
describes common reasons why employees resist changes. provides a process for planning, communicating, and implementing changes. provides a case study of one company's process and tool for communicating changes that impact other departments, computer systems, policies & procedures.
Why is this important? No matter what size or type of company you manage at some point you will be managing change. It may be small, almost imperceptible or it may be a complete overhaul of your business. Obviously the larger the company and the larger the change the more complicated the process becomes for managing the change effectively. But in either case, you will waste significant time and money as well as jeopardize the quality of your products and services if you don't address resistance to change.
Of all our online courses, people find this one - Managing Change - the easiest to relate to. Everyone can recall a time when someone was reluctant to adopt your idea and change their way of thinking. Other times you were the hesitant one. To deal effectively with resistance in others - and yourself - you first have to understand the complex dynamics behind that resistance. Continue to learn more.
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Managing Change Dynamics What Causes Resistance to Change

Fear and Uncertainty Those being impacted by change often wonder "What's the reason for this? Is this really going to work? What's it going to mean for me?" This describes the typical "victim" of change. Change is something that happens to these individuals. Often their opinion wasn't asked or the reason for the change isn't communicated by management. In any event they see themselves as a victim of the change. Inconvenience Implementing change means a transition in workflow. For a period (sometimes short, sometimes an eternity) it means more work because individuals have to do their job and learn new policies or procedures. It also means shedding established, comfortable practices. Pride of Authorship Imagine someone outside your department or team proposes a change that will impact your work? Your (or anyone's) gut reaction is probably one of resistance. Individuals are more likely to listen objectively and openly to suggestions if the idea comes from someone within their group. If you're an "outsider" proposing a change that will impact another area you'll have to work extra hard on dismantling the dynamics of resistance. Your change may make all the sense in the world but if those impacted haven't bought in - forget it. Loss of Security or Status Change often redefines the necessary skills and experience an individual needs for his or her job. At stake is the individual's hard earned security and status. Imagine scrapping an information system for a new one - or introducing any new technology. Individuals whose claim to fame was their knowledge of the old system suddenly face losing their value as a resource. Cognitive Dissonance This is just a fancy way of saying that people have a tendency to rationalize what they're doing so that it "fits" with their perception of themselves. No one wants to do something wrong, but by changing what they do, you are effectively saying what they were doing was wrong. They will begin to give you a variety of reasons why it was, in fact, the right way of doing things. This might seem like they are just against change altogether, but it's really a psychological reaction to the uncomfortable realization that what they had done - and probably well - was somehow inefficient. As long as you convince them that they'll play an important role in determining the success of this new change - they eventually welcome the change.
Okay - now that you have an idea of where this resistance comes from what can you do to minimize the resistance? Forced change will only be moderately successful as those impacted find ways (blatant or subtle) to resist, drag their feet and in general stir up negativity. Don't be quick to blame them! It's your job to introduce the change in a manner that employees can understand, accept and support. The next section explains how.
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Managing Change Managing Change and Reducing Resistance

Below is an easy model to follow when implementing a change in your work environment. Small changes usually don't require this much attention, but big ones do. Use this as a roadmap for leading change: 1. State your case. Why is change necessary? 2. Tell them what the result will look like 3. Tap their skills and knowledge 4. Tell 'em like it is 5. Listen to concerns! 6. Give them ownership 7. Hand out the gold stars
STEP 1: State your case - why is change necessary? It's like going to the doctor. You have to experience the pain before you seek a remedy. If your staff thinks everything is fine, why would they go through the hassle of change? Is it the competition? Operational performance? Need to demonstrate continuous improvement? Customer driven? Tell them why the current state needs to change. Tell them what's in it for them.
STEP 2: Tell them what the result will look like Thanks to overpaid consultants it's not uncommon for companies to undergo re-engineering, transformation, operational metamorphosis (that's a doozy) or some other "change insinuating" effort. Management sounds the alarm that change is necessary for survival. Newsletters are drafted to keep pace with the latest changes, All-Staff meetings are called, key initiatives are identified - but employees can't tell if or when the change is complete. It just seems to go on and on with no clear objective or destination. Link the change to measurable evidence in service and productivity. Describe how the jobs of your staff will be impacted. Paint a picture of what your customers will see after you've changed even if it is not 100%. It is better to provide some clarity (even if it changes) as to the final outcome than to ask staff to leap blindly into the abyss.
STEP 3: Tap their skills and knowledge There are some obvious reasons for including staff in designing and implementing the final outcome. First, your staff has a perspective of their work that you can't appreciate. They really know the nuts and bolts and if given the chance can challenge constructively your plan. Second, given the opportunity to participate in the change, they're not a victim. They become the aggressors. Without having to sell the idea has already been decided upon, they've bought in.
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Managing Change Managing Change and Reducing Resistance

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STEP 4: Tell 'em like it is Once you, as manager, make the ultimate decision as to what changes will occur don't sugarcoat them. If the change will be rough, be honest. If you downplay the difficulty, you will lose credibility and something else: your staff is robbed of the tremendous self-confidence they would have gained by succeeding as a team.
STEP 5: Listen to concerns! Your staff will be anxious. Listen to their concerns and explain specifically what it means for them. You may be faced with relaxing productivity requirements while the transition occurs. Provide adequate training to relieve anxiety. If you are to successfully persuade a hesitant staff, you must spend the energy to reassure them "change is good". Dedicate meetings to discuss specifically their concerns - when they're voiced -listen to them - don't just hear them.
STEP 6: Give them ownership Assign responsibilities to your staff for implementing the change. As described in the Empowerment/Motivation course, most staff welcome new challenges and responsibilities. This is also an effective way to work out any kinks that may be arising or have arisen as a result of the on-coming change. Finally these opportunities are perfect for helping your staff become more self directed and as rewards.
STEP 7: Hand out the gold stars Not really. It worked in second grade but probably not here. The point is, once the change is in place, reinforce compliance. Your staff will appreciate the feedback. Recognize outstanding work and efforts. Also in terms of reinforcement be sure policies and procedures are formally updated as well as job descriptions and performance evaluations if the change means new responsibilities.
Now that you have an idea of where this resistance comes from what can you do to minimize the resistance? Forced change will only be moderately successful as those impacted find ways (blatant or subtle) to resist, drag their feet and in general stir up negativity. Don't be quick to blame them! It's your job to introduce the change in a manner that employees can understand, accept and support. The next section explains how.
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Managing Change General Points About Managing Change

Communicate the Importance of Change...When Change Is "Not" Occurring In other words, don't wait until you're in the midst of a re-organization or re-engineering effort to justify "why." When things are calm, stress to your staff that your organization must be flexible, adaptable and thrive on change. Your motive will be clear: You will support and reward those who can adapt to change. Reward the Risk Takers Recognize those that suggest better ways of doing things. Make it part of your culture. Cite the responsibility for reasonable "Risk Taking" in your job descriptions, orientation material, performance evaluations - recognize it in your reward and recognition program. The Empowerment and Motivation course discusses ways to encourage innovation. Even if an idea fails, is just plain bad or just isn't pursued recognize those who constantly suggest changes. When a Group or Department has Successfully Changed a Process or Workflow Communicate the Effort to all Staff Don't just communicate the result of a successful change, but how it was done. In other words, describe the event in terms of the 7-step model for Managing Effective Change and Reducing Resistance. What did the participants do to reduce resistance to change? How did they prepare those impacted by the change? How did they maintain the change? Get management and the remainder of your company's staff thinking at this level. Change Doesn't Have to be a Complete Overhaul Sometimes you just have to make small improvements in what you're doing rather than reinvent a whole new process. Small, incremental changes can be more effective because consensus is reachable, training is easier, the change is less disruptive, and maintaining it requires less time and resources. Also, don't measure change simply by your workflow or a new Organization Chart. Those things mean very little if the underlying management style and practices haven't changed. Emphasize a behavioral change on the part of managers also.
You learned how to deal with the soft side of change - the human resistance to it. But what about the process? Do you really need a process to make changes? Absolutely!! Don't get us wrong - change is good. But it needs to be managed carefully so existing work processes are not disrupted. The next section provides specific examples and a method for managing changes.
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Managing Change Mechanics of Change Management

Sub-optimization???
Because processes often cut across organizational functions and departments it's not unusual to see a change improve one step only to sacrifice efficiency later on. Edward Deming referred to this tendency in organizations as "sub-optimization" basically improving a piece of the process while degrading overall efficiency. Here are some examples: Example 1: Systems Design An application team changes the data design in their system so that the screens will refresh faster. That improves the response time and is heralded as a big success. Then another application, which draws data from their system fails because of the change and their application is down for sixteen hours while the problem's investigated. Example 2: Construction Framers for a building company decide to shorten the crawl space between floors in a new house design. That'll save insulation cost. Later the heating and ventilation contractors can't fit the necessary ductwork in place. Example 3: Computer Hardware At a large bank the network management team decides to upgrade a production server after hours. Since no one is likely to be using applications on the server at that time they provide no notification. In another area of the bank an application team plans on installing a new application design the same evening. Once installed they planned to convert the data and have the application production ready before morning. They start the application upgrade and the network management team takes down the server. Result: the application is unavailable (to 1200+ users) for an entire business day. Organizations, both large and small, manufacturing or service - have to carefully plan changes to their technology, policies, procedures or organization structure. Without considering all interfaces and ramifications changes are likely to have an unintentional rippling effect. These changes can be proactive as in when a quality improvement team designs and implements a new process or reactive as when fixing some problem. What's needed is a process for managing the mechanics of change. Consider this example: At an investment and brokerage firm the CEO was appalled to find out that seven minutes of systems downtime at a peak trading period had translated into 4.2 million dollars of missed opportunity for brokers. Clients were incensed that orders placed on commodities were delayed and in many cases that delay cost them thousands of dollars. To make matters worse, an investigation found the problem could have been avoided. Installation of a new network router while a backlog of reports were being downloaded had caused an overload on the network. The two never should have been done simultaneously. The CEO demanded a process that would reduce the likelihood of a similar mistake ever happening again. Get the point? While Change Management processes are more common in large companies smaller ones can no doubt learn from their example. Regardless of size, a company should have a process where management considers the impact and risk of any change. Now lets look at a detailed case study.
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Managing Change Change Management Process / System

Management formed a Change Management Team to own the process of reviewing and coordinating critical changes to the technical infrastructure. The intent was to create a standard process for planning, coordinating and approving changes to the production environment. The team also provided the specifications for building an application to automate that process. The Process The process required that someone be accountable for any changes to applications, systems or the technical infrastructure of the firm. A change was defined as any modification, enhancement or upgrade that could have an impact on customers. That person was known as the Change Owner. Accountability sounds obvious but similar to the dynamics of decision paradox - where ownership of a decision spread across multiple individuals leads to undue risk taking - the same happens when ownership for changes is spread across many people. The Change Owner was to define exactly what needed to be done to ensure a successful and smooth change. The Change Owner would complete a Change Request that described the expected outcome of the change (a new server install, a new release of software, moving LAN connections, etc.). Then the Change Owner would assign specific tasks to accomplish the change. That would be done by breaking a Change Request into specific deliverables (Change Deliverables). Based on the requirements for each Change Deliverable the Change Owner also determined an overall Planned Change Date. For example, installation of a new time recording application (Change Request) may require a new server to be installed, software to be installed, existing data to be converted etc (all Change Deliverables). Each Change Deliverable was owned by a Change Enabler the person actually responsible for making the physical change. Change Enablers were responsible for a particular deliverable, the Change Owner was accountable for managing the entire change (Change Request). The Planned Change Date was the date the entire change could be made assuming completion of each Change Deliverable. The Change Owner then worked with the Change Enablers to ensure that proper testing and planning was prepared (implementation plan, confirmation plan, backout plan). On a weekly basis the Change Management Team would hold a CHAIR meeting (Change Assessment for Impact and Risk). The purpose of the meeting was to assist Change Owners in reviewing changes planned for upcoming dates (windowing) as well as high impact and high risk changes. If needed the group could assign additional resources, sequence conflicting changes or postpone changes that appeared to pose undue risk to the customer. Once a Change was approved the Change Management System would send email notifications to any areas impacted by the change. To implement the change the enablers were expected to follow the implementation plan. The Change Owner would execute the confirmation plan. This was simply verification with the customer(s) that the change was successful and to follow up on any problems. The Change Owner was required to close out the Change Request in the Change Management System as either: - Complete no problem(s) - Complete with problem(s) or - Cancelled
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Managing Change Change Management Process / System

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Finally, a Change Analyst conducted a post implementation assessment. The Change Analyst would look for trends among changes in particular those completed with problems or cancelled. In either case the Change Analyst worked with the Change Owner to document lessons learned and recommendations for future changes. Assessing Impact / Risk The most critical aspect of any change management process is determining the potential ramifications of making (and not making) a change. To do this the Change Management Team would assist Change Owners in assessing the impact and risk for making changes. Impact was a measure of how many customers could be effected by a negative change (problematic). Risk was a measure of how likely it was that problems could occur. For instance, is this a new change the enablers have never managed before, does it involve a new technology that they have little experience with, are they allowed a small, aggressive window to make the change. All these would suggest the change is high risk. Here's what we have so far:
Now let's look a few other things to consider when designing a change management process.
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Managing Change Designing a Change Management Process

Most organizations have some change management process in place for their technical environment. Perhaps because of the physical processes (hardware/software) a change management process seems an obvious requirement. However, changes occur all over your organization - in policies and procedures, in organization structure and terminology. All these areas need effective change management. Consider the following: Example 1: Managed Care A managed care company changes the definition of "medical necessity" to include previously denied preventative testing procedures. However, the policy change is never communicated to the Claims Processing department. Case managers certify treatment for physicians in their network but the Claims Processing Department later denies the treatment. Example 2: Chemical Manufacturer At a large chemical manufacturer the responsibility for setting up new employees and contractors with necessary systems access and PC's is no longer handled by Human Resources. Only problem is, no one told the hiring managers. Suddenly managers have new employees and contractors arriving who can't get started on their work for over a week while the mix up is addressed. An expensive mistake when a contractor is making over a hundred dollars an hour. You can probably think of occasions where some change in your organization caused similar disruptions. Instituting a Change Management Process would be a good proactive step towards eliminating some of those problems. If you decide to implement a similar process keep in mind the following: Sponsorship A Change Management Process requires appropriate executive sponsorship. There will be resistance to the process by those who think it will "slow things down". Convince executive management that fixing mistakes is costlier than avoiding them. Be sure management is behind the process in words and in action. Process Owner Someone or some group needs to "own" the Change Management Process. This is the person or team responsible for seeing that the process is communicated and executed on a regular basis. Roles Be sure everyone knows their role in the process. We described Change Owners, Change Enablers and Change Analysts. You should also consider a committee to plan and coordinate the changes along with assessing impact and risk. Impact and Risk Try to make this somewhat objective. Provide some examples or criteria for establishing impact and risk. Often you'll be counting on the subjective opinions of change owners and enablers. That's ok they're paid for their expertise. However, to exercise the process with consistency and to learn from successful and unsuccessful changes impact and risk need to have some established criteria.
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Managing Change Designing a Change Management Process

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Notification Process A Change Management Process doesn't do much good if no one knows about the changes. The investment firm which built a Change Management System integrated the system with its email platform so when changes were posted impacted parties were notified. They even included pager software so when emergency changes with high impact or risk were entered the change management team was notified automatically.
How do you deal with resistance to change? Find out on the next page.
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Managing Change In Summary

Whatever your business you need to give careful consideration when making changes. All changes will have some ramifications on your products or service (otherwise why make them). By managing the mechanics effectively you can reduce or eliminate unintentional problems.
Learning Exercises
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We have provided one exercise and an action plan to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These are found on the following pages. Please print out each of these exercises. Below is a short description of each exercise/activity.
Exercise 1: Managing Change

Do you know how to deal with resistance and implement changes effectively? Try this exercise.

Change is inevitable. Embrace it and manage the process so everyone wins.

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Managing Change Managing Change Exercise (2 pages)

This exercise will help you understand the dynamics of "Change" by evaluating a major change that you were part of using the principles of effective Change Management. 1. Describe a work experience where a significant change occurred. Preferably a change that you did not control - i.e.: a reorganization, major change in work procedures or work environment, etc Comments
2. How effectively was the change presented to you? Consider the following: How was the change justified by management? How was the impact to you described? Did you have input or participation in implementing the change? Comments
3. How successful was the change overall? What specifically went well and what did not. For example, suppose your company is implementing a new inventory management system. Staff is very comfortable with the current system and questions the reason for the change. The system is implemented on the planned date. However, staff was inadequately trained, data from the previous was converted incorrectly and an interface to the billing system is not working properly. The result is more work for staff as problems and training needs are addressed - not exactly a success. How successful was the change you took part in? Comments
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4. What specific actions can you take to reduce anxiety and resistance from your employees when you make a significant change? Comments
5. Is there a change you plan to make in your work environment? If so, describe the steps you'll follow to see that it's implemented correctly. Consider the model outlined in the Managing Change module. Comments
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Team Building Te
Team Building
The "Team" approach has long been recognized as an excellent way to improve the efficiency and performance of companies. No doubt, you've been on some type of team whether it was work, sports or hobby related. We may not always call them teams - committees, councils, task forces, target groups, etc., all pretty much mean the same thing - a group of people working (or not) together. But, to be effective, there's far more to them than just a bunch of people getting together, talking and handing out assignments. Whether you work at a small business, or a fortune 100 multinational conglomerate, teamwork will improve your efficiency. We'll show you how and why in a minute. What was the most effective team you were ever on? For me it was the 1974 Lions. Not the Detroit Lions of football - little league baseball. We had strength at every position. Tommy had a fast ball clocked at a smokin' 35 mph. Our infield snapped up grounders like frogs snatching flies. Our outfield cradled pop ups like a baby in a mother's arms. Our bats were like thunderbolts from Zeus himself. All right, I'm embellishing, but we were good. We were confident. About the only weak spot according to some teammates was that I "threw like a sissy". Anyway, we went on to stomp the Mustangs 5-2 in the championship and celebrated like all other little league champs - with soft ice cream at Dairy Queen and taunting the losers. If there's a point to me reliving my, come-to-think-of-it unaccomplished youth it's this: truly effective teams are rare. They're hard to describe, but when you're on one - you know it. They're made up of individuals that recognize each other's talents and complement their weaknesses. "Individuals" are blurred into one well coordinated, cohesive group. While individuals lose some of their own identity, as a team they share a unique one. They have a common goal important to all members. They have a way to measure their progress and critique themselves. They strive constantly to improve their performance. And, they recognize and address destructive team behaviors that interfere with their progress.
GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
describes what constitutes a team describes the stages a team's development explains what a manager or supervisor can specifically do to escort a group through each stage of team development describes different "roles" team members may play and why they're important describes what can cause teams to become dysfunctional discusses team reward and recognition provides a case study which illustrates a highly successful team provides a team assessment tool so a manager or supervisor can assess strengths and weaknesses of their team
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Why is this important? No doubt you're part of a group or manage a group that must work closely to succeed that's the nature of work. There are certain dynamics that make teams successful and there are certain reasons why they flounder. The best example of that is to look at professional sports. You can have a team of all stars that can't play better than average - or you can have a team of "nobodies" that together are champions. If you as a manager or supervisor know how to anticipate and react to those dynamics you can increase your employees productivity while decreasing money and time lost on interpersonal problems.
What makes a great team? What's the difference between a team and a group of people working together? This next section asks some basic questions to help you make the distinction. Believe it or not - it's not always obvious!
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Team Building Great Teams

As with many management techniques the best way to learn them is to think about them in terms of your own experiences. What was a great team that you were on? It could have been a sports team, an academic club, a work team - any group that worked together towards a common objective. Answer the following questions with respect to that team: Think about it..... What was the common goal your team shared? How did you know the team was successful? Who was the leader of the team? What did he/she do specifically that made the team function so well? Describe the role of each person on the team. Did everyone have a chance to contribute towards the teams' success? Recall an instance where the team had to band together to accomplish a particularly challenging assignment/goal. What did the team members do differently? Think of times when there was conflict on the team. How was it handled? Now..... Contrast this team with another team or group of people you worked with. What specifically was different?
Do I Have a Team or Not?

You might be wondering, "Do I have a team or not?" If you manage a group of employees they may be working more as individuals or more as a team. Sound confusing? Here are some factors that will help you determine the degree to which your employee's are working as a team: Individuals Team
Can come to work and accomplish majority of their job without interacting with anyone else. For instance, Rely on other individuals to get work done. Constantly customer service operators who handle phone calls can interacting with peers. Individuals meet together regularly to identify problems and solve them. spend the majority of their day on the phone with little interaction among peers. Usually solve problems on their own or with some assistance from manager. Refer to one another for assistance with problems.
Recognized and rewarded for working together as a Only recognition (i.e. merit increases, bonuses, awards, team. Team may get special bonus or award. etc.) is for individual contribution. Recognition may be something as informal as a group presentation to management. Group has no common goal or objective it is trying to accomplish. Only measures are for individuals. For example, a customer service operator may be measured by his/her call volume, talk time, number of inquiries completed etc. Employees share a common goal. For example, a customer service unit may have a goal of reducing average talk time per call - for all operators - to 175 seconds. Or, the unit may want to reduce its abandoned call rate to less than 2%. These are goals that require everyone's effort.
The key to developing and managing teams is to understand the cycles that teams churn through. Each stage requires a different set of management responses and techniques. The wrong response can stagnate or even split your team so be careful! Read on to find out more.
Team Building Stages of Team Development

There has been an incredible amount of psychometric research done on the dynamics of teams. Researchers have studied group dynamics, informal leadership within teams, the best way to structure teams, how to reward them etc. We're going to start with a simple review of the stages all teams (Tuckman 1965) appear to cycle through:
1. Forming 2. Storming 3. Norming 4. Performing

Note: For our purposes, "team" refers to any group of employees who work together on a common goal or objective that binds them together. They could be working on a temporary project, they could be employees from one department or they could be all the employees in a small company.
Stage 1: Forming
Overview: During the Forming stage members are not yet sure of the teams objective or what's expected of them. Therefore they look for direction from the team leader or their manager. During this dependent stage team members are similar in many respects to the PA1 or PA2 employees described in the Adaptive Leadership Course. Because members may not know each other very well, or their roles, everyone tends to be friendly and obedient. Status in the group is temporarily equated to each member's title or seniority. Think of a sports team where everyone has gathered for opening practice or tryouts. No ones' quite sure of the role each person will play, who the leaders are, what the "rules" are for the team, what's expected of them etc. In business terms you see the same dynamics when a new project team is formed or when you have several new employees starting at once. Scenario: A new line up (story from one of our Team Building workshops) Several new employees join the credit application department of a bank after a number of veteran employees are promoted out of the department, leave the company, or retire. Now other employees who used to turn to those veteran staff find they're the informal leaders of the department. The social relationships within the department have been disrupted and new ones may be formed. Suddenly a department that used to function almost on its own is faced with a real challenge. The new staff have to be trained. They need extra attention and coaching to do their jobs. Your existing employees may take on the responsibilities of those that left so they too need training. It's a time when the entire group needs to go through the dynamics of forming. As a group they need to understand their objective (business goals). They need to understand how each person contributes to that common objective. They need to understand "how things work" - working hours, breaks, who to turn to for help, where to get information, etc. And, they'll need to go through the social rituals of meeting new people.
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Forming continued
As team leader or manager here's what you can do to help your group move quickly through this stage:
Clearly define the team's purpose Does everyone understand the team's objective? For example, if you manage a customer service unit your unit may be measured on the average response time per call, the number of phone calls answered vs. hang ups, the service quality based on customer feedback, etc. Each team member must know how the group's performance is evaluated. It's like a sports team - how do they keep score? Let's say you manage a small travel agency. You may measure your team's success: x x x by the total trips booked per month by total revenue per month by customer satisfaction measures - or some combination of all these
The important point is you must have some kind of "scoring" or report card by which the team as a whole can gauge their performance. Without common measures your team becomes just a group of individuals who happen to work together. Explain the responsibilities of team members As your team is formed each member will be trying to understand the objective and the responsibilities of each person. This is especially important to new employees since their immediate concern is holding their own. As a manager you should clearly explain the responsibilities of each person - not just to each person but to the entire group. That way, when you're not around they know who to turn to for help. This is one reason an effective orientation is important for new employees. Lay ground rules for team meetings / meeting format If you're learning a new sport or game - you need to know the rules. Simple things like when meetings are held, how to report time, where to get help, etc., put team members at ease. Be sure team members know the chain of command as well as what decisions they can make and when they need your sign off. For instance, some companies are so dedicated to customer service they allow an employee - any employee - to spend money (up to a thousand dollars in some cases!) to rectify a customer complaint - without management approval. Be sure team members know how to escalate issues and what types of problems to escalate. Allow time for employees to meet one another Plan some situations where employees get to meet one another. For example, have lunch brought in for the department, pair new employees with existing staff for their orientation training, pair new staff and existing staff on a project or task, etc. This will encourage staff to meet and work together, quickly putting the chore of introductions and social acceptance behind them.
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Forming continued
Encourage team members to express concerns about the team's objective and/or their responsibilities Get your employees thinking as a team. The more you encourage them to question and improve the way the team works together the quicker you'll move them out of the forming stage. Some managers make the mistake of only listening to employee concerns one-on-one or when an employee approaches them. Talk as a group! It's the best way to reinforce expectations for the team. For instance, suppose you manage a retail store. One of your employees notices that some employees will work on stocking shelves or paperwork while customers need assistance. The employee brings it to your attention because the customers are obviously annoyed by the lack of attention. What do you do? You could: x x x x x ask who it is so you can reprimand those employees shrug it off keep your eyes open for the same problem post a memo in the break room reminding employees how important customer service is discuss as a group the importance of customer service and that the customer is the priority
Of course, the last option is the best. It doesn't need to be anything fancy - maybe a five minute huddle when things are slow. You don't need to address the individuals at fault. That's best done in private when needed. By discussing the issue as a group you reinforce customer service as a team objective. You should publicly thank the person who brought the issue to your attention. That will encourage others to do the same when they see a problem in the environment. Encourage employee input but react to it carefully. If you constantly use the feedback to berate employees they'll be reluctant to share concerns if it means making waves for their coworkers.
Some groups seem to argue every time they get together. Usually it's because of differing opinions. Hopefully that conflict will be a catalyst for a new and creative direction. Other times groups don't fight enough! Read on to learn more.
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Stage 2: Storming
Overview: Now the team has rolled up its sleeves and realizes the magnitude of its task. If progress is slow or performance is poor members are quick to blame others or outside factors. They question the team's ability to handle the task, silently or directly. Factions will form within the team each with a different view on how the team should function. Storming is especially common as individuals jockey for their respective places in the team hierarchy. If the team spins its wheels in the storming stage for too long it may dissolve since their lack of progress will undermine management support. At the other end of the spectrum some teams never reach the storming stage. In an attempt to maintain apparent harmony and agreement members won't voice their concerns. The team will just deal with superficial, safe issues but not make any real progress towards its' goal. This can be even more frustrating than conflict. The only way to change this is for management or someone on the team to step in and prompt "constructive conflict" - to question the teams' purpose and objectives. Despite the name of this stage - Storming isn't necessarily bad. In fact, conflict is healthy for employee teams as long as it is used in a positive manner. It demonstrates that the team is capable of questioning its' own actions and decisions - a first step towards policing itself. This is an excellent way to avoid one of the biggest pitfalls of teams - Decision Paradox. A team that has struggled through heated arguments and worked to arrive at a consensus will feel a tremendous cohesiveness afterwards - that's the next stage. Once the team has settled in the "honeymoon" will be over. That is, individuals will be more inclined to speak their opinions and those opinions will differ. Again, disagreement can be very beneficial because it signals a healthy exploration of options. But when those disagreements persist the team must learn how to overcome conflict and gain consensus. If progress is slow or performance is poor members are quick to blame others or outside factors. They may question the team's ability to handle the task, silently or directly. Factions will form within the team each with a different view on how the team should function. At the other end of the spectrum some teams never reach the storming stage. In an attempt to maintain apparent harmony and agreement members won't voice their concerns. The team will just deal with superficial, safe issues, but not make any real progress toward its goal. They plod along day after day at a mediocre level. Eventually, this can be more frustrating than conflict. The only way to change this is for management or someone on the team to step in and prompt "constructive conflict." Scenario: Are we at war? (story from Team Building workshop) "It was one of the most frustrating projects I've ever been on. Our department developed a computer application for managing customer product requests. Another department developed a system to manage customer invoicing. It made sense to link the two applications since information was taken from one and manually entered into the other - so that's what management proposed. To start, our manager and the manager of the other department met along with a few staff to figure out how the systems should be integrated. Very quickly it became obvious the managers disagreed. The problem was they wouldn't really disagree face-to-face. They were very passive aggressive about it. Our manager would complain in our staff meeting. The other manager did the same in his. By order of our manager, we spent the next two months playing "CYA" and documenting every issue and mistake made by the other department. We all got fed up. Instead of integrating the two systems we sat by and watched as our two managers wasted the company's time, money, and resources playing this ridiculous game."
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Stage 2: Storming continued
As team leader or manager you should: Keep the group focused on the objective of the team Review the objective of the team and why it's a priority. That won't necessarily clear up your problems but it's a starting point for team consensus. Even though it appears there is total disagreement and confusion on how to get there at least the team agrees on the objective. Revisit the team's goal to galvanize the group. Instigate "constructive conflict" if the team is hesitant to confront one another on significant issues Use structured techniques like brainstorming, storyboarding, and group voting to prioritize group issues. This is an excellent way to encourage participation from all members and to gain agreement on problems and solutions. Whenever possible use data to quantify and substantiate opinions. The key is to confront conflict head on. In the scenario above both managers should have pulled the teams together and acknowledged there was a difference of opinions. From there they should have managed a very objective review of their options. Encourage real consensus on problems and issues Remember, conflict means there are factions within your team. Those factions may have deep roots so it's critical you get the team to consent to the best option Get the team to focus on smaller short term goals Anxiety and disagreement may erupt over how the team will reach its long term objective. Team members become so entrenched in their opinions work never gets started. Rather than wasting time on that get the team to share a small success. Identify a smaller short goal (baby step) that will rebuild cohesion among the team but continue to work on your long term plan. Remember the saying, "A journey of 10,000 miles begins with the first foot step... ." Let members vent, but keep their statements objective and rational This is perhaps the key to moving beyond the storming stage. When disagreement ensues, some personality types are less willing to admit another idea is better than theirs. As a result they'll defend their idea vigorously. As a team leader or manager you can do two things: keep the discussion objective and keep it from getting personal. Focus on facts. Question opinions. Ask for examples. Keep participants focused on the options not the personalities involved. Use positive reinforcement and feedback (appropriately) to buoy confidence This is a time when individuals and the group need to remember what they've done right. Provide positive feedback (genuine) where you can. Right now they're questioning the ability of the team to accomplish its goal and resorting to self preservation (every man for himself). This is another reason you should focus on short term goals when your team is floundering. Have you ever been involved in a group argument or disagreement? The group settles on a compromise. The dust settles. An air of stability falls over the group like a capsizing boat has been righted. But that cohesion may be temporary. May be it's only imaginary. Huh? Read on to learn more.
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Stage 3: Norming
Overview: A team will only progress beyond storming when its members have reached real consensus on priorities and a course of action. They've produced a tangible result from all their conflict - an action plan that galvanizes the team (a project plan, prioritized problems, assigned roles, etc.). They suddenly feel like someone tossed them life jackets. Members will have a new appreciation for the roles of one another. The status (or totem pole) of members may get re-shuffled as roles are redefined. There will be acknowledgment, open or silent, that the team has made it over a big hurdle. This can be a motivating stage. Now is the time to reinforce the teams focus and commitment. You don't necessarily have to go through storming to get to norming. For instance, suppose your team is currently at the performing stage. They work very well together and are able to manage most of their own day-to-day issues. Your team may take the responsibilities of the member that leaves and divide them up. There's no disagreement. No need to regress all the way to forming. The team settles at norming until they successfully absorb their new responsibilities and are performing again. Scenario: The cease fire. (Continued from the story on the previous page) "Upper management must have caught wind of the problems between our departments because one day they announced a new project manager would oversee the project for both departments. I think it sent a strong message to our manager and the other one because suddenly they both seemed more willing to work together. What really impressed me was that the project manager also met with the staff from both departments without our managers! He asked for our ideas and suddenly it was like we were one team instead of two departments. In less than a week we had a project plan for integrating our systems. I swear we were more productive in those three days than in the whole two months beforehand. But the truth is, our managers should have been able to do the same thing. I think they let their egos get in the way."
As a team leader you should: Be mindful that your team may be reluctant to disagree and challenge one another since they've just gone through a stormy period Ask team members to challenge their own decisions and encourage everyone's input. Use structured techniques to objectively examine options and decisions - list and prioritize possible options. Then for each one ask "Why won't this option work?" Ask team members to critique each option. Make sure everyone has an assigned task to work on An important part of getting a team refocused and stable is making sure each person knows his/her role. Get results as fast as possible from the group. Sure you've agreed on a course of action but your work has just started. Make sure the team shows immediate progress. Address the smaller objectives first so the team can enjoy some success.
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Stage 3: Norming continued
Be sure all members are acknowledged for their efforts thus far The team just survived a rough period. Even if it's nothing more than a pat on the back be sure to acknowledge their hard work. "Raise the bar" by challenging members to take risks and to confront conflict Draw attention to the successful transition from storming to norming. Use it as justification for your challenge. Remember the dynamics of Goal Setting and Motivation. Individuals and groups are motivated by challenging goals. Keep the carrot out in front. It's like dog racing. Theory has it that if a greyhound actually catches the mechanical rabbit they'll never run their best again. They've achieved the goal and motivation is lost. An excellent way to do this is to give your team members a problem to solve. Ask them to meet (without a manager) and generate as many possible options to the problem as possible. Ask them to prioritize the options - most recommended to least recommended. Afterwards review the results and choose a solution with them. BUT - also ask them how they generated ideas, how they dealt with disagreements, and how they prioritized their recommendations. Help them learn from the experience.
This is a rare stage. It's when a group of people have finally reached a level of interaction and productivity where every person contributes. The team supports one another. It polices itself. But how does a team get to that point and will it stay there? Continue on and find out.
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Stage 4: Performing
Overview: The team has finally gelled. Members can challenge each other constructively. There is a structured, productive approach to problem solving. All members are committed to the objective of the team and know what's expected of them to get there. Members are comfortable offering ideas and can challenge each other constructively. These teams also openly acknowledge its' own process and dynamics. Members are better at addressing interpersonal issues themselves. While it doesn't seem like there's much for the team leader to worry about there are still some responsibilities to be mindful of. The trick here is to keep the team challenged. Scenario: Now that's Teamwork!! (story from one of our Team Building workshops) "I'm a senior manager at a multinational marketing firm and believe it or not the best team I ever worked on was when I was nineteen. When I was in college I worked at a full service gas station near campus. I wasn't very mechanical so I ran the pumps, the convenience counter and helped with some of the housekeeping tasks in the maintenance bay. That place was incredible. It did the highest volume of service in the city - even more than the big name franchises - and those places had more employees. There were five mechanics and one shop supervisor. Usually the supervisor would set goals to see how many customers we could service in a day - and the mechanics would raise it! If one mechanic was having difficulty everyone pitched in. When one guy diagnosed a tough engine problem the others congratulated him. They constantly sought one another's opinion on problems. Customers would rave about how good they were. In all the time I was there I don't remember one customer complaint. Even though I wasn't a mechanic they always made me feel like part of the team. They even trained me to do oil changes, tire rotations - basic stuff. I remember one time the supervisor came in around lunchtime, looked at the day's log and couldn't believe how many customers had been handled. He bought us all lunch then he held a contest. Whoever did the fastest oil change could go home for the day. I wasn't even close but it was fun anyway. Even today I think of that job when I try to motivate my employees to work as a team."
As Team leader or manager you should: Help your team avoid complacency by identifying new more aggressive challenges Ironically, teams that performed very well on a particular task often have difficulty accepting new members, new structure, and new challenges! There is always the danger that when a team truly performs to its potential it becomes comfortable and adverse to change. Rather than recycle through the stressful and energy consuming storming stage, it wants to keep an even keel. Find new challenges for the team and its members. Provide feedback and recognition so efforts don't appear unappreciated Similar to the PA4 individual (as discussed in the Adaptive Leadership course) a high performing team can be taken for granted. That can impact the member's motivation and knock your high performers (PA4's) down (PA3's). Be sure to provide recognition when appropriate. What causes a team to cycle through these team stages? Are there indicators? Yes! As a manager you should watch out for them. That way you can anticipate the team's reaction and respond accordingly. Read on.
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Team Building Cycling Through Team Stages

As mentioned earlier, teams constantly cycle through these stages. Here are a few triggers: x x x The team is given a new responsibility or challenge Team membership changes significantly A new team leader is appointed
If you've reviewed the course on Adaptive Leadership then you'll probably recognize parallels between the four styles of management - Modeling, Coaching, Supporting, and Delegating; and the four team stages - Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. For your personal development compare the two modules and see if you can identify the close relationship between them. Below are examples of teams in various stages. It should be easy to determine which stage they're in. The key is to be aware of flags that signal particular stages. Scenario 1 Cal and Bernadette are members of the Y2K (Year 2000 computer glich) team at their company. They work for a small regional utility company. The criticality of their assignment is obvious. They need to manage the process for documenting and ensuring Y2K compliance of their company's computer systems and power generation equipment. If they fail there will be a lot of unhappy customers around midnight on 12/31/99. They're in the third meeting this week. Tom, a regional manager, is on his soapbox again saying that every group needs to follow the same documentation process. Robert disagrees saying that since computer platforms are different they need different documentation requirements. There are about 40 people in the conference room. Some of them are willing to take a side. The rest are either undecided or uninterested since this debate has been raging for two weeks now with no end in sight. "I wish we'd get some agreement on this and move on. We're wasting time.", Cal says to Bernadette. Summary Obviously this team is in the storming stage. There is no clear consensus on a solution or plan of action. Factions are developing. This isn't necessarily bad. If a team leader steps in and assists the team in arriving at a consensus this can be a galvanizing moment - one that bolsters the teams' confidence. On the other hand, if it flounders at this stage for too long it may never recover. One problem is that 40 people are way too many to act as a team. A smaller team should be formed to identify the administrative ground rules. Studies suggest 6-12 is the best size range. Scenario 2 Bob manages a small construction supply company specializing in plumbing and underground water excavation equipment. The region is experiencing a growth spurt and numerous new developments and shopping centers are under construction. That means his business will have a chance to venture into several new type of service. It's a busy time and he's adding staff. Three new office staff have been added to the four existing employees. Bob asked Shirley, his senior most employee, to arrange an orientation and luncheon for the new comers. Shirley's going to pair each new employee up with an existing employee so they can learn the ropes.
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continued
Summary Anytime you're adding new staff or changing your basic objectives it's likely your team will temporarily recycle starting at the forming stage. Team members will want to understand the roles and responsibilities for each person. The early interactions of the team will seem more social than work related. No doubt, interaction will be friendly and informal. The goal here is to define the common objectives the team will work towards and to get the roles and responsibilities of each person clarified. For instance, Bob, the manager of the construction company should clearly explain to employees what success looks like - i.e. timely delivery of excavation equipment, equipment is functional and reliable so customer work is uninterrupted, service should be prompt and personal. Bob sets a goal to increase revenue by 30% over the next six months. If they can, everyone will get a bonus. Now there's a common objective and a common reward - important ingredients to function as a team. Scenario 3 Rudy is meeting with the other members of his project team. They've been tasked with planning a business expansion. The car dealership they work for will be expanding into the used car arena and will be conducting sales directly over the internet. For the past three months there has been a lot of friction among team members. Janice, who has been a salesperson for 28 years doesn't know why the company wants to expand its sales to used cars or the internet. She feels its too much change for the dealership that enjoys a comfortable advantage over less established competitors in the region. Last week it got pretty heated until the president of the dealership stepped in and got the group to commit to a business plan. Now the team has reconvened. There still seems to be some underlying anxiety but the team remains focused. They're handing out assignments. Summary Anytime a group comes off a particularly heated meeting or period where a problem was solved or some level of consensus reached then for sure they're in the norming stage. It's like the sun finally breaks through after a thunderstorm. There are some dangers however. The group needs to be wary that it's not committing to a plan of action just to avoid conflict. Conflict will often erupt when a team is faced with making a choice or decision. How it makes that choice or decision is critical. Scenario 4 Claude manages a store that sells nutritional supplements. His employee team has taken responsibility for scheduling shifts and for several administrative functions. They place product orders and self manage all customer inquiries and problems. Since Claude has to provide such little oversight of the daily operations he's been able to focus on opening two new stores. Claude's thinking of promoting one of his employees to store manager so he can dedicate himself full time as regional manager and to other stores. Summary Obviously a performing team. A performing team is a manager's dream because it allows him/her to focus on those "other" priorities they can never get to. Also, there's an interesting issue in this example. If Claude promotes a team member to store manager then he should prepare for a change in the teams' stage of development. Anytime there's a change in leadership or in the roles of team members a team will temporarily be knocked back to the forming and/or norming stages.
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Determining the Stages of Team Development
It's not always obvious what stage a team is in. For instance, what if you add new team members (forming) to a team that's already in conflict (storming). What stage are you in? What if you change the policies or procedures for a team that's performing effectively. Where does the team wind up? From a management standpoint there are a few rules to follow:
1. First, be mindful of the specific indicators or flags for each of the four stages. 2. Second, the impact an indicator or flag will depend on the stage the team is at when the "incident" occurs. 3. Third, if multiple indicators or flags exist the manager should assume the team is at the lowest (least
mature) stage in the cycle. Specific indicators or flags for each stage include: Specific Indicator or Flag Add new employee(s) Stage of Team Development Forming - Existing team members acclimate new member to team goal, procedures and group norms. Storming - Team may stay in Storming for some period or move to Norming. Danger of False consensus - i.e. agree just to agree and avoid conflict. Storming - Need to make sure all employees have clear roles and assignments or those w/o will likely drift away from team. Norming - Team may resettle at norming if there is no friction over reassignment of responsibilities. If there is disagreement the team could wind up storming. If the person leaving leaves a void in leadership the group may regress to forming as it looks for new direction. Same as above. Depends on the impact of the change. A non disruptive change may have no effect. A fairly significant change may knock the team down to forming or norming depending on where they started. Same as above. Depends on the impact of the change. A non disruptive change may have no effect. A fairly significant change may knock the team down to forming or norming depending on where they started.
Team is in disagreement
Roles or responsibilities clash
Team member leaves
Employee roles and responsibilities change Team gets new task or responsibility
Team gains consensus on tough Norming - can regress to Storming if consensus and focus not maintained. issue Team consistently meets objectives Team can manage day-to-day operations Performing - Team members may get burned out or complacent if new challenge not introduced. Performing - Manager should consider promoting team member to management or challenging team with new goals.
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Determining the Stages of Team Development continued
Multiple flags or indicators Suppose your team displays several of the indicators at once - what do you do? For instance, you add a new employee, but you also just introduced a new work procedure and you have employees fighting over new assignments. In this case you have flags for Forming, Norming and Storming. Work your way from the bottom up that is, from the lowest (least mature) level. Address the Forming needs first. Make sure the new employee is acclimated and his/her immediate needs are met. Next, explain the new procedure to everyone. Make sure everyone understands how to do it and why it's important. Finally address the storming faction. Always attend to the foundation first.
Each person plays some role on a team. Sometimes they may play multiple roles. And, like a vitamin deficiency, if you don't have enough of the right roles, the health of your team will suffer. The next section describes some of those roles. See if you recognize any.
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Team Building Roles of Team Members

As you might expect you can take a collection of individual superstars and form a group that functions lousy as a team. Imagine having the nine best pitchers in the league on your baseball team - but no one else. Imagine forming a team of all supervisors but no one to do the hands on work. Teams require a mix of skill sets and certain group roles. Some members question everything, some always ask for data, some talk about the group's process, some just offer positive encouragement all the time, etc. As a team leader you should make a mental note of the role each member brings with them to see if the team is missing a crucial element. Ask yourself: "What role is this person playing?"
Devil's Advocate Member frequently questions the group's decision and challenges members acting as the proverbial "Devil's Advocate." Sometimes viewed as a nay-sayer, but this role is very important since it forces a group to examine its decisions, and to remain objective. If no one plays this role, encourage them to, or model it yourself. One of the most important aspects of an effective team is that it can be self critical. May react emotionally first - logically or empirically later. Will often voice the underlying sentiment of the group. Draws attention to the personal effect of the project or goal. "This is going to require a lot of extra hours..." "What about our current responsibilities?" "We put a lot of hours into this already and now we have to change it again?" Can emotion be productive in business? Yes. An emotional statement can sometimes signal the tip of an iceberg. Suppose a team is frustrated and burned out by their workload or environment. A gut reaction is like the canary in a mineshaft. They can alert you to potential problems. As a manager here's your chance to address that underlying sentiment. This is the person that sometimes comes out of left field with his/her ideas. Their ideas at first pass, seem improbable, if not plain stupid. But they are the risk takers, the ones to step out of the box and often open eyes of the team to new possibilities and creative solutions. These are the ones that can get your team to rethink its assumptions and come up with creative solutions. Someone has to promote these new ideas or your team will be good at doing the same ol' thing. Do you have any data on that? How can we verify that? How can it be measured? "Show me an example." These are all statements of the skeptic. The person that needs to see it to believe it. This person can sometimes be at odds with someone like the gut checker since emotional arguments won't satisfy them. This role is especially important when a team is storming because they want to justify options with concrete proof rather than emotion. The skeptic will usually challenge those with suggestions or ideas based solely on opinion or emotion. This person has the sunny disposition. They offer constant encouragement and support to team members. He/she frequently draws attention to what the group has accomplished rather than what it faces. They may inject humor or levity to the situation when things get tense. He/she makes it a point to compliment team members on their efforts. This is often the team leader of the group but can be any member who questions the way the team makes decisions, solves problems and deals with conflict. This person is especially attentive to the process or dynamics of the team. They're aware of interpersonal problems and personalities that clash. They also pay particular attention to the motivation of the group. This is often the person who goes to the manager when a team is in a rut.
Gut Checker
Risk Taker
Skeptic
Cheerleader
Conductor
Each of these roles is important. Missing one, you can probably get along, but too many is like a vitamin deficiency - eventually it'll cost you. As team leader or manager be aware of these roles. If you're missing some, recruit new members or model the role yourself. Don't be afraid to talk to the members about your observations. Don't be surprised if they take on the missing role themselves. But what does a manager do if his/her team isn't working? Take heart. There are some common pitfalls teams face and fortunately some specific action managers can take to get them back on track. The next section walks you through some of these step-by-step.
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Team Building When Your Teams Not Working

Based on what we've covered so far you may recognize some recurrent themes when it comes to team problems. As a manager there are three common issues you're likely to encounter: 1. Unmotivated team/stagnant team 2. Team is in conflict 3. Team is unable to make a decision
1. Unmotivated or Stagnated Teams

An unmotivated or stagnant team will exhibit some very obvious signs such as: x x x x x x x dwindling attendance and participation in meetings (unmotivated) conversation often goes off on tangents or topics unrelated to the cause at hand (unmotivated) lack of volunteering and follow up on assignments (unmotivated) team members rush to decisions just to adjourn meetings (unmotivated) non verbals convey little energy and enthusiasm (unmotivated) members discuss same topics or problems over and over (stagnant) members cannot verbalize a common plan for accomplishing their objective or solving problems (stagnant)
Possible causes... Group has no plan or no idea on how to accomplish its objective The group may be overwhelmed by the complexity of the task. They have no clear idea where to start or how to get organized. The team needs a jump start. Unless a strong leader steps forward and helps, the team may continue to stagnate. In this situation time should be devoted to breaking the task into logical chunks so the team can accomplish small goals to get started. Group does not think the objective is important This is common the larger an organization becomes. Often times a project or objective rolls down from executive management with little explanation as to why it's a priority. It's also common for that objective to conflict with existing work efforts. For instance, at a large bank a team was tasked with implementing a new time tracking and project management system by the request of an executive manager. Once the team started working with departments to implement the system they realized it didn't meet the real needs of those departments. Motivation of the team dwindled as more and more time was spent trying to convince departments to use a system even the team didn't believe in. The objective of the team has to make sense and the team must understand why it's a priority. That objective is the glue that binds the team together and the fuel that keeps it going.
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There may be no clear reward or incentive for the group Some companies demonstrate little connection between the work employees do and the compensation or reward they receive. In other words, "So what if I work on this team, so what if we succeed or fail - it won't matter to me." If a company is poor at rewarding performance the team's objective may just seem like more work. Interpersonal problems within the group If a team suffers from constant bickering or infighting it will make little progress towards its objective. Conflict within the team will likely split the group into factions that spend more time and energy defending their position than on the common objective of the team.
2. Team is in Conflict
Conflict in business doesn't necessarily mean employees have one another in a headlock and are swinging at one another. Conflict in business manifests itself in other ways: x x x x x Constant disagreement with suggestions or unreasonable opposition to change Disagreements become more personal - "You don't understand...", "You always...", "You never...", etc. Little patience for the ideas of team members Poor participation in team meetings and team assignments Team members spend excessive time trying to gain credit for work and accomplishments
Possible causes... The group faces a tremendously challenging task Obviously if a team is constantly buried with an unrealistic volume of work, or if they're asked to do a huge task with few resources or little time - nerves will become frayed. There is genuine conflict between personalities in the group If a group has several members with dominant, aggressive personalities - those members are likely to clash at times. As long as the conflict is constructive that's okay. If it starts to interfere with team progress someone needs to step in. If a team suffers from constant bickering or infighting it will make little progress towards its objective. Conflict within the team will likely split the group into factions that spend more time and energy defending their position than on the common objective of the team. Conflicting members of the group are really committed to the cause A team may experience conflict because several members differ on how to accomplish its objective. This is "healthy" conflict since it is tied directly to the team's goal. If members were in conflict simply because their egos interfered with their rational judgment then that conflict would be counterproductive.
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continued 3. Team is Unable to Make a Decision
Some obvious signs that a team cannot make effective decisions include: x x x x team makes rapid decisions or compromises team member discussion is either lost in details or at such a high level no one really understands the issues team members are slow to act on the decision or endorse it team constantly looks to the manager, team leader or informal leader for their opinion and approval
Possible causes... The group lacks necessary information to make a decision If a team lacks important data, knowledge or information they will certainly have difficulty committing to a decision. Team lacks a structured problem solving approach A team may have several ideas on how to solve a problem but selecting the right one becomes the problem. Teams need a logical approach to prioritizing solutions and the ability to facilitate an objective conversation of alternatives. Team doesn't know if it can make a decision There's a difference between making a recommendation and making a decision. If a team assumes it's making a recommendation then it also assumes someone else (upper management) will make the decision. This can often be a point of miscommunication among levels in business. Teams need to know which decisions they can make and which need to be deferred to another level. Management is often guilty of not defining, or vaguely defining those limits.
Other Ideas for Handling Dysfunctional Teams

So what can you do about these problems? If your team is seeing little progress toward its objectives, you as team leader or manager need to diagnose the problem and come up with a plan of action. Many problems can be avoided by applying the manager behaviors described for each of the team stages. But suppose your team is floundering or suffers from constant conflict or a lack of motivation - what do you do? Structured problem solving One method is to start with the symptom of the team's problem (effect) and work your way backward to the causes. Again, common symptoms include an unmotivated or stagnant team, conflict and the inability to make and act on decision. Team Survey At the end of this course we have provided a survey you can administer to team members asking for feedback on the team process. The survey can be used for diagnosing problems and/or to educate your team on important aspects of team building that you want to reinforce. . Many businesses reward only the individual then wonder why employees don't work as a team. If your employees are incented for only their individual contributions then you're encouraging a group of individuals - not a team of individuals. Read on to learn more.
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Team Building Rewarding Teams and Team Behavior

It's amazing...so many companies have embraced the move toward teams, yet few have altered their structure to reward and support teams. Typically performance evaluations, the merit system, job descriptions, rewards programs and training are geared toward the individual. Who rewards the team? For example, here are some common mistakes companies make when managing teams: They recognize individual efforts If each employee just does his job then the rest will fall into place, right? Not with teams. The team needs to be evaluated as a team - on a common objective. To truly perform as a team, to tap into the dynamics that make teams so productive you need to set goals for the team. If you only measure individual performance you only emphasize the individual. Set individual goals and team goals. They emphasize vertical movement Most compensation systems are based on grades or levels. Success at your job moves you up the ladder. Within teams vertical strength isn't as important as horizontal strength - that is, teams need complementary skill sets and a broad knowledge base. Again, suppose a team is made up of all supervisors or all employees with one specific skill set. Chances are that group won't be very productive. The most effective teams are ones where members are encouraged to broaden their skill set and to be cross trained on multiple roles. That way members can move about the team wherever help is needed. They lack a focus on team behaviors Performance evaluations and training are notorious for this. Often times there is little beyond lip service and buzzwords regarding team behaviors. Performance evaluations should recognize and reward individuals who work well with others and who assist team members. Training should be provided that describes team stages, group dynamics, team problem solving, and decision making, etc. If you're serious about making teams work in your work environment examine your HR policies and tools carefully. They should share a common theme that emphasizes team dynamics and team member responsibilities.
The next section provides a case study of a highly productive team. It looks at what made that team unique and how it compares to some other successful teams. Check it out!
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Team Building Effective Team Building Case Study

Below is a detailed case study of one highly successful team. The case study describes some of the factors (from a management and a team member perspective) that made the team especially productive. The factors or themes are necessary for any effective team. This case study was provided by a college who served as HR manager at an automotive parts plant. This experience later became the basis for a company wide management training program he instituted in the same company. At an auto parts manufacturing plant an HR manager noticed that one assembly team was consistently recognized for its productivity, quality and innovation. Over the course of three years the team was nominated for eight internal awards, six of which it won. In addition, it had received honorable mention in the state's Excelsior Quality Award (similar to the Malcolm Baldrige Award). Several team members were active participants in volunteer committees and had themselves, proposed and implemented an internal customer quality program. Though the team was only comprised of nine people including the manager, the team had produced six promotions in a little over two years. In other words, six members of this team were promoted to either supervisory positions or positions of more responsibility on other teams. Digging a little further the HR manager found that afterwards productivity in four of those teams had also improved. What was happening? The HR manager started by talking with the manager of the team to learn more about his management style and philosophy. Below are excerpts from his notes: Manager "A team has to have clear goals and targets. We decided early on that we wanted to have the best productivity and rework ratios in the plant. We didn't at first. It took awhile to get there." "Each team member has to have a certain strength. They need to be the expert at something. Bill is the technical wiz. Nadine can test and develop test scripts better than anyone. Tom's the number cruncher. He can pinpoint production problems just by looking through batch data" "I try to provide individual incentives for the team members. For some it's developmental assignments, for others it's promotions in responsibility" "The group wanted to be recognized as a team. They dedicated their own time to apply for the external quality awards. They also spent a lot of time with internal customers. That's who nominated us for the internal awards" "We've set our own training quota for the team. Each person is expected to devote six hours per month either through classes here at the plant or in self study" "I try not to micromanage the team. I figure if they're doing the job let them be. I hope they've learned a lot from that. At first, I spent a lot more time managing them." "We had some interpersonal problems early on between two or three of the team members. To be honest, it was a bit unprofessional. Intolerance to opinions, an unwillingness to listen or to include certain members things like that. We addressed the problems right away. They tend to correct problems themselves now." Afterwards the HR manager interviewed members of the team to find out what they thought.
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Team Members "Seems like we're never satisfied with our work. It's not that we're being critical it's just that we continuously look for ways to improve. Makes the work more challenging." "I can approach anyone on this team for help when I need it. Everyone is willing to pitch in when there's a problem." "We spend a lot of time working together. No one is an island" "Our manager has set very challenging goals for us. He's spent a lot of time and energy increasing our responsibility too. Our team was selected to pilot production of the two newest product lines" "Our manager lets us do our jobs. He has complete confidence in us. It makes me feel a lot more responsible for the team's success" "I like the fact that we have clearly defined procedures. You know exactly what's expected. Each person knows what they have to do to make us successful" "We've definitely made our share of mistakes. But our manager has been pretty tolerant. If a batch has an unacceptable level of defects, the whole team analyzes what went wrong so we can learn from it" "I've had opportunities to present our quality program to executive management and to other companies. It's great. I get recognition as an individual and as a team member" "I'm proud of what we've accomplished. I didn't think we'd come this far as quickly as we did. We made some improvements and then the enthusiasm for more became contagious" The HR manager then took the team's feedback and identified the following common themes: Goal Oriented the team shared a common goal. While they had individual assignments they all contributed to a common objective. They also set new goals and higher standards so the team didn't stagnate. Individual Expertise team members had complementary skills. When the situation called for a particular knowledge the appropriate person stepped forward. Individuals were expected to continuously improve their skill. Process Discipline there were clear procedures and assignments for the team. Not only did each person have the necessary skills to be effective, they had guidelines to work by. Individual and Group Recognition members received individual recognition for their efforts while the team also received recognition collectively. Pride in Accomplishment the team members were proud of what they had accomplished. Rather than focusing on just themselves team members took pride in their collective accomplishment. Empowered Environment team members had the latitude to work directly with one another as needed. They could act self directed or pool their abilities as needed. Genuine Respect no job was anymore important than another. Each person played a specific role on the team. Interpersonal differences were respected. Self Correcting any team member could and did address problems and mistakes. Problems, production or interpersonal, did not have to fester until they required management attention.
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continued
None of these observations should have been a surprise it was just a surprise to see a collection of individuals truly working this way. The team members further confirmed the observations of the HR manager. After interviewing other teams he found that the less productive ones were lacking these traits. Not overly scientific but it did suggest some universal themes for exceptional teams. There is an excellent comparison to be made. The word "Team" is most often associated with sports. Do the same themes apply to effective teams? Think about it. Goal Oriented Sports teams aspire to some championship or demonstration of their ability - the Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, etc. The objective for these teams is to win. Imagine what watching a pro baseball game would be like if no one kept score. Individual Expertise Clearly in sports each person has a specific skill and role on the team. Joe Montana was a great quarterback, but how good would the San Francisco 49ers have been if all eleven guys on offense were a Joe Montana. Process Discipline Consider all the practice a sports team must go through to become the best. They practice plays, offensive alignments, defensive schemes. How many times have you seen it in basketball. Down to the last timeout. There's 1.4 seconds left in the game. A guard breaks open and sinks a 20 foot shot at the buzzer. Teams have scripted plays specifically designed so each person knows what they need to do to win. Individual and Group Recognition While teams win championships, individuals win MVP awards and lucrative contracts. Pride in Accomplishment Did you ever watch a 330 pound defensive tackle cry after winning a championship or losing one? Empowered Environment A coach can only take the team so far. Once the game starts each person is expected to exercise his or her athletic ability and skill. If a cornerback commits to a blitz the safety picks up his receiver. Athletes need to make decisions and act quickly based on their judgment. Genuine Respect How many times have you seen teams with internal strife just fall apart? If it goes unaddressed the team disintegrates into individuals all playing for self preservation. The local pro football team became the laughing stock of the NFL after the quarterback offended fellow players verbally and with his off the field antics. They went 3-13 for the season. He's gone and so is the coach. Self Correcting Team leaders will constantly coach and reprimand their fellow players. Did you ever see Dan Marino yelling at a receiver after running a bad route or Michael Jordan letting into a teammate after the player commits an untimely foul. Again, the coach isn't always there and shouldn't have to be. It's everyone's responsibility to look out for the well being of the team Summary Take a moment to consider how your team would rate on these common themes. Better yet, ask team members to rate the team. Commit to initiatives that foster these qualities and you'll quickly see improvement. Now its time to evaluate your teams effectiveness?
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Team Building In Summary

Many companies have turned to "Teams" in hopes of increasing productivity and profitability. If you put the right people together they'll work as a team with little prodding by management. But the likelihood of putting all the right people together is slim. Employees are at different skill levels and certain personalities will clash - i.e. two or more very assertive employees constantly at odds, or one very assertive employee that's always bossing others. There will be those employees that understand the priorities set by management and those that don't. Some strive for individual recognition while others enjoy team recognition. Would you rather win the Super Bowl or be the MVP of a losing team? The trick is to get all these employees to focus on the same objective and to find the right mix of reinforcements.
Learning Exercises
.
We have provided one exercise, a survey tool and an action plan to help you apply what you have learned in this course. These are found on the following pages. Please print out each of these exercises. Below is a short description of each exercise.
Exercise 1: Team Effectiveness Survey Exercise

This assessment will help you to assess the effectiveness of your team
Survey Tool
Print and copy this survey tool and distribute it to your team. Then analyze the results. You may find it to be quite revealing.

Use the approaches described in this course to strengthen the effectiveness of your team.
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Team Building Team Effectiveness Survey Exercise (3 pages)

This survey instrument is designed to assist teams of employees in identifying ways to work and communicate more effectively. Your feedback will be summarized with that of your team members. Please consider each question carefully in terms of your experience with this team. Team Name: Please check the most appropriate response: 1
The objectives and goals of the team are clear and Consider the following: supported by all team members. Our manager provides clear measurable goals for us to ____ Strongly Disagree (1 pt) achieve.
____ Disagree (2 pts) ____ Somewhat Disagree (3 pts) ____ Somewhat Agree (4 pts) ____ Agree (5 pts) ____ Strongly Agree (6 pts)
Date:
Each person knows exactly what he or she must do to support the team. We know how well our team is performing in terms of service, and productivity.
Comments:
When our team meets there is open discussion and participation by everyone.
Consider the following: Do some team members dominate the conversation? Do some team members avoid speaking or making suggestions? Is everyone encouraged to have input or do one or two people tell the rest what to do?
Comments:
Members listen objectively to one another.

Consider the following: If someone disagrees with the group are they allowed to speak their mind? Are members encouraged to offer creative ideas and novel solutions to problems? All participants are given a chance to present their opinions without interference from others.
Comments:
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There is constructive conflict and disagreement among members i.e. a healthy challenging of opinions and ideas.
Consider the following: There is no pride of authorship - individuals who defend their own opinions without listening/understanding others Disagreements are never personal. Team members encourage a thorough exploration of dissenting ideas. There is healthy conflict. The team is not afraid to disagree and challenge one another.
Comments:
The team can arrive at decisions effectively. Decisions are based on consensus.
Consider the following: Are decisions made or do issues drag on and on without closure? When the team makes a decision there is commitment and action afterwards. After a decision is made members do not question or belittle the decision privately. If someone disagrees with a decision they're allowed to do so without pressure or interference from the team.
Comments:
Members are clear on their roles and job assignments.

Consider the following: Is everyone equally busy and supportive of the same goals? Can everyone perform their job in a satisfactory manner? For the team there is little confusion, miscommunication, and mistakes.
Comments:
When there are personality conflicts or interpersonal problems among team members the team is able to address them in a productive manner.
Consider the following: Do team members constantly complain about one another? Do team members require management to solve interpersonal disputes? Are there mini factions or cliques within the team? Do certain team members avoid interaction with one another?
Comments:
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There is a healthy diversity of members and most or all group roles (hats) are accounted for (Note: Refer to the Team Building module for a description of group roles.)
Consider the following: Do you have an adequate mix of skills and experience for the team to perform effectively? Do one or more members exercise the following roles: creative thinker, analytical-data oriented type, emotional -gut reaction type, team cheerleader-support, devil's advocate, leader.
Comments:
The team is comfortable with, and effective at, critically examining its own dynamics and group processes.
Consider the following: Team members can be critical of the team's performance without offending team members. If there is a problem within the team, team members address it quickly. Team members work to define procedures and work standards that all are expected to comply with.
Comments:
10
The team works effectively together - regularly Consider the following: meets objectives, steps up to challenges, takes on more and more responsibilities for managing itself The team regularly meets or exceeds the levels of performance etc. expected of them.
There are few interpersonal problems and disputes within the team. The team can manage itself with little supervision from management.
Comments:
Compare your score to the rating scale below: 50-60 Excellent team work 40-49 Good team work but room for improvement 30-39 Team needs manager support and intervention to work more effectively Below 30 Very poor teamwork - major improvement needed
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Team Effectiveness Survey

This survey instrument is designed to assist teams of employees in identifying ways to work and communicate more effectively. Your feedback will be summarized with that of your team members. Please consider each question carefully in terms of your experience with this team. Team Name: Please check the most appropriate response: 1
The objectives and goals of the team are clear and Consider the following: supported by all team members. Our manager provides clear measurable goals for us to ____ Strongly Disagree (1 pt) achieve.
____ Disagree (2 pts) ____ Somewhat Disagree (3 pts) ____ Somewhat Agree (4 pts) ____ Agree (5 pts) ____ Strongly Agree (6 pts)
Date:
Each person knows exactly what he or she must do to support the team. We know how well our team is performing in terms of service, and productivity.
Comments:
When our team meets there is open discussion and participation by everyone.
Consider the following: Do some team members dominate the conversation? Do some team members avoid speaking or making suggestions? Is everyone encouraged to have input or do one or two people tell the rest what to do?
Comments:
Members listen objectively to one another.

Consider the following: If someone disagrees with the group are they allowed to speak their mind? Are members encouraged to offer creative ideas and novel solutions to problems? All participants are given a chance to present their opinions without interference from others.
Comments:
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There is constructive conflict and disagreement among members i.e. a healthy challenging of opinions and ideas.
Consider the following: There is no pride of authorship - individuals who defend their own opinions without listening/understanding others Disagreements are never personal. Team members encourage a thorough exploration of dissenting ideas. There is healthy conflict. The team is not afraid to disagree and challenge one another.
Comments:
The team can arrive at decisions effectively. Decisions are based on consensus.
Consider the following: Are decisions made or do issues drag on and on without closure? When the team makes a decision there is commitment and action afterwards. After a decision is made members do not question or belittle the decision privately. If someone disagrees with a decision they're allowed to do so without pressure or interference from the team.
Comments:
Members are clear on their roles and job assignments.

Consider the following: Is everyone equally busy and supportive of the same goals? Can everyone perform their job in a satisfactory manner? For the team there is little confusion, miscommunication, and mistakes.
Comments:
When there are personality conflicts or interpersonal problems among team members the team is able to address them in a productive manner.
Consider the following: Do team members constantly complain about one another? Do team members require management to solve interpersonal disputes? Are there mini factions or cliques within the team? Do certain team members avoid interaction with one another?
Comments:
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There is a healthy diversity of members and most or all group roles (hats) are accounted for (Note: Refer to the Team Building module for a description of group roles.)
Consider the following: Do you have an adequate mix of skills and experience for the team to perform effectively? Do one or more members exercise the following roles: creative thinker, analytical-data oriented type, emotional -gut reaction type, team cheerleader-support, devil's advocate, leader.
Comments:
The team is comfortable with, and effective at, critically examining its own dynamics and group processes.
Consider the following: Team members can be critical of the team's performance without offending team members. If there is a problem within the team, team members address it quickly. Team members work to define procedures and work standards that all are expected to comply with.
Comments:
10
The team works effectively together - regularly Consider the following: meets objectives, steps up to challenges, takes on more and more responsibilities for managing itself The team regularly meets or exceeds the levels of performance etc. expected of them.
There are few interpersonal problems and disputes within the team. The team can manage itself with little supervision from management.
Comments:
Thank you for your valuable feedback!
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Notes:
Use the approaches described in this course to strengthen the effectiveness of your team.
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C Conducting Performance Evaluations Ev
Conducting Performance Evaluations

In some organizations, the performance evaluation process has become a oncea-year administrative hoop that everyone has to jump through. In other companies the process is non existent. A survey conducted by a national Human Resource consulting firm found that of 224 (small to large) companies only 34% received high marks from a sampling of their employees on their performance evaluation tool and process. Here are some of the most common complaints:
1. Evaluating employees is difficult because job descriptions are so

outdated
2. Constant change and restructuring makes evaluation difficult because

reporting relationships and responsibilities change
3. Lack of objective criteria to differentiate between employee's performance 4. Process is too time consuming and paper intensive 5. Lack of training to conduct evaluations - both inter-personally and with regards to the tool used 6. Employees perceive the process as unfair and loaded with biases/favoritism 7. Feedback is usually non-specific or comes too late 8. When strategic objectives change - individual objectives should change, but usually don't 9. Inconsistency among managers in the way employees are evaluated 10. Manager does not take into consideration special projects or extra efforts
What the managers say... Below are some alleged quotes from performance reviews collected and posted on the Internet. Whether or not they're true - they're quite humorous. We wouldn't recommend these if you're documenting your employees' performance! "Since my last report, this employee has reached rock bottom and has started to dig." "His men would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid curiosity." "I would not allow this employee to breed." "This employee is really not so much of a has-been, but more of a definite won't-be." "Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap." "When she opens her mouth, it seems that it is only to change feet." "He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle." "This young lady has delusions of adequacy." "He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them." "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot." "This employee should go far, and the sooner he starts, the better." "Got a full 6-pack, but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together."
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"A gross ignoramus - 144 times worse than an ordinary ignoramus." "He certainly takes a long time to make his pointless." "He doesn't have ulcers, but he's a carrier." "I would like to go hunting with him sometime." "He's been working with glue too much." "He would argue with a signpost." "He has a knack for making strangers immediately." "He brings a lot of joy whenever he leaves the room." "When his IQ reaches 50, he should sell." "If you see two people talking and one looks bored, he's the other one." "He has a photographic memory with the lens cap glued on." "A prime candidate for natural de-selection." "Donated his brain to science before he was done using it." "Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming." "Has two brains cells: one is lost and the other is out looking for it" "If he were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week." "If you give him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change." "If you stand close enough to him, you can hear the oceans." "One neuron short of a synapse." "Some drank from the fountain of knowledge; he only gargled." "Takes him 2 hours to watch 60 minutes." "The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead."
GETTING STARTED
This course:
9 9 9 9 9 9
describes the concepts of performance management vs. performance evaluations describes the purpose and benefits of conducting performance evaluations provides a sample performance evaluation tool provides a guideline to prepare for, conduct, and follow-up on performance evaluations provides two performance evaluation case scenarios describes some of the common mistakes managers make when evaluating employee performance
Why is this important? The performance evaluation process is, or should be an integral part of your goal setting with employees. In addition it provides a justification for your employees' salary increase. If you don't conduct performance reviews with your staff you're missing a critical piece of the performance management process. Likewise, if you conduct performance evaluations but they're inaccurate or unfair you'll have a debilitating effect on the employee's motivation and morale! Do you know the difference between performance management and performance evaluation? This simple distinction is crucial to effectively managing employee performance. Continue your study on the next page.
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Conducting Performance Evaluations Performance Management versus Performance Evaluation

Performance Management
Performance management is simply a collection of management techniques geared towards improving the "work" of your employees. "Work" may refer to a number of areas related to a person's job. Below is a brief illustration of the steps involved in Performance Management as well as a hypothetical situation where it is applied. Performance Management - in detail
1. specific skills - i.e. selling a product or operating machinery 2. interpersonal skills - i.e. how the employee works with other people 3. work ethic - i.e. is the employee punctual, attentive to quality, professional in appearance and
mannerisms Steps involved in Performance Management
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Clearly identify the requirements of the job Review the job requirements with the employee to be sure they understand them Identify areas where the employee can improve Assist the employee in improving Reinforce their improvement
All these represent an area where an employee may improve their overall job performance and that's the objective of performance management. Let's walk through an example. Suppose you manage a restaurant. You're fortunate in that you're always busy but it seems you're also always backed up in your kitchen. Customers complain about waiting too long. Waiters and waitresses complain because the tables aren't cleared promptly, dishes and silverware are in short supply - what are they doing in your dishwashing area? To help your kitchen staff improve you first have to make sure their job is defined correctly. Is it possible they're working on things they shouldn't be - i.e. stocking supplies? Once you're sure the job is defined correctly, are you sure they understand the job requirements? If so, and they're still having trouble then you need to assess their individual needs - i.e. Does one employee need help organizing his work area to wash dishes faster? Does another employee need to understand the priorities as they relate to customers - i.e. bus tables when customers are waiting rather than mop the kitchen floor? Is another employee constantly late or taking extended breaks, adding to the back up? For each employee you need to identify where they can improve then coach them to better performance. This is a rather simple example but it illustrates the basic steps in performance management (see left). This process is informal. It's the day-to-day responsibility of a manager or supervisor to constantly improve the performance of his/her employees. A Performance Evaluation is the formal process of reviewing and documenting that performance.
Performance Evaluation
Now let's illustrate the difference between Performance Management and Performance Evaluations by continuing the example above.
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Conducting Performance Evaluations Performance Management versus Performance Evaluation

continued
Performance Evaluation - in detail
1. Preplanned / scheduled meeting between employee and manager where the purpose is to 2. 3. 4. 5.
review the employee's performance (usually annual) Based on documented job requirements and performance of the employee (formal) Employee should be given opportunity to prepare for the performance evaluation Manager identifies improvement goals or opportunities that will enhance performance Manager may tie performance evaluation to annual salary increase, training needs or career development
The restaurant manager has been coaching his kitchen help using performance management for about six months. Now it's time to meet with each employee and formally review his or her progress. He tells each employee well beforehand when his or her evaluation is going to be. The employee and manager will meet in his office for about an hour and review the employee's progress. He gives each of them a performance evaluation form ahead of time and asks them to review their own performance. That way when they meet with the manager they've already given it some thought. When they meet, the manager shares his opinion of the employee's work. The manager has documented the employee's strengths and opportunities for improvement. He shares with the employee a list of goals or improvement opportunities. Finally, he tells the employee what his salary increase will be, if any. These are some of the characteristics of a performance evaluation. Think of performance management as the process of coaching and improving the employee's performance, where as a performance evaluation is the tool for documenting that performance. A big difference between the two is that performance management can be done daily where as performance evaluations are typically once or twice a year. You may be thinking, "My company is too small to worry about performance evaluations....." No company is too small!! In fact, while performance evaluations are a must for any company, they're arguably more important to small companies because; They help improve performance - In smaller companies a non productive employee can have a more negative impact. They formalize personnel decisions - If you wind up in court over personnel decisions a sound performance evaluation process/tool is critical to your defense. They force managers to commit to performance management - Typically managers of small businesses spend little time on performance management. They demonstrate your commitment to the employee - High employee turnover in small businesses can be very damaging. The performance evaluation process / tool demonstrates your commitment to improving their skills and keeping them. At first glance it may seem the performance evaluation is just a way to justify a merit increase for an employee (or a lack of one). True, that's one purpose but there's more to a performance evaluation than a link to the employee's paycheck. The next section describes some of the interrelationships between the performance evaluation and other Human Resource issues/processes.
Conducting Performance Evaluations Performance Evaluations: Whats The Purpose?

As part of the performance management cycle the evaluation process plays an important role. The following are some other effects companies strive for. Linking Individual Goals to the Business Strategy The performance evaluation should serve as the primary vehicle for linking your employees to your strategic plan (if you have one). Done properly strategic plans can cascade down through the ranks so that each individual is contributing towards the common goal. This is important because employees can see how they contribute to the big picture. Given constant business changes perfect alignment is impossible. However, the companies that react to changes quickly and get their employees realigned to those changes will succeed. That's why small businesses tend to be more nimble and responsive. Linking Performance to Compensation Some organizations that grant merit increases do so in an across the board manner - i.e. everyone gets 3%. Unless everyone is working towards team oriented goals (rather than individual) this can have a disastrously de-motivating effect. Essentially it says, "It doesn't matter if you're good or bad - so why bother?" If yours is one of the organizations that makes an admirable effort to link pay to performance, the performance evaluation is key. In doing so, managers are faced with a terrific challenge - coming up with an objective rating to tie to a percentage increase. The truth is, the process is both objective and subjective. No one has come up with a foolproof approach to making it completely objective. They never will either. Offering an Opportunity for Career Planning The performance evaluation offers a natural opportunity to discuss an employee's interest around career development. Some companies have dedicated sections in their evaluation tool to just that purpose. While employees should use the opportunity to explore their own interests, managers should also use it to groom promotable employees. Employees who need to develop critical supervisory/management skills could do so by identifying special projects and assignments when setting goals and objectives. Even though the performance evaluation and career discussion may take place in the same sitting the two have distinctly different purposes. Identifying Training Needs Some companies have tailored their evaluation tool to be more of a development tool. That is, during the review the manager will help develop a plan that assists the individual in improving skills and abilities. The emphasis is less on "What did you do over the past year?" - and more on: "What do you need to do a better job next year?" Reinforcing Quality Improvement and Teamwork Companies that want to reinforce employee innovation and teamwork can do so through their performance evaluation process. By identifying team-oriented goals i.e. "The department will identify ways to improve turnaround time by 20%" whole groups of employees are evaluated together. Effective teamwork is a must. Also, individual contributions to Quality Improvement or Suggestion Programs can be recognized in the performance evaluation. Some companies will dedicate a percentage of the employee's rating towards their contributions to Quality Improvement.
One of the most critical purposes for a performance evaluation is to justify management decisions related to merit increases, promotions or terminations. Be sure to checkout the next section.
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Conducting Performance Evaluations Performance Evaluations and Legal Issues

If past performance is to be used as a predictor of future performance and promotability, the burden of establishing that connection falls to the company. In the event that a lawsuit is lodged, a company may be required to: x x x present evidence showing its performance evaluation tool/process is valid and reliable. That is, it is accurately measuring performance factors crucial to the job and it's measuring them consistently. demonstrate that the criteria by which employees are evaluated are actual indicators of effective job performance demonstrate that the company has taken measures (i.e. training) to ensure that managers are not biased or prejudiced in their ratings
Most companies will never have to formally defend their performance evaluation process in court. For those that do, it can be a costly battle. More important, however, are the informal charges that occur internally. If your staff and managers view the performance evaluation process as unfair, inaccurate and/or biased it will have a tremendous impact on motivation. You're not recognizing individual's efforts, they're not seeing fair reward for their work, feedback is untimely and inaccurate, hopes for promotion and growth are dashed. In the long run that's a lot more costly. Be sure to check any HR related legal issues that govern the region where you operate your business.
Now let's look at the elements of an effective performance evaluation tool. How do you design a performance evaluation? What's the best way to rate an employee's performance? How do you account for different priorities?
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Conducting Performance Evaluations The Performance Evaluation: Key Components

Below we describe the key components that should be included on a performance evaluation form. We have also provided a printable sample of the form if you wish to use it for your company. If you elect to design your own, we suggest that you include these key components:
1. Each evaluation should include key demographic information such as the Employee Name, Title, Time in
the position, Supervisor and Evaluation Period, Next Review Date.
2. The evaluation should include a listing of the specific job responsibilities against which the employee is
being evaluated.
3. Employees should receive some objective rating on each responsibility - i.e. (0) Does not meet
expectations, (1) Meets expectations, (2) Exceeds expectations, (3) Significantly exceeds expectations.
4. Employees should receive a trend rating for each responsibility i.e. Performance on this item has: (D)
Decreased, (NC) No change, (I) Improved, (SI) Significantly improved.
5. Opportunities for improvement should be noted for each responsibility. 6. There should be a general narrative section for each responsibility where the manager can provide some
detail and specific examples supporting his/her evaluation.
7. Overall rating - provides one summary rating for the employees performance i.e. (0) Does not meet
expectations, (1) Meets expectations, (2) Exceeds expectations, (3) Significantly exceeds expectations.
8. Both the manager and employee should sign off on the evaluation.
A Performance Evaluation Template. If you'd like to use this format to conduct your own performance evaluations print a copy of the sample evaluation form provided in the exercise section of this course.
Okay - so what are your responsibilities with regard to the performance evaluation? Let's review step-by-step how to prepare, conduct and follow up on a performance evaluation.
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Conducting Performance Evaluations The Performance Evaluation Process

The performance evaluation process is not really a once a year event. Once a year the form may be completed for Human Resource purposes but, to be effective, performance feedback needs to happen on a regular basis. You may recall we discussed this in the courses on Goal Setting and Feedback and Adaptive Leadership get into the specifics of day-to-day performance management. The easiest way to remember your responsibilities as manager/supervisor conducting an evaluation is to break down the process as follows: 1. Pre-Performance Evaluation (Manager reviews employee performance / employee conducts selfassessment) 2. Conducting the Performance Evaluation (Discussing strengths and areas for improvement) 3. Follow up to the Performance Evaluation (Coaching and feedback all over again)
STEP 1: Pre-Performance Evaluation Job Description As mentioned frequently in this and other modules, communicate often with employees regarding their performance. That way, nothing comes as a surprise during the formal evaluation. Take a minute to evaluate your own performance. Be critical and honest. This will help you objectively review others. Why? Because you'll appreciate situational factors that affect your own performance and in turn others - i.e. depending on others, need for training, unclear goals, changing priorities, etc. Let the employees know well in advance when their evaluation will be done. Give them time to prepare. Have them update their goals and objectives and give themselves a rating. If an employee is having difficulty it's likely he/she will recognize it. Now take some time to review the employee's performance before you meet with him/her. To do so review the job description for the position the employee holds. Is it still accurate or does it need to be updated? If you don't have a job description WRITE ONE!! In lieu of a job description try the following:
1. List the specific responsibilities of the employee. What exactly are they expected to do? If you're having
difficulty making a list think of their job in observable terms. What can you see them doing?
2. Determine if they are aware of this responsibility. Have you really explained it to them or have you
assumed they realize it?
3. What level of performance should you expect from this employee? Are they new or seasoned? You can't
penalize a new employee for not being as effective as your veterans.
4. Have they adequately met each responsibility? Especially important is the trend of their performance. Have
you seen a gradual, but consistent improvement in their performance? Has their performance been sporadic - sometimes they meet each responsibility, sometimes they don't. Has their performance stayed about the same or declined?
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Conducting Performance Evaluations The Performance Evaluation Process

continued 5. Provide some objectivity by rating them on each responsibility - i.e. Performance on this item has:
0 = Declined 1 = Stayed the same 2 = Improved slightly 3 = Improved significantly
Peer Feedback A great way to ensure an objective review of the employee's performance is to ask his or her peers for feedback. Peer feedback provides a different level of feedback since a manager may spend less time interacting with the employee. Also, by asking peers for input it's less likely the employee will feel an evaluation is merely the unfair opinion of the manager. An example of a Peer Feedback Survey is provided on the Exercises page at the end of this course.
Now it's time to sit down and tell the employee what he or she did well and what they can improve upon. Be sure your "ducks are in a row" to make the experience productive and most importantly - equitable in the employee's view. Read on to learn more.
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Conducting Performance Evaluations Conducting the Performance Evaluation

Create a safe, non judgmental atmosphere It is essential that you create an easy, comfortable atmosphere conducive to communication. In both situations someone is being judged and evaluated. There's a fine line between providing constructive feedback and making someone defensive. Listen to the employee. They may lobby effectively to have a particular rating increased. Be willing to reconsider your evaluation if their explanation is valid. Review each responsibility If you've given the employee a list of his/her responsibilities and asked them to complete a self-evaluation beforehand this will be easier. Assuming you've also completed a pre-evaluation of the employee - go through each item and compare your rating to the employee's. Start with ones where you are in close agreement. Save items where you've disagreed (i.e. The employee rates him/herself very effective but you rate them ineffective) for last. Set improvement goals During the evaluation you're likely to identify behaviors that the employee can improve upon. To start, ask the employee what skills they think they can improve upon. Every individual can improve existing skills or develop new ones. If your employee walks out of their evaluation without at least one personal goal to improve on, you blew it. Apply the same principles discussed in the Goal Setting and Feedback course. There is, of course, an added twist. Since your evaluation may be linked to the employee's merit increase (your company's choice) you have to be hyper-sure your feedback is accurate and fair. Use specific examples to support your observations. The process must be perceived as fair. During the evaluation identify stretch goals that will broaden the employees' skill set and move them towards more self directedness. Your goal should be to review past performance and lay a foundation for future development. Offer support As described in the course on Goal Setting and Feedback you can't just set a goal for the employee and then walk away. Offer training if needed. If they need some direct coaching (from you or another employee) arrange it. Tell them when you'd like to follow up to evaluate their progress in accomplishing this goal. Offer Career Development suggestions (If requested by the employee) Offer the opportunity to discuss the employee's career interests. But remember, it is the employee's responsibility to drive that discussion. On occasions an employee may object to your evaluation. If you've done your homework and are sure your evaluation is fair and accurate, stick to your guns. Their objection can be documented in the performance evaluation. Some companies allow for grievances to be filed with Human Resources. Check with your company's policies and procedures beforehand. You're not done yet. Be sure you're ready to follow up on any commitments you made to the employee during the performance evaluation. The performance evaluation can be a launching pad for personal development if used properly. Read on for more details.
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Conducting Performance Evaluations Follow Up on the Performance Evaluation

Follow Up on the Performance Evaluation Be sure, once your meeting is over, that the performance evaluation tool is updated immediately. Both parties should have a chance to review and sign it. From there, it's back to a regular cycle of performance management goal setting and feedback. Other items for follow up:
1. 2. 3. 4.
If the employee is receiving a salary increase as a result of their evaluation be sure to complete all paperwork as soon as possible. Employees should see reward for their accomplishments immediately if you want to reinforce their effort. Update the employee's job description if you determine their responsibilities have changed Update the employee's performance evaluation to recognize new responsibilities and contributions Follow up on all commitments to provide support and training as the employee works toward their improvement goals
How about some examples? The next section provides a sample of a completed evaluation form as well as a case study and sample for designing and implementing a standard performance evaluation process.
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Conducting Performance Evaluations Case Studies

Case Study 1
Below is an abbreviated dialogue between a manager and employee during a hypothetical performance evaluation. While doing some things right, the manager, Sue, makes some mistakes in this case study. See if you can spot them. Scenario: Sue is about to provide Jerry with his annual performance review. She owns a small chain of convenience stores. Jerry is the manager at one of the stores. She told him about a month ago that they would be meeting to review his performance. In preparation she gave him a copy of his job description and asked him to make some notes about his performance. She also asked him to update the job description and to bring it with him to the review. Sue: Hi Jerry, come on in. Have a seat. Did you bring your job description and notes? Jerry: Yeah, I've got it right here. Sue: Okay, well how do you think you've done over the past year? Jerry: Pretty good. As for my major responsibilities I used the same 4 areas you listed in the job description manage daily operations, hire and train staff, manage suppliers and achieve financial targets. Regarding managing the daily operations I think I did pretty well. We had some problems getting short stocked in sales items a few times, especially with Chamber's bakery but we got the problem corrected. I handled all the interviewing and training. We had a great year in terms of turnover, only two people left. As for suppliers the three we had problems with are now much better. Chambers, Dalton Beverages and Wee Pay have kept us stocked and there have been no sales shortages over the past six months. Sue: I agree the supplier problems have been improved significantly. In fact, I've passed some of your suggestions on to the other store managers so they can better manage their suppliers. You've done a good job with staffing too. You're store has the lowest turnover for the year. That's important considering how tough it is to find new employees. Here's what I've seen as some areas for improvement. The loss ratio for your store is the highest among all our units. It's hard to tell whether it's due to sloppy delivery, breakage, overbilling or actual theft. That loss ratio was at 4.7% and that cut into your store's profitability. Your profit margin was only 4.3%. Counting the loss ratio, you would have finished with better numbers. But 4.3%, that's pretty low. Jerry: I didn't realize it was that low. I doubt it's theft, 4.7% is awful high. Are you sure? I thought we were doing better on our delivery paperwork. Sue: Yeah, comparing your supplier bills to sales and inventory there's a 4.7% difference. I had Delores double check the numbers too. What do you think could have caused it? Jerry: Well, I'd say the delivery numbers are off. We could have been overbilled. I think 4.7% is high for theft and loss, maybe a portion of it. I'm surprised. Sue: You also had a problem with the store site visits. Your store scored the third lowest among all stores on appearance, stock and cleanliness. That's an area where you have to concentrate. Our store appearance, especially yours in that upscale area, is critical to our image. Areas rated low were cleanliness of the food service area, adequate shelf stock and exterior presentation. Any ideas on what you can do to improve that? Jerry: One thing, I staggered the shifts so we've got employees starting earlier and closing later. That way they can concentrate on prepping the store. I can't say we were short staffed. I do know on the last site visit we were rated higher than the previous four or five reviews.
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Case Study 1 continued
Sue: Good. See if you can keep that up until mid year. That'll be a big improvement. How'd you do on the site visit? Jerry: We scored an 87, our best score yet. I think the staff change really helped. Sue: Great. Well, overall I rated your performance at 3.5 out of a possible 5 - that's average. I rated you a 3 on managing daily operations, a 4 on managing suppliers, a 3.5 on achieving profitability and a 3.5 on store appearance / stock. I agree you've done a good job with your problem suppliers and your store appearance has improved. But, I rated you lower on daily operations because of the loss ratio and that also impacted your profitability. Jerry: What about staff hiring and training? I thought I've done an excellent job there? Sue: Yes, you did. But I lumped that under managing daily operations. Jerry, this rating isn't bad, there's just room for improvement. There's room for improvement in all of our work. You're a valued employee Jerry and you're important to the long term success of this chain. I want you to know I really appreciate the work you've done. Going forward, let's work on that loss ratio and continue the good work you've done on the store site visits. Jerry: I would have rated my performance a bit higher. More like a 4. I think it's a little low. Sue: Again, a 3.5 is not bad. Some of your peers have been rated lower. You just have a couple of problem areas that need to be addressed. I also think your customer service is as good as any of our stores. Jerry: So what's next? Sue: Let's review your performance next quarter to see how your doing on those two areas. In fact, why don't you draft a list of things you can do to improve on those two areas and send me a copy. Okay? Jerry: Okay, sounds good. What Sue did right
1. Allowed Jerry to prepare for review ahead of time. 2. Provided specific feedback on where Jerry could improve. 3. Stuck to her rating when Jerry questioned it.
What Sue did wrong
1. Sue jumped right into the performance evaluation. Since this type of interaction can be stressful she should 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
have taken a little time up front to discuss the purpose of the evaluation. If Jerry were a new employee she could have talked casually about the job, the weekend, family, etc. - something light to put him at ease. She apparently surprised Jerry with the news about the loss ratio. He should have been counseled on that earlier. It sounds as if job description is inaccurate. Sue combined managing daily operations and hiring and training staff. She also added the category store appearance/stock. At one point she alluded to the ratings of Jerry's peers - no comparisons should ever be drawn between employees UNLESS you're using a positive behavior of that other employee as a specific example of how the employee being evaluated can improve. No mention of a salary increase - though performance evaluations don't necessarily have to be tied to salary. Sue should have explained the rating - i.e. what does the 3.5 refer to? Not very specific when suggesting Jerry should improve the loss ratio - what is the goal? How will she help?
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Case Study 2
Case Study 2.
Next is a brief case study describing the performance evaluation process at a small company. Also included is a sample of the Performance Evaluation tool used. This case study and sample could be applied at any size/type of company. Tom Martin, owner of Here's to Your Health, a small chain of exercise equipment stores was looking for ways to improve the performance evaluation process at the company. To date, he'd left it up to the managers in each store, figuring the company was too small to make the process a formal one. He assumed all was okay until he heard grumblings that the process was inconsistent or non existent in some cases. In discussing the problem with his managers he quickly found that the responsibilities of employees weren't really defined so evaluating performance was next to impossible. One employee had even threatened to sue when she was let go by her manager citing there had been no real explanation of her job or feedback on problems until she was shown the door. To avoid the process most staff just got a standard 4% raise - another complaint. Tom decided to start by having formal job description drafted for each position in the company. From the job description a standard performance evaluation tool was created. Furthermore, managers were expected to review the Performance Evaluation, Goal Setting and Feedback and Adaptive Leadership courses. Below is a sample of the Performance Evaluation tool drafted for Here's to Your Health. Some key points include:
1. Each evaluation required key demographic information such as the Employee Name, Title, Time in the
position, Supervisor and Evaluation Period, Next Review Date.
2. The job responsibilities were taken from the formal job descriptions put together for each position in the
company.
3. Employees received an objective rating on each responsibility - (0) Does not meet expectations, (1) Meets
expectations, (2) Exceeds Expectations, (3) Significantly Exceeds Expectations
4. Employees also received a trend rating for each responsibility i.e. Performance on this item has;
Decreased, Stayed the same, Improved, Significantly Improved
5. Opportunities for improvement can be noted for each responsibility 6. There is a general narrative section for each responsibility where the manager can provide some detail and
specific examples supporting their evaluation
7. Overall rating - provides one summary rating for employee i.e. (0) Does not meet expectations, (1) Meets
8. Both the manager and employee are expected to sign off on the evaluation
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Case Study 2 continued
Employee Name: Ted Darby Supervisor: John Berry Title: Equipment Support Specialist Evaluation Period: 3/07 - 4/08 Time in position: 1 yr 8 months Next Review: 9/08
Responsibility: Unload warehouse deliveries in a timely manner / shelve all equipment appropriately
Rating: Meets expectations
Trend: Stayed the same
Improvement Opportunities Some mistakes with nutritional products / dietary supplements. Need to watch product types closer.
Comments: Spend some time reviewing the product storage area - make sure you understand the breakdown by manufacturer and product types.
Responsibility: Complete all invoicing / delivery paperwork in a timely and accurate manner
Rating:
Trend:
Improvement Opportunities Invoices need to be filed according to manufacturer and date. Double check quantities on deliveries - several instances you accepted wrong weights (sizes) resulting in out of stock / rainchecks for customers.
Below expectations
Stayed the same
Comments: Roger will assist you with the next two warehouse deliveries and monitor your paperwork. After those deliveries we will meet to review your progress. If you have any problems be sure to contact Roger or myself.
Responsibility: Assemble equipment for clients in a timely manner. Equipment should be assembled according to manufacturer specifications and fully functional.
Rating:
Trend: Significantly Improved
Improvement Opportunities Excellent feedback from clients on timeliness and quality of assembled products. Presents self in a positive, professional manner. Keep up the good work!
Exceeds expectations
Comments: Very pleased with feedback from corporate clients (AxTel, Mobile Comm, Baxley Medical). You have an excellent customer orientation. Consider whether or not you'd like to work towards a position in sales.
Responsibility:
Rating:
Trend:
Improvement Opportunities Improvement over last review - need to double check home gym products to make sure all accessories are included. Keep better track of which suppliers are sending shortages/overages and defective products.
Process / return defective products or request spare parts as necessary
Meets expectations
Improved
Overall Rating: Meets Expectations Manager:
Overall Trend: Improved Employee:
Salary Increase: 5.5% Date:
Like any management technique it's a lot easier to make a mistake than it is to do it right. Be aware of pitfalls before you conduct your performance evaluations. As always awareness is your greatest asset!
Conducting Performance Evaluations Performance Evaluations: Common Mistakes
Watch out for these!

Several factors can influence the fairness, accuracy, and legality of the performance evaluation. Here are a few examples managers should be aware of: Personal Prejudices Obviously age, gender, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation have no place in influencing a manager's opinion. Leniency and Severity A manager may have a general tendency to rate everyone either harshly or softly. There are many factors that influence this tendency. For example (leniency): x x x x x The manager may think anyone rated unfavorably will reflect poorly on him/her as a manager The manager may place a high value on personal relationships and acceptance by employees The manager may be trying to earn promotions for employees There is a predominant cultural norm to approve rather than disapprove of performance The manager may not be assertive enough to share negative feedback
Central Tendency Managers may not be comfortable that they have reliable criteria or knowledge to judge employee performance and therefore rate everyone about "average." The best way to avoid this is to have specific meaningful criteria (objective, measurable) and to constantly monitor and provide feedback to employees. Halo Effect Perhaps the most common bias is the "halo effect." Managers consider one or two especially positive or negative instances and those instances shape the employee's entire evaluation. The best way to avoid the halo effect is distinguish specifically between performance indicators (goals and objectives) and to look at historical performance. Proximity Effect When it comes time to conduct the performance evaluation managers find themselves in a rush to review their employees. What happens is that the manager only considers recent performance since that's what's fresh in their memory. Again, the best way to combat this influence is to provide regular feedback on performance and to look at historical performance.
Finally, a few questions to ask yourself to assess your performance evaluation skills. Review them before and/or after you conduct performance evaluations to guide your own development.
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Conducting Performance Evaluations In Summary

While the process of formally reviewing and documenting your employee's performance probably seems like extra work, performance evaluations are the cornerstone to improving the skills of your staff and maintaining equity in your personnel decisions. The process also forces the manager to step back and really think about areas where employees are strong or need improvement. It also highlights instances where the manager may have been lax in providing employees with clear goals and feedback. Ask Yourself After you've done a performance evaluation with an employee, ask yourself the following questions to see how you fared: 1. Did I have a clear, accurate idea of the employee's objectives?
2. Did I make the employee feel comfortable and at ease? 3. Did I focus exclusively on the performance evaluation and avoid outside interruptions? 4. Did I offer negative feedback in a constructive manner? 5. Did I refer to examples of the employee's performance that supported my assessment? 6. Did I listen to the employee? 7. Did I handle any resistance effectively? 8. Was I comfortable providing negative or constructive feedback? 9. Did I suggest ways the employee could improve his/her performance? 10. Did I offer assistance to help the employee improve? 11. Did I help the employee establish improvement goals? 12. Was I non judgmental in my assessment of the employee?
Learning Exercises
.
We have provided the sample forms referred to in this course. These are found on the following pages. Please also complete your personal action plan. Please print out each of these forms.
Sample Evaluation Form ( 3 pages) Sample Peer Review Form (2 pages) Personal Action Plan
Performance evaluations represent an extremely effective tool when used properly.

Please go to the next page to view and print Evaluation Form. (this consists of 3 pages)
Sample Performance Evaluation Form

Instructions:
. This evaluation form has been designed for any type/size company. You may use it as is or you can modify it to fit your own terminology. . List all specific job responsibilities for this individual before meeting to conduct the performance evaluation. . Print as many sections as is needed to list all job responsibilities. Note: Compare the responsibilities to those listed in the position Job Description. . If you do not have Job Descriptions you should consider conducting a Job Analysis to formally document the responsibilities of the job. . . Enter your initial assessment of the individual's performance before meeting. Decide if you want to share that initial assessment beforehand. . This will give the individual a chance to review your assessment and prepare any comments or questions. . Rating - (0) Does not meet expectations, (1) Meets expectations, (2) Exceeds Expectations, (3) Significantly Exceeds Expectations . Trend - Performance on this item has; (D) Decreased, (NC) No change, (I) Improved, (SI) Significantly Improved . Overall rating - provides one summary rating for the employees performance i.e. (0) Does not meet expectations, (1) Meets expectations, (2) Exceeds Expectations, (3) Significantly Exceeds Expectations . Conduct the performance evaluation with the individual. Refer to the module: Conducting Performance Evaluations for assistance. . Document your formal assessment of the individual's performance and have him/her sign the evaluation. . Complete any necessary paperwork to adjust salary or job descriptions as a result of the evaluation. . Keep a copy of the evaluation for your records and provide the individual with their own copy.
1 2
4 5 6
7 8 9 10
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Performance Evaluation Form Rating - (0) Does not meet expectations, (1) Meets expectations, (2) Exceeds Expectations, (3) Significantly Exceeds Expectations Trend - Performance on this item has; (D) Decreased, (NC) No change, (I) Improved, (SI) Significantly Improved Overall Rating - provides one summary rating for the employees performance i.e. (0) Does not meet expectations, (1) Meets
Overall Trend - Performance overall for this individual has; (D) Decreased, (NC) No change, (I) Improved, (SI) Significantly Improved
Employee Name: Supervisor: Title: Evaluation Period: Time in position: Next Review:
Responsibility:
Rating:
Trend:
Improvement Opportunities
Comments:
Responsibility:
Rating:
Trend:
Comments:
Responsibility:
Rating:
Trend:
Comments:
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Responsibility:
Rating:
Trend:
Comments:
Responsibility:
Rating:
Trend:
Comments:
Responsibility:
Rating:
Trend:
Comments:
Responsibility:
Rating:
Trend:
Comments:
Overall Rating: Manager:
Overall Trend: Employee:
Salary Increase: Date:
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Peer Feedback Survey

I would like your feedback on the performance of this employee. Your feedback will be kept confidential and your identity will remain anonymous. Several other peers and coworkers will be providing feedback for this individual also. Your feedback is very important in assisting this individual in identifying ways to improve his/her performance. Your feedback will be used to assist the employee not as a basis for any type of disciplinary action. Thank you for your time and careful consideration. . Performance feedback for: 1. General impression of employee's work performance: 2. Strongest characteristics: 3. Areas where improvement is needed (either knowledge, ability, or attitude) 4. Additional suggestions or comments: Directions Please complete the following form by circling a rating for each item - 1 (Not at all satisfied) to 10 (Far Exceeds). If an item does not apply or you cannot rate the person circle NA. 1
Not at all Satisfied
Date:
3
Basically satisfied
6
Fully satisfied NA NA NA NA
10
Far Exceeds ..10 ..10 ..10 ..10
Exceeds expectations ..1....2 ..1....2 ..1....2 ..1....2 ..3....4 ..3....4 ..3....4 ..3....4
1. This individual understands my job and how he/she impacts it. 2. 3. 4. This individual takes ownership of problems and provides timely follow-up. This individual is generally available when I need his/her assistance. This individual is friendly and attentive to customers.
..5....6....7 ..8....9 ..5....6....7 ..8....9 ..5....6....7 ..8....9 ..5....6....7 ..8....9
Comments:
Performance feedback for:

Date:
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1
Not at all Satisfied 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
3
Basically satisfied
6
Fully satisfied NA NA
10
Far Exceeds ..8....9 ..8....9 ..10 ..10
Exceeds expectations ..1....2 ..1....2 ..3....4 ..3....4 ..5....6....7 ..5....6....7
This individual listens well to instructions or problems. This individual communicates with sincerity and in a professional manner. This individual demonstrates commitment to quality customer service. This individual demonstrates thorough knowledge of policies and procedures. This individual is supportive of coworkers by offering assistance and helping others in need.
NA NA NA
..1....2 ..1....2 ..1....2 ..1....2 ..1....2 ..1....2
..3....4 ..3....4 ..3....4 ..3....4 ..3....4 ..3....4
..5....6....7 ..5....6....7 ..5....6....7 ..5....6....7 ..5....6....7 ..5....6....7
..8....9 ..8....9 ..8....9 ..8....9 ..8....9 ..8....9
..10 ..10 ..10 ..10 ..10 ..10
10. This individual will seek the help of others when needed rather NA than let problems go unaddressed. 11. This individual does not interfere with the work environment by NA gossiping and disrupting others. 12. This individual abides by all policies regarding safety, sexual harassment and discrimination.
NA
Comments:
Thank you for your input.
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Notes:
Performance evaluations represent an extremely effective tool when used properly.
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About the Authors A
About the Authors
ay Miller
For the past 20 years Ray has worked with a wide range of organizations in the development and implementation of training solutions that get results. Ray helps his clients achieve improved performance by providing training solutions that are highly targeted and strategically linked to operational goals and objectives. The training provided is based on sound research and employs proven concepts and methodologies which are delivered in the most appropriate way to achieve the desired changes in mind-set and performance. In his past experience Ray has headed the Sales and Service training group for one of Canadas largest Banks, been training practice leader for the consulting firm Stevenson Kellogg, President of CanTrain Development Corporation and Managing Partner of The Training Bank. He has worked with clients, both large and small on training initiatives in Financial Services, Manufacturing, High Tech, Construction, Aviation, Healthcare and Hospitality industries in Canada, the United states and abroad. He is a gifted writer and facilitator; described as knowledgeable, motivational and humorous. Drawing from his extensive business experience, his focus is on the practical rather than theoretical.
aura Miller
Laura is a Human Resource Development specialist and Master Training Designer with over 30 years experience in research, design, instruction, and consulting. She has designed and delivered hundreds of highly effective, training programs, workbooks, self-study manuals and online courses which run the gamut from management and leadership to technical skill enhancement, all of which are linked to corporate and operational objectives. Laura is also a gifted writer, speaker and facilitator and has trained thousands of people Canada and the United States spanning all ranges from executive management to frontline employees. In a consulting capacity, Laura has worked with numerous organizations and business units to define development needs, develop strategies and tactical plans, design and deliver learning solutions, and evaluate outcomes against objectives.
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About The Training Bank

The Training Bank is a full service training and development firm, Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Operating since 1986, we develop training solutions based on its clients specific goals and objectives which get results. We have the ability to provide training solutions in traditional classroom, web-based and blended formats. Our online learning systems and generic programs in service, leadership, relationship selling and coaching are available is many international markets through our distribution network. While we have developed training in a broad range of subject matter, we have extensive expertise in the realm of management and leadership development, customer-focused leadership and customer service. You can find out more about us by visiting our web site at www.trainingbank.com. Some of our on-site training programs include: x Foundations: Supervisory Excellence x The Five Dimensions of Coaching x Effective Delegation x Adaptive Leadership x Customer-Focused Leadership x Customers Forever x Customer-Focused Communication x The Wow Factor Other eBooks to look for:
Thats Customer Focus The Customer Focus Companion
Coming Soon Management Training By The Book Part Two
Contact particulars Email: cantrain@thetrainingbank.com Telephone: (416) 698-8230 Address: 69 Beech Ave., Toronto, Ontario Canada M4E 3H3 or support@thatscustomerfocus.com www.thatscustomerfocus.com Websites: www.thetrainingbank.com and
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Coming Soon
Management Training By The Book Part Two
Reward and Recognition Programs
This course provides a model for developing effective reward and recognition programs. It also offers suggestions on how to avoid the problems that typically undermine reward programs.
Conducting Career Discussion

Helps managers conduct realistic and effective career discussions with employees. Offers suggestions on how to broaden employee careers when no promotion exists.
Effective Interviewing
Presents a model for effectively interviewing and selecting new hires. Covers how to conduct an effective job analysis to compare requirements to candidate qualifications.
Facilitating Group Dynamics

This course looks at techniques facilitators can use to guide teams/groups effectively by addressing the behavioral side of meetings. Should be used in conjunction with Structured QI Techniques.
Get off my back! Are you a micro-manager?

Too much management. It's one of the most common complaints of employees and one of the factors that creates unnecessary administration and red tape. Find out if you're micro-managing your employees!
Group Decision Making

Explains the pitfalls of group decision making and why groups often reach "false consensus". Offers specific steps team leaders or meeting chair can take to help groups reach effective decisions.
Job Analysis
A critical building block of your Human Resource practices - recruitment, interviewing, selection, performance evaluation, career development - is the Job Analysis. Learn how to accurately define the responsibilities of each job in your organization and how to integrate that information with your Human Resource practices.
Meeting Management
Explains specific techniques for structuring and facilitating your meetings to gain efficiency and productivity.
Orientation Programs
Effective orientation programs help new employees get off on the right foot and reduces their anxiety. This module explains important considerations in designing and evaluating yours.
Presentation Skills
Offers a model for developing and organizing your presentation for maximum impact. Also offers techniques and suggestions for decreasing anxiety in front of groups.
Self Directed Work Teams

Whether you like them or not you may need them. As companies downsize and "flatten" more and more responsibilities are placed on employee teams. Learn how to implement and develop these teams.
Strategic Planning
Offers a model (based on Malcolm Baldrige Quality framework) senior executives can use in developing their strategic plan.
Time Management
If only you had 48 hours in a day rather than 24 you could get caught up on all your work, you could develop a business strategy, create a.....SNAP OUT OF IT!! Back to reality. You only have 24 hours and don't forget your family and sleep. Learn how to better manage your time, decease interruptions, delegate, plan and much more.
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By F. Ray Miller and Laura E.

Management Training: By The Book

F. Ray Miller Laura E. Miller

This book is dedicated to all those committed to making a difference.

Visit www.thetrainingbank.com to order additional copies.

Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with my heart to do it well.

Copyright 2008 The Training Bank

Why I want to improve my effectiveness

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Goal Setting and Feedback

Empowerment and Motivation

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Table of Contents continued

Listen Up! How to Listen Effectively

Straight Talk: Making Your Point

Managing Difficult Situations

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Table of Contents continued

Conducting Performance Evaluations

About the Authors About The Training Bank

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Qualities of Leadership Introduction: What is Leadership?

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Qualities of Leadership Introduction: What is Leadership?

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Qualities of Leadership The Qualities of Leadership

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Qualities of Leadership Genuine Respect for Others

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Qualities of Leadership Humility

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Humility - Leadership Behaviors 1. 2. 3. 4.

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Qualities of Leadership Honesty and Integrity

Honesty and Integrity - Leadership Behaviors 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. Does not manipulate data or information for personal gain or protection.

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Qualities of Leadership Confidence and Courage

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Qualities of Leadership Influential

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Qualities of Leadership Decisive

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Qualities of Leadership Effective Communicator

Effective Communicator - Leadership Behaviors 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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Qualities of Leadership Core Values

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Qualities of Leadership Continuous Improvement

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Qualities of Leadership Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health

Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health - Leadership Behaviors 1. 2. 3. 4.

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Exercise 1: Who is a leader?

Exercise 2: Leadership Self-assessment