I seem to get on well with everyone, I know I am likeable, my staff don’t seem to have a problem with me, my team is working well… yet the feedback I am getting from above is that I am not doing well enough and need to be more results focused. Help!
Many people feel their make or break at work is to have everyone like them. But often, while you may be ‘likeable’, you are actually not effective and your staff have learned to work around you because they don’t want to have any confrontations with someone they like. And chances are you have developed a skilled way to avoid opening up any conflict areas because you like everything to be “happy and peaceful”. So many things go under the radar.
But where do you start to sort this out?
Determine exactly what your role is and what your personal and team output is expected to be. Don’t wait for your manager to make this happen – be proactive and draft what you think it is and what you know you can achieve given the resources and budget.
Goals and outputs must have a timeline. When are they to be achieved and is this realistic? They must have measures around them – they might be:
And most importantly you must agree with your manager that this is what you are guided by and working towards.
Open up the conversation with your manager on a regular basis. Ideally YOUR manager should be doing this – but do not wait or complain that your manager isn’t interested or doesn’t have the time. Make it happen. Don’t wait for them to come and talk to you about a disappointment, or a change in targets. This is especially important when changes in the business, industry or economy happen that will impact your personal and team goals and outputs. Share your concerns, the shortfalls and discuss what to do about them.
Ask the people who work for you and with you to give you feedback on how you are going. Be clever with your questions, don’t just use “lazy” questions like “How are things going’? Are we on track?” Try and anticipate issues and ask specific yet open questions, like “I notice we are running behind on X – why do you think that is happening? How can we fix this?” Or “I would like to be more effective and would love to hear of any three things you think I should/could be doing better to help you and others in the team.” “How am I holding you back?” “Am I responding to your needs in a timely and effective way – if no – can you give me some examples?” “Is there anything I am specifically doing or not doing that is holding us back form our targets?” “What factors, including me. Are holding you back form achieving your best work?” “I can see we are not being efficient right now. What do you see is my contribution to that?” “Last week was a disaster. How do you think I contributed to that? What would you prefer me to be doing to help?”
See feedback as challenging and exciting. Look at what changes you can make to improve and make the time to do it. Be pleased that it wasn’t kept secret from you or discussed behind your back. Maybe it is your speed – people think you are too slow, or don’t make decisions quickly enough. This is often an issue where staff WISH their manager would just make a decision and moves things along because it holds them back. If this is the case, work to improve your efficiency, stick to deadlines, surprise people with early delivery, and take risks. And go back to your manager and tell them changes you are making to improve.
Remember – often the performance management issue is all about you not those around you!
Eve Ash has produced many award-winning DVDs that can help individuals improve their leadership, feedback and communication skills – all available from Seven Dimensions.
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