Performance Empowerment

Throughout this year I have had the pleasure of teaching a seminar on "Cultivating Employee Engagement" to a variety of professionals. I moderate an interactive conversation as we explore the pillars of what attracts and retains great talent.

I told the story of the Goldman Sachs employee who posted his letter of resignation in the New York Times. This example was used to validate the fact that most exit interviews are dismissed as discontent from a soon-to-be former employee. Why wait until your employees are fed up to the point of quitting to ask for their input?

This lead us to the topic of "stay interviews" - a process of checking the organizational pulse by gathering input from all ends of the organization. We were told the story of a company that promoted the "best place to work" survey to their employees...the Executives soon found out that they were the worst place to work....the culture was broken and the brass didn't know.

In all of the sessions there has been one overarching theme....Performance Reviews are not working:

• Assessing areas of weakness once a year is hardly a retention strategy
• People need encouragement every day to achieve their goals
• Everyone should have an opportunity to support their peer's performance

Here's What You Are Not Doing....
If we cannot learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it. However, if our past failures are used to overshadow our past accomplishments, we will be distracted (not motivated).

Let's be very honest. Performance reviews are a way to document areas of concern so in the event you need to fire someone you have documentation. You send along a word document rating hours of human effort and note your areas of concern. So I have put in 3,120 hours away from my family to make the organization better only to receive a 3 out of 5. Hardly motivating.

If you are measuring performance simply as a means to validate termination your culture is broken!

Here's What You Are Doing Right....
What if one-on-one meetings and the annual performance reviews were replaced by daily goal setting sessions? What if you looked forward to interacting with your boss because he/she existed to encourage your success instead of berating your effort? What if performance assessment became goal empowerment?

It would be nice to hug your boss when you see him or her instead of turning in the other direction to avoid criticism.

We know our business critical objectives and we need input to achieve them. We need to be empowered every day! With the recognition of our path to success we get closer to the sunset (instead of doing just enough to stay out of trouble). Picture a world where we all work together to achieve greatness...I would be willing to bet we would get more done with greater purpose.

"Hand me the club and tell me I'm the best golfer in the world"
- Jack Nicklaus

Here's What We Can Achieve Together!  
Working in silos is a way of avoiding transparency. Transparency is avoided not because you suck at your job but because your boss has been forced to act as a manager not empowered to lead.

That's right! That poor review you got is a result of disabled coaching not lack of effort on your behalf.

What if our goals were transparent? If we all knew what we had to achieve together and were able to encourage one another while we navigate our collective path to success. The collective is empowered to help one another instead of using accountability as a means for motivation.

The workplace is changing. Employees have never been more empowered. The greatest organizations are using bottoms up feedback to drive their organizational strategy. No longer is ivory tower dictatorship acceptable. Micro-management will only encourage employees to do one thing: revise their resume.

It is time to help one another succeed instead of planning who to blame when things don't go well. It is time to tear down the silos and tear up the performance reviews.

We all just want to be happy. We are happy when we succeed. It is even more fun to succeed together.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Personal Prophecy Perspective

Let's examine the life of a critic. Your occupation is to criticize. I would guess the underlying premise of said occupation would be to spend your life judging others to avoid any judgement upon yourself.

I never put stock in reviews. In fact, a bad review from one of the aforementioned deflectors of personal accountability may even prompt me to engage the art that they seek to destroy. Reviews are meaningless. If reviews were of such profound merit, we wouldn't have to see a film at all, we would simply let a few interpret the creation of others. All things created are yours to interpret in your own way. No one's opinion should matter more to you than your own!

In this blog we have frowned negativity as a motivational tactic and we have scrapped popular opinion in favor of unique individual inspiration. Today will be no different.

No one lives every minute in your shoes. Still, you will be told of ways to improve yourself and on the surface level this may seem like an attack. In most cases, people see your path to potential and want to help you kick the pebbles aside. It is vitally important not to let a pebble slow your pathway stridings. Be aware that the intent of your accuser is nothing more than a pebble on your motivational path.

Consider the Source
My friend was interviewed recently for a job she was entertaining. She called me afterward in disbelief of the interviewer's arrogance. The 20 year sales veteran was questioned by an accusatory staffing pro who's time on earth barely matched her career length. She explained to me that the job offered less money than she was currently being paid, the company was not a proven, and that the person interviewing her made no correlation of her applicable skills to the position. In short, she had met the gatekeeper to a land she didn't even want to enter.

You will walk into "no win" situations. It is always better to be polite, give the gatekeeper a few cookies, and to move on to a land in which you will be appreciated. The company may have another candidate in mind, you may be column fodder for due process, and maybe the interviewer's brother wants the job. It is my candid advice not to over-analyze strange misgivings. If you start a climb at the bottom of the hill with a ton of bricks on your back, two things can happen:
1. You succeed at the behest of your accuser
2. You will fail

Neither is an all-fulfilling formula for winning. When you prove someone wrong you usually put money in their pocket for betting against you. Why would you want to do that?

Path Assessment
The best partnerships are not forced. You can point to people and companies with whom you have worked who just "get it". They understand that you add value becuase you are not trying to fit a big square in a small circle.

You may love your I-pod but that doesn't mean Apple is a good company to work for. You may be a music fanatic but a position in Def Jam's marketing department might cause you to hate music. You could be an awesome golfer but your drive accuracy will probably not make you a better salesman for Callaway.

It's about finding partnerships that fit:

Do your organizational cultures align?

Does your product address their need without a ton of work arounds?

Does the person with whom you will work appreciative of you as a person?

Find Your Kingdom 
I would venture to guess that a dream job is out there for every one of us. A place where we can have fun, make money, and bring value to the world.

Professional life offers two options:
a. Search tirelessly for that perfect fit and do not compromise until you find it
b. Make your current job the best it can be

Start by considering the criticism you face every day. Sometimes you are given advice that you have to hear....it will help you remove obstacles and make you a better professional. Accept advice, assess how it will fit into your strategy and apply what will make you better. If in considering the criticism of your accuser you cannot find merit, politely ignore them!

You are in charge. You can make your current job your dream job. You know better than anyone if you have given your maximum effort. Listen to others but let your personal motivation drive. Take advice with a grain of salt and thank those who help you grow. Ignore the unkind. Be critical of your effort without beating up on yourself.

It's not just a job, it's your life. You will succeed by being honest with yourself. You are the only person who knows your genuine truth! Let your genuine truth lead!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave