For me, those questions are tough to answer. Why? Couple of things come to mind right off the top. First, when you lay everything out in a nice neat package, you may lose the creativity of those high performing stars on your team. They will not have the freedom to stretch on their own. I have worked in two types of rewards systems. Merit systems would struggle with setting up the higher expectations and having everyone or almost everyone meet those expectations you have set out. You would be basically telling the team here are the expectations, but at the end of year we will not be able to reward all the same. The other was a flat time in grade system. This system sets you have to be in grade for a minimum timeframe before promotion. Depending on where you fall is more important than what you have done (for the most part). As an employee, I wanted to know how I could move up and be extremely successful. Almost all of the employees I have managed wanted the same.

From experience,  I have had managers that have communicated the exceeding expectations set and others that would not. For those that would not, I would simply ask, “Describe what that may look like?” The answers were all over the place. I did get what was felt an honest answer, “I’ll know it when I see it.” When you stop and really think about that you have two simple thoughts. The manager has not clue would probably be the first thing that pops in… Think some. I took it as if I truly want to be a high performer, I have the door open as to what that means. I can do whatever I think is right (of course, within some set of rules) and make it happen. Stand out and be seen! Raising my value (to myself, my team and organization).

What would you do? Those “new” managers really struggled with this question. From the experienced crowd – what would you really do

Photo from: Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

How do you know that you are providing or increasing your worth to the organization? Here is some of that discussion and some additional thoughts from writing this blog post.

•  Make sure that your work is part of the bottom line. Make money for the company and you will be valued. Think of it as a return on investment. Think of your work and make sure that you are providing an ROI on everything that you offer (time, skills and so on).
• An oldie but goodie, time is money. Watch your organization and see is everyone valuing time is money? Spend your time wisely. Would you invest 8 hours doing something that you can deliver in less time with the same results? I think of presentations as an example, putting in way too much time putting pretty charts, pictures and words that add no value to your work. We all can spot fluff when we see it. Make sure you are not producing fluff.
• Only you can sing your praises. This one is a hard one, sing too loudly and you cause harm. For me, I always made the comment that my work should speak for itself. Well, that is not the case. Make sure that your manager understands the effort you put into the job and the results that were produced. It is a delicate balancing act. If you don’t do it, you will lose out…
• Learn to say “no!” I used to think that “no” was a bad thing. From my many years of experience, most managers love to heap on the work to those that deliver. Getting on that treadmill will have an overall effect on your work. Start missing deadlines or having quality issues – that will have a bigger effect on your value. Only takes a few mistakes to wipe out your hard work.
• Listen and learn. If you don’t know what you don’t know, then seek out some knowledgeable advice. Do we all really know everything? We all know people that think they know and dance around it. How does that really look? Saying you don’t know now, but will get the knowledge soon, will be valued over dancing on that topic. Most people dance pretty bad.
• Everyone needs to know sales. Not sales in the sense of selling a product, but you do need to sell yourself. This is not making yourself better than you are. If you are pitching an idea to your organization, you have to be convincing and sound. You have to know how to talk about the overall value, what is needed and defend your ideas with solid research and passion.
• Have a life! A couple of items come to mind quickly. I have written about vacations that turn out to be working vacations. As a manager, you set an example that your organization will follow (or at least the expectation has been set). You need your time off.. The other one, sometimes is hard to pinpoint. I have learned a valuable lesson since retiring. I am not measured only by my job and my accomplishments. Life is short and there is so much out there. Getting that life will give you lessons that maybe will apply at work. At the very least, the rest will do you good.

There probably are more, we just ran out of time… Do you have any to add? Please share!

Photo Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

What I used to focus on that last week of the year!

• Employee performance appraisals. If your company uses a review system, this is the week to really sit down and focus on the overall performance of your employees. Quiet time in the office – is a wonderful time to sit and think, jot down some notes on each employee (accomplishments, strengths and areas to work on).
• Next years plan in more detail. I used to have to submit my yearly plan around Oct of the year before. Usually by the end of the year, you would receive your budget and such. Use this week to really lay out the upcoming years plans, expectations and goals in a rev. 0 fashion. Once everyone is back, go over the rev 0 plan and firm it up with your teams inputs.
• Reflect back on the past year. Write done the accomplishments and successes that your team and you have done. Share it with the team with a nice thank-you note (it should be in their inbox when they come in).  I would send off this to my manager, to share what the team has done. Most managers, would copy all and add their thanks to the team as well!

What would you do with this week?

I truly enjoyed going into the office! The stuff that I got done was important to me and my team.

Looking at the list can be a very eye opening experience. You can see trends for the year, that maybe while you were in the thick of things – just did not notice. I have seen growth within my teams in some areas that I would have guessed were not strengths. I also can notice if my team is slipping. I can notice the folks that really have stepped up and done some pretty incredible things.

“Seeing” is just part of what you should do… Next comes actions – you know the “doing” part. I like to send personal notes to the folks that have really stepped up. Let them know that I am thankful for those actions (spell them out in the note) that they had take. If you noticed, you should say something. From the team’s standpoint – I like to look at those trends and identify training or team building activities that can help our team grow next year. When the team does the same reflection, it is powerful stuff – when we pretty much notice the same areas. Now we have the complete team looking objectively, and we can put in place some solid plans for improvement.

Here is your assignment:

• Sit in a quiet place. Just you, your paper, pencil (or pen) and your thoughts.
• Reflect back on your year… What was the good? What was not so good or What could be better? Who really stepped up and did some incredible stuff?
• Once you feel you have captured everything. Reread them each and look for trends and opportunities that must be taken.
• Develop your plans for next year!

If you are a manager, if you feel comfortable, ask you team to do the same exercise (for themselves and the team as a whole). As the manager, you can have your team share their thoughts and reflections on the team. Then develop the team plans after all your data is received. I typically have the team use their personal reflection for their performance appraisal and development plans.

Let me know how it goes?

Why?

• Provides a documented assessment of the overall performance that the individual has performed over the past 12 months.
• Backs up the overall normal performance management that you as a manager should be doing throughout the year.
• Gives feedback on overall performance relative to their peers (at least everyone that I have been associated with – have). That was the most meaningful piece of feedback to me. I had some understanding of how well (or not) I was doing within the team, but this feedback helped me with an outside set of eyes.
• Helped build on my strengths.. Let me focus on the areas that need to improve on – that we important to my job.

Maybe it was me, maybe it is my competitive spirit or maybe I have to “see” how well I am doing! I ran across a this study – This paper examines the impact of performance reviews on productivity, and finds that feedback delivered on a regular basis, whether positive or negative, tends to result in improved performance. On a short-term basis, though, the impact varies, sometimes in ways that are counter-intuitive: Positive reviews, for example, do little to boost productivity, and negative reviews that are somewhat vague and indirect cause performance to fall off, but reviews that are directly negative cause productivity to leap. The research offers guidance to managers concerning the pitfalls and potential benefits in framing their messages in reviews, and suggests there is a need to provide feedback on a frequent basis.

For me, I still believe that performance reviews are necessary.. If done right are a powerful tool in your manager toolbox. What say you?