Thinking Out Loud

The recent article I wrote for Fast Company on performance evaluations (click here) has generated a lot of thoughtful feedback..  It’s a hot and provocative topic.  The folks I know in HR are constantly looking for better evaluation programs and getting eye rolls whenever the topic is discussed with employees.  It seems to be universally dreaded and most importantly, it’s rarely helpful.  If anything, it should be helpful, otherwise why do it?

There is something we want from it, and it could be meaningful if it was tied to the real work people are doing, discussed with a manager in an engaged collaborative manner, and resulted in improved skills.

Check out the article and please share your thoughts with me.

Many (most?) of the books and articles written about how to be a good leader concentrate on some aspect of vulnerability — what it is and what it isn’t. Much of it encourages us to simply be more open with those we work with, to trust and share power. Here I want to talk about our humanity, not pretending that because we have attained a leadership position we have it all figured out: that we have all the answers and all the confidence. The truth is, we do not check our humanity at the door when we assume a position of leadership.

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There is a lot of talk about transparency in the workplace.  An article I had published in Fast Company (click here) last week looks at this from a new angle.  It’s not about sharing more numbers, the direction of the company, how raises are determined, etc.  My article challenges us to share what we are learning and what we need to learn to do our best work.  The professional development process encourages us to do this, but it’s usually not robust enough.

Professional development conversations often happen at intervals several months apart, are formal, with managers who have very little training.  My approach encourages a teaching/learning model that is integrated into the organization.  The result is a company culture where debriefing (evaluation of processes and outcomes) is happening daily in an environment where teaching and learning are the norm.

For this model to be effective, everyone (most importantly the CEO!) must be involved.  This type of transparency, where everyone knows what you are working to improve and why creates an atmosphere where people are not trying to prove themselves, but improve themselves.

What keeps managers from being kind to those who report directly to them? When asked they might say they were angry or hurt, felt let down or lost trust. Most managers believe it’s perfectly okay to express these feelings, but this belief does not justify being unkind. The reason why we treat people unkindly is fear. So what is the difference between expressing, say, anger and being unkind (we’ll get to the fear part later)?  Read More