Posts tagged performance planning

Went to the Rink – Been Quite Awhile

Feb03
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

The other day, I was asked to attend a ice hockey practice by a parent to watch their son. They asked me to see what he could work on to get better. I used to coach ice hockey for over 20 years. I love the game.  I had not been out to the rink in over a year or so. I was excited to go to the rink. Couple of hip replacements and not being able to really skate – makes going to the rink difficult.  Off I went and sat in the stands. When I walked into the rink, there was that usual rush, smell and sights. Definitely brought back some great memories. My mind was racing for that hour or so. I watched the player and for that matter practice overall. Something jumped out at me right away…

Watching another coaches practice can be an eye opening experience. I have seen a lot of practices on all levels. When you watch another practice, you can always pick up something that you would like to use in your practice. This practice was a pretty good one. There were some very good things going on our there. Almost every player was moving at all times – my mark of a good use of ice time. Teachable moments were being applied to individual players and the team as a whole. What happened next, was the gauntlet drill. Checking in hockey is one of those items that is important to teach the proper technique. For those that don’t know the gauntlet drill is supposed to help the player with puck control while  receiving a body check. It usually is done along the boards with the player with the puck skating with the puck up the line of the other players wait to check the player into the boards.  Most coaches use the drill to get every player used to receiving a check… Getting other players to check more… This particular drill has to be well supervised. Coaches need to insure that proper checking technique is used. What typically happens is not good. Hands start to raise up towards the head. Players move in close to each other (not giving the player time to recover). Hence someone gets hurt. In this case, it was the teams best player that suffered a concussion when the biggest player used his size and improper technique to smash the players head against the glass. It was not the first check that was improper, but the drill ended when one player got hurt. There were a number of opportunities to have a teachable moment before the injury, but every player and coach was excited about the crushing checks that were being delivered.

With all of the focus on concussions in football and hockey, it is time for coaches to make sure that they are protecting their players and teaching proper technique. I used to tell the parents, “checking is a part of the game. It happens. I will do my best to teach each player the proper way to give and receive a check. Realize, the best part of my responsibility is to teach players how to play in a safe environment and have fun doing it!” If we were to use a checking drill, it was in a controlled and safe way. Never will you see my team run a gauntlet drill. We may have a one on one situation like that, but it will have a coach watching and instructing after each check.  I used to get mixed emotions from some parents on that. The gauntlet has been around a very long time (I used to have to run it). Many of the parents remember their experience. My only comment was did anyone ever get hurt? Where the checks always properly delivered? We will check, but we will do it right!

I met the parents after the practice and gave them my observations. I asked them, if they told their son that I was coming to watch him practice. They said “no.” Practice is important. Sacrifice is important. Does he shoot pucks at home? Does he do stick handling drills with a golf ball at home? How much effort do you think he is putting into hockey outside of scheduled practices? They said some, but not a much as he could. I didn’t want the parents to think that he should only be focused on hockey. He is  young and needs to experience life. He should set goals around how much time he will work on shooting, passing, fitness, stickhandling and studying the game – outside of practice. Have him record his time on what he is working on. He then can see if his work is paying off in playing time, effectiveness on the ice or just how he feels about what he is doing. I stayed till the player came out of the locker room. Asked him if he felt that he gave his all in practice? He said, not really. Stressed to him the importance for him to take advantage of the ice time given. Work hard and excel every time you take the ice. Passed along to the player the same things that I told his parents. I felt honored that I was called. I thanked them all for that honor and wished them well.

Now, I am wondering if I need to get back to being involved…

Photo Credit: Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Posted in Hockey - Tagged , , ,

Pressure Moments – How Do You Do?

Jun16
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

As a leader of your team – many eyes are on you from many different angles. You have your team, your manager, your support groups and even your customers. How YOU behavior is important. Decisions can be tough.  Everyone can do a pretty effective job of leading their team if there are no pressures. Working with your team can be difficult at times.  Some key contributors are out. The team is just not getting along as well as it should. Overloaded “to do” list can really make meeting your deadlines a bit tough. There are some many more pressures that can hit you that can make anything seem impossible. Your words and actions during these times are what is truly key to your success as a leader. Remember, everyone is watching.

How do you normally react doing those tough times?

  • Maybe a little short with answers to questions?
  • How about frustrated when things are not going right?
  • Start micro-managing your team?
  • Little slow with answers to tough decisions?
  • Take a day off when a key deadline is due?

Hopefully you did not say yes to any of these behaviors. These were not made up examples, I have seen them throughout my working career. I can almost put a face and a name to each of them. As I have written in past blog posts, learning from ours examples (both failure and success) can be very helpful to you in the future. I have taken those bad examples above and changed up how I perform under extremely pressure.

What I typically do is:

  • Insure that the pressures that I am under are not outwardly visible to my team. I try to maintain my positive and cheerful attitude everyday that I in the office.
  • Sometimes this is extremely difficult, at the very least, I communicate to my team what is going on. Letting them know the pressures and how they can help, usually is a good thing.
  • Come in a bit early and stay late if needed. I always like to get in early to help me with quiet time. Helps me focus on what is important. I want my team to understand that I am here, no matter what.
  • Prioritizing and delegating workloads. Work assignments may need to be shifted in order to meet some extreme deadlines. Asking the team their input on how best to accomplish this has been helpful in the past. Sometimes, a team member may have a skill in something that they don’t especially care for doing, but when times are tough – they step up and get it done.
  • Pressure situations need to bring out some creative solutions – more minds working on that creative solution the better.
  • Most importantly – Be myself! At the end of the day, your character and being true to yourself is what matters. If I am not happy with myself for any reason – I am the only person that can fix it.

How best do you handle those pressure moments?

 

Posted in Leadership, New To Management - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Night Before Christmas And All….

Dec24
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

It is the night before Christmas and all through Steve’s house nothing was moving around, not even Steve. With the holiday season comes many thoughts on the past year and what is coming in the new year. Some folks have listed many of their accomplishments for 2010. Others are planning hard for 2011. So, what I am going to do?

  • List of 2010 accomplishments: Many of them I have shared within Spin-O-Rama. Replay: Completed my fourth sabbatical and the trips for 2010 were some of a lifetime (Baltic Sea, Bahamas); Decided to retire; Kept writing; enjoyed time with my family and friends; celebrated 28+ years with many of my co-workers.
  • Plans for 2011: This year will definitely be different… As many of the past 28 years, I would go to work for the same company. In 2011, I will be searching for that second career.. Many of my posts for 2011 – will be around my experiences in the job market again. This should be interesting. 2011 will be an increased writing period for me – here in Spin-O-Rama and other opportunities. Travel will continue – especially as my time is open (for now). Time with family and friends will always be the biggest part…

Have you done your 2011 planning yet? I still have much more to do… But, I have the critical items pretty much figured out. I hope that 2010 was better than you expected it to be. Here’s hoping that 2011 is really special for all of us…

Posted in Observations - Tagged , ,

Providing Direction

Nov11
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

Part two in the world of New to Management – Mini Series.

My last post was on knowing your people, which will help with providing direction. As a manager all eyes are on you. Each individual is looking to you for guidance and providing direction. So, which way is your map facing? Do you have clear goals that you have for your people? Are you looking both at those goals as work tasks and individual development? There is so much that needs to be done, that sometimes your job feels a bit overwhelming.

The foundation to the management task cycle is making goals clear and important. I use SMART goals to help me step through insuring that any goal that I provide for my people (and myself) are SMART. This approach has worked for me.

  • S pecific – it’s easy to tell exactly what is being produced.
  • M easureable – there are concret success indicators that both your people and you can see.
  • A ttainable or A chievable – it can reasonably be accomplished
  • R elevant – it fits with your business objectives
  • T ime bound – the completion date and conditions are clear.

There is one item that I add before publishing anything.. Is this goal really something that I want to celebrate after completion. When I am working with an individual – I normally like to have them write their rev 0 first. Gives them an opportunity to think about what needs to happen and by when. We normally would sit down in a one on one to discuss in greater detail. With the end result in mind – that we would agree mutually on the overall SMART goal (work tasks and personal development). Working together on this helps to stress the importance and understanding of what all is being delivered. When we both have skin in the game… We get it done!

There are many templates for capturing goals. My favorite is a Management by Objectives method. Expectations at the top. With the support deliverables below – with success criteria and by when. At the bottom I like to leave a notes section.  Whatever you use or want to use is up to you. Just make sure that you have all of the SMART items on your template. To this day (some 28 years later), I still use my template.

Links to some templates -

Key Tips.. Use SMART goals for anything that your employee or you would celebrate success. Make sure that you work together to get a mutually agreed upon expectation and deliverables for both work tasks and personal development.

Posted in New To Management - Tagged , ,

Lead or Judge – You Pick

Sep22
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

Reality is a funny thing. We know we should live in it. When you are leading sometimes, reality is not something that you really want to see or hear. The story is always better. Given a choice between reality and our version of it, I bet we are more inclined to choose the later. Sharing a story – I was a new leader to a team of folks, that were partners of mine before. My perception of this team was not good. They were difficult to work with, rarely got stuff done on-time and frankly I did not look forward to any dealings I had with them. As part of a rotation, I was now their leader (careful what you wish for). What do you do? Below I will share my experience on what I did.

So what does this sound like? Have you ever heard any of these?

  • “I shouldn’t have to do this – it’s not part of my job description.”
  • “Our department is always having to clean up after others’ mistakes (messes).”
  • “The boss just doesn’t get it.”
  • “Management only cares about the bottom-line.”

When you hear those – you are arguing with reality. Judging your situation in terms of right or wrong instead of confronting what is. Time to respond to facts. Always easier said then done. Think what is woven into the story; ego, insecurities and identity. The story makes us look and feel better. Most stories have someone or something that is not quite good enough (not always placing blame, but enough to point to it). This insures that the criticism is setting us apart from others (which in turn does not help them).

When you start judging, you stop leading. Judging is in the land of the story… How do you make sure that you get back?

  • Step back and really getting the facts. Do you have all the information or are you judging what you think you know?
  • Focus on actions for success. Too many times I hear – I was right. Are you trying to prove yourself right?
  • Trust others. Not to worry about what motives are driving a team or individual, but how can you help them achieve success.
  • Clear and solid expectations. Those expectations have to be of your team and yourself. We all have challenging goals to achieve. Work with your team to best figure out the right approach for success.

Back to the story.. That horribly negative group that I know am the leader of… I took it upon myself to say, I am the biggest obstacle in making this work. It was my judging of the team that needed to change first. Respond to reality.. The phone rings – I pick it up. Email comes in – I answer it right away. Team asks a question – I answer it or teach them to fish. Team discusses how things worked in the past – I listen and learn – then lead them toward the future. Engaging with them all the way. I started to see changes in the team. I mostly started to see changes in myself. With every experience comes some key learning’s – if you want to learn.

I wonder, if you think back to a situation – where you telling yourself a story? Were you doing any judging of individuals or departments? Was it reality? Did you lead in that situation?

Posted in Leadership, Observations - Tagged , , , , , ,

Taking A Little Break From Managing

Mar06
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

Due to recent reorganizations at work, I have been asked to fill-in on a role that is an individual contributor role. I get to take a break from managing people. Well, on paper that is… I think I went through the normal reactions that people have to changing positions that they did not ask for (disappointment, anger, fear and excitement). Now that I have been in the role for a few weeks, I can safely say that I am still managing people but in a different way. I don’t have direct supervision of the people I interface with. That seems to me to be the only true change.

Within this new role, I have had to:

  • Set expectations - of the people interfacing with, those that help to provide, management team and myself.  Just like building the house, the foundation is a very important beginning!
  • Set goals and time-lines- With this project it is temporary in nature – so setting goals and time-lines is going to be very critical for success. How would you know that you have met your expectations? Breaking a temporary assignment into chucks helps to make sure that your end goal happens on time. Far to often, people short projects get out of hand, due to lack of smaller goals.
  • Listen, listen and listen some more - With any role that is relationship in nature.  Most people can hear, but few truly listen. Getting to the real information may not be the words that are spoken. It comes with the total package (words, tune, expression and deep understanding).
  • Influence (Coaching) - Since no one really “works” for me, directing folks is not going to work. I have spent much of my career trying not to direct but coach folks to make their own decisions. Within this new role, I will have to really test out all that I have been doing for quite sometime.
  • Making it Fun – No matter what you do, you must have some fun. Work can and should be fun. We spend more than enough time there…

So, what really has changed? Not much. Everything that I have learned, taught or experienced, I still get to do.

Posted in Leadership - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Next Up – The Difficult Employee

Jul09
2009 1 Comment Written by Steve

 

My last post was about how to deal with the difficult or overly demanding manager – when is enough, enough. Sticky situation all the way around.  The more common situation is how do you manage difficult people.

As a manager for quite sometime, I have come across a few of those folks. Some that worked directly for me, some that I had to interface with quite frequently and some that I just happen to work with briefly.  I would like to share about five of my techniques with those situations.

  • Document everything!  I know, we all don’t like to document everything, but when you do – you will be better off because of it. As a new manager, I used to skip over the document part. I thought, well, we talked about this and that should be good enough. In a perfect world, probably, but this is not a perfect world. Memories get faded over time or even lost. Documenting everything is your record of exactly what was communicated, received and expected. When it comes to the court, if it isn’t written down, then it never happened. Take the time to document – it is your best friend in the long run. I have been doing this for quite some time and documentation has been my savior more than not.
  • Objective counts. When communicating your expectations and areas for where the employee needs to improve – you most certainly want to have the results be tangible. This way the employee can track their own performance as well.  Subjective accountability is left too open for interruption and could be misleading later on.  One word of caution, stay away from the ‘attitude’ references. Nothing smells more like subjective than describing someone’s attitude. Always focus on tangible objectives!
  • Be a role model. Be aware of how you are acting and reacting. You should be an example of what you would like the difficult person to be like. Look the person in the eye when talking to them! Not too much to seem intimidating, just enough to show how important this is. A normal everyday discussion – as if nothing was wrong. Treat the person as you would like to be treated. Who really is the better person in this situation? Act it.
  •  Ask questions like – “Everything okay or Is there anything I should know about?” Let them know that there has been a drop in performance, change in their overall performance or simply they are not themselves.  Opening up these discussions could lead you to something different than what is already in your head.
  • Follow-up in one on one’s. You have documented everything, you have focused on the objective results and you are helping with role modeling – you need to make sure that this is not a one time activity. Sit down and discuss how things are going, discuss the results to date, ask the person how they think they are doing. Don’t forget to document this too. The end goal is to have solid results and an employee that is producing and working within the team well.

 

Managing people probably more common sense than anything. When I first became a supervisor – it was because I was viewed a superstar at the tasks that I given to lead. That did not make me a good supervisor. I have had years of experience to help me develop a style and way of how I do things. Some mentors along the way to follow and some difficult managers that I used those examples as what not to do. I continue to learn and hopefully grow.

Do you have any tips or items you want to share?

Posted in Leadership, Observations - Tagged , , ,

Performance Management: Step 1 – Planning

May26
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Steve

 

Effective performance management requires a solid collaboration between the manager and the employee. Much of the work is on the manager to start, but quickly moves to the employee to deliver.  This is the first post, in a series of three on performance management, the beginning – performance planning.  Performance planning comes in many forms, I like to sit down and review the team’s mission and deliverables, look at my team and the employee’s – to set:

  • The group’s goals.
  • My expectations for the work of the employee.
  • Linking those expectations to the group’s goals.

 

Clear expectations have three main components to them; accomplishments, indicators and goals. I usually start with a series of questions to answer to help me come up with a very clear expectation. What does the employee need to produce or accomplish on their job (tangible result)? By when (due date)? How well does the employee need to do it (measurable; cost, quality, quantity and time)? I usually sit down with the my groups plan to ensure the deliverables are linked to the groups priorities. Looking at those deliverable’s, I assess is it within the skills and development plan for the individual employee. Definitely don’t want to set someone up for failure, but you do want to stretch them in order for the employee to develop. Lastly, I sit down with the employee and we work on the defining the deliverable in a way that we mutually understand the deliverable and how this will effect their overall performance. After we are fully committed to the plan, we document it (I tie this to the employee’s development plan and their quarterly objectives and deliverables).

Some of the areas to watch closely…

  1. Insuring that the deliverable or accomplish has tangible results that the employee needs to produce. Too ambiguous the deliverable – the results could be not the desired outcome.
  2. Indicators indentify the criteria that is going to be used to verify the desired result. It is an easy way for the employee themselves to track their own progress.  If the desired outcome can not be tracked and measured – then what really is the outcome? Who really knows when it is completed? Some strong areas for indicators fall within time, quality, quantity and maybe even cost. It depends on your situation, but look for as many indicators that will help define how you are measuring the desired outcome.
  3. Goals are another way to help define an deliverable or expectation. A goal is the desired level of performance, ideally demonstrated by the best performers. Goals should be continually increased over time to help the employee to continue to develop. Put goals on this indicators… I don’t know of any organization or team that does not want to continuously improve. One way to help move the employees and the team are being increasing those goals. Watch out for the unobtainable goals – everyone knows that if you are putting them too high and they can never reach them – folks will just do what they can rather than hit the goals.

 

Make sure that you have everything understood between the employee and yourself. Document those and make sure that you use them in the future, my next blog post, performance coaching. All too often, the discussion happens, expectations are verbally set and maybe even documented – but just sit in someone’s file, on a team site or just filed away – with no one reviewing just to be looked at in series 3 – performance appraisal.

Posted in Leadership - Tagged , ,
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