Behavior is a funny thing…you set goals, outline expectations, give them the tools and resources to be successful…so why might they still not perform?
Every performance scenario is unique. What may look like a typical situation where your team member isn’t achieving results may in fact have unique reasons driving their behavior.
In fact, there is a dynamic behavior puzzle at play.
In a previous Blog post, we talked about a simple equation to diagnose how well your team is performing. Activity x Customer x Execution = Results ensures you are managing the leading indicators around the right activity, focusing your team’s efforts on the right customers (both internal and external), and coaching to effective execution of those activities, leading to results.
Activity is about choosing the right activities to maximize productivity. Do they know where to go and what to do? These can be job tasks, projects, sales activities, anything that you can see evidence of and measure. You can also see WHO they engage with: are their contacts the right stakeholders or influencers to get the job or sale done. Once we are in the right place with the right people, Execution is about ensuring your team has the knowledge and skills to effectively execute the project management, sales skills, or technical requirements needed for success. Your ability to coach to and measure effectiveness depends on having a clear execution strategy that shows “what good looks like.”
When performance begins to vary from the expected, start by diagnosing: Are there skill or will issues – or both? For skill issues, observe and analyze the inputs of activity, customer, and execution. Then ask yourself WHY. This will guide to to diagnose whether you have competence or commitment issues. As you uncover the what and the why behind performance, here are some watch outs:
Look for the trends. Most often performance is evaluated as a point in time, so watch for trends, such as increases in activity and effort that are beginning to have an impact, even if the overall results aren’t adding up yet. And don’t miss negative trends as well: ignoring your top performers may mean they start to feel neglected. Motivation can decrease, leading them to put in less effort and results decline.
Diagnose the whole picture. There may be legitimate external factors that are causing performance to decline. What market changes may have impacted business? Did a competitor enter the picture? Has the project team changed significantly enough that the team charter needs to be recalibrated? Also consider personal factors that may play into their ability to perform at their peak. Covid has certainly impacted all of us personally and professionally in one way or another.
Get their perspective. Your view of the performance scenario may be different than your team members. Diagnosis is a collaborative process. Once you have a view towards the factors impacting their performance, engage in a discussion to align your understanding of what is going on. Ask questions to understand not just what they are doing, but how they are feeling as well. This enables you to uncover both the skill and will issues.
Then double click on their answers…often the real issue lies behind the facts, uncovering the feelings that may be difficult to share.
Create conscious commitment. Being committed is different than demonstrating commitment. Commitment is measured once a person takes action; until then, it’s aspirational. Once action has been taken, you can determine whether there are motivational, confidence, or skill gaps that are holding back performance. The environment must be right for people to be motivated to act and feel confident that they can succeed. Build motivation and confidence by:
- Ask questions that enable your team member to hear their own voice. Get them to problem solve, think through options, and own the next steps.
- Share the Why – both the benefits and consequences of taking action for them, you, the team, and/or the company.
- Build conscious competence – build the habit of self-evaluation by facilitating a review of their activities, focus, and execution and providing them your specific feedback. When they consciously begin to evaluate what they did well and where they can learn and improve, they self-regulate their behaviors, motivate themselves, and build their own confidence.
When your leading indicators are done well, you’ll see better results and will have better control over how and whether results are achieved. You’ll find that the time you spend managing your people will be more efficient, more focused, and more enjoyable as you help them make the direct link between action and results.