performance management

Despite the number of articles that seem to indicate there is a management problem amongst organisations around the world, there are many supervisors who genuinely care about their team members and do a great job. Interestingly, it is not unusual for people who are good supervisors to enjoy supporting people to succeed rather than managing them. Is there a difference? You bet there is!

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink

Very few of us actually have to manage horses, but I am sure you get the point. No matter how much a supervisor tells someone to do something, it is up to the person to ultimately do their job. In other words, performance is a choice (just like the choice to drink). Sure there is always a need to learn how to do a job properly, but the simple fact remains. The more a person needs to be managed, the more time is consumed in the process. If someone isn’t doing their job and isn’t doing much about it, they will definitely need some sort of managing. In today’s world of lean structures and forever changing priorities, this can add up to a significant amount of time. Supervisors often then find themselves managing poor performers rather than cultivating good performers, which isn’t a winning strategy. Those companies who employ people who choose to drink will always be in the best position.

So what does performance support actually mean?

At My Employee Life, we believe this is about supporting team members with tools that allow them to better manage themselves. And this involves supporting the creation of success habits that they themselves maintain. There are several success habits that we know make a very big difference:

  1. Setting clear goals. Whilst goal-setting is not an easy process (anyone’s crystal ball work every time?), there is no substitute for having a clear intention or direction to guide behaviour and choices. Even if a plan is evaluated many times, it is better than not having one in the first place.
  2. Taking action. Goals don’t achieve themselves. It’s true. No amount of wishing or hoping will attain a goal that is challenging in any way. Taking appropriate action is what is required. Action should never be confused with mindless activity and busy being busy, which aren’t always productive.
  3. Reflection. This is an important step that many people don’t take advantage of, but self-managers often will. It is only through the lens of self-reflection that one can start to interpret their own behaviours and performance. What’s important here is to reflect honestly whilst moving ego to one side. It’s hard, but really important.
  4. Seek feedback from others. This is another success habit that is often overlooked. There is no person on the planet that can see the world through neutral eyes. By seeking the opinions of others, it helps to reduce the possibility of poor choices, and opens the door to new ones that weren’t previously there.
  5. Proactively communicate. Whilst similar to point 4 above, this is more to do with identifying those who need to know pieces of information and then making sure they get it. Until mental telepathy is mastered, there is no better way to communicate than through a two-way conversation. The more proactive, the better.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that these performance habits above are supported by My Employee Life. The more team members who practice these habits, the better off your company will be.

Which is why you should click here to request a free demo of My Employee Life today.