Keys to having effective performance conversations

Hands up if you’ve ever been excited to have performance conversations. Anyone? 

Not many people enjoy engaging in them, either as an employee or as the leader. They feel so forced and awkward in their calculated orchestration. 

As leaders, deep down we know that performance conversations can be valuable. And they are, when they’re done well. 

For team members, they can be stressful (“they don’t see all the things I do, only the times I miss something!”) or annoying (“I have a million priorities and they’re going to make me jump through hoops so they can tick a box and say we’ve reviewed my performance, but it doesn’t mean anything!”).

Here are some of the keys to having effective performance conversations:

Set the tone and the timing: As soon as team members know that a meeting with you is about their performance they’re going to feel uneasy (even the best and brightest on your team). It’s a visceral response, that good old threat-and-reward area of the brain is lighting up with what-ifs and possible outcomes. 

Have you ever worked where there are supposed to be performance reviews every quarter, but it never happens? And then suddenly someone decides performance reviews are imperative and must be done  –  and everyone feels incredibly anxious? It can feel as though something dire has prompted them out of necessity.

Or, perhaps you’ve been in a workplace where performance reviews are done on a strict schedule and follow a rigid template  – so they feel rather pointless and stressful with no real discernible benefit.

If you tell everyone that you’re going to have performance conversations to check in every X months and stick to that schedule, you’ll encounter fewer frayed nerves with an established routine – and rapport. Or, better yet, if you talk with your team to let them know you’re going to make a habit of frequent, short, check-ins on performance a regular part of the workweek, it will become even more routine and will magnify the rapport.

Do some groundwork: When your team members feel mistrustful of a process they can’t control, they’re not going to be receptive and open to meaningful dialogue. If you want performance conversations with your team members to be effective, you have to build trust. 

It takes time to be vulnerable with each other, and we’ve talked about five ways to build trust with your team. With performance conversations, you have an opportunity to build trust and give your team members a chance to be involved in the process well before they’re sitting across the table from you hoping the things they’re good at outweigh what you think needs to be improved. 

Here’s how:

Find out more about each team member’s personal preferences for feedback. You could give the same feedback using the same words and tone to 10 different people and have very different reactions. (At Padraig, we use the DiSC personality profile assessments to help leaders understand themselves and their team members better.) What you’ll find is that some folks dread performance reviews because they fear losing control, while others hear feedback as rejection or a loss of security. Others don’t like feeling criticized and wonder what standards you’re using to judge them (because they are exacting!).

You’ll also find that different personalities thrive with slightly different types of constructive feedback. There are those who want a brief, to the point summary of what could be done better and how – as long as you hear what they have to say about it and they know you still have confidence in them. Other folks will do much better if you meet in a more casual setting and talk through change in terms of feelings and ideas. Some other team members need very concrete examples and may need time to process feedback (possibly in light of policies and procedures) or they need to plan and feel supported as they incorporate suggestions into their practice.

To help them (and you) prepare for performance conversations, a few weeks before you even start scheduling meetings, ask your team members to answer a few quick questions. Ask for specific examples of times they were given feedback to help them improve. You want to drill down into what worked for them individually and what did not help them.

Make time for reflection. The better you are prepared, the more effective each performance conversation you have will be.

Think about each team member individually and what you want to communicate (the good and the bad) during this meeting. What do you want them to take away from the meeting? What do you have to say that they might not expect?

Include time for the team member to participate in the conversation. By definition, a conversation is the exchange of information and views (this isn’t a monologue!). While you’re leading the conversation, it’s very helpful to encourage your team member to share.

• Find neutral ground to meet. Your office is your turf (and it could feel like being called to the principal’s office). It’s also possible that you might be interrupted mid-discussion if you stay where everyone can find you. Book a conference room for performance conversations. It doesn’t hurt to have some warm beverages in the room so that people feel more relaxed (and some folks might appreciate a drink if they get dry mouth when they’re nervous). 
• Many times you’ll learn more if you listen first. Ask your team member to talk to each of your assessment points so you find out their perceptions before you share your own. It may inform what you discuss and it could also give you ideas on how to give feedback in a way it will be received. You might also be surprised by the goals your team members have. It’ll be great if you’ve given them a heads-up before the meeting that you’d like their views on this.
• Really listen. It sounds simple, but listening with the intent to understand is one of our favourite strategies for leaders because most of us listen with the intent to respond. Be curious and hear them out before you interject with your own perspective on the assessment and any goals they may have. 
• When you speak, pay attention to your tone and your wording. Keep your tone supportive, or at least neutral and avoid words like, “always” or “never” or “worst” because these extreme words incite defensive behaviour. 
• Focus on the work and not the personality. Use specific examples of both strengths and areas that could use some growth (some folks find it helpful to think about this in terms of the behaviour, the outcomes, next steps going forward to maintain/improve/problem-solve). If your intent is to help this team member stretch and grow, how can you coach them to success?
• Pause and listen. After you share your perspectives, give your team member time to process and respond. Some people need a little longer than others and it helps to be comfortable with a bit of awkward silence. At Padraig, we mentally remind ourselves of this with the acronym, WAIT — Why Am I Talking?
• Make a plan. What do you need, coming out of the conversation? You might want to check in with each other in a few days, after the team member has had time to think about things. Or you might need to touch base in a week or so about next steps, be that new projects or support in the form of educational opportunities or mentorship. Capture, out loud, whatever the plan is today so that the next steps stay on track. 

Coach’s Questions:

Have your thoughts about performance conversations changed? What is challenging for you with this approach? What can you do to improve performance conversations with your team?

To set up a short complimentary call with me, click here.



This article was originally published on the Padraig Coaching & Consulting blog

Tags: Coaching, feedback, performance, professional development, teambuilding