How To Deal With Poor Performing Staff

What do you do when your team is not working to their best? Teamwork expert Graham Winter shares his tips.
Managing employee performance is one of the top issues facing businesses of all sizes. Poor performance can greatly impact the bottom line and lead to an unnecessary increase in staff turnover.

Rather than adopting the usual ‘performance review’ approach, I have created a unique ‘one team’ strategy to engage staff.

Below are my top tips for helping to get the most out of your staff:

Share accountability
Treat your individual team members as equal partners by establishing the expectation that you and they are jointly accountable for collaborating around problems and opportunities. Begin with a partnering conversation to set the foundation around values, open two-way conversations and shared problem solving.

Set high performance expectations
Define clear and shared expectations about all of the four core inputs to high performance: achievement, agreed behaviours, shared learning and energy. This is essential if the complexity that characterises poor performance is going to be dealt with at its root cause.

Accelerate cycle times
Make frequent catch-up conversations (at least once per month) a feature of the operating rhythm of your team. This will minimise the chances of getting into the poor performance spiral and also provides the ‘learning loop’ that every team needs to feel that feedback is helpful and not threatening.

Coach to boost resilience
The days of team leaders just being the technical managers of their ‘silo’ are over.  The ‘new’ team leaders are coaches who use coaching questions to shape the thinking and behaviours of their team.

Dealing with poor performance can be an emotion-charged issue for everyone however the Performance Partnering approach shows how a change of mindset and some easy-to-implement practices can reduce the angst and boost productivity and a constructive culture.

2014: What’s the breakthrough idea for HR?

Could 2014 be the year that HR does something so profoundly different that it genuinely impacts the performance of the business?

Here are three potential game changers that are worth a look:

70:20:10 FINALLY DELIVERS. 

This is a no-brainer. The idea that 70% of learning comes from the job, 20% from people, and 10% from courses and reading has been around since the 1960’s.

What a perfect time for HR to deliver on this by using blended learning to combine the best of technology, with savvy coaching and at-work tools!

Businesses want to invest more in people but they don’t want workshops, courses, coaching or tools: they just want changes in behaviour and performance.  Blended learning is the answer because it combines the best of technology with human interaction and puts it in the workplace.

70+20+10 = breakthrough in employee productivity and change readiness.

PERFORMANCE CONVERSATIONS

Not the old version: the infrequent, form-based and dreaded performance review. 

No this is genuine reinvention. It’s HR breaking the paradigm and putting HR in the middle of the three conversations that drive high performance:  Setting high expectations:  Collaborating in real time:  Debriefing and adapting.

In 2014 HR might discover that they can own the performance cycles provided they give up on technical solutions and insert themselves in the middle of robust performance conversations where people and teams live and learn together.

PEOPLE ANALYTICS UNPACK ENGAGEMENT

The measurement of employee engagement is an industry in itself so there’s no game changer left in the mainstream but smart organisations are embedding analytics in other ways and that’s where the possibilities begin.

Expect to see the business equivalent of GPS monitoring in sport.  Tiny snippets of information gathered from software and other sources that give a hint to moods, motivations and potential movers.

Engagement scores are too gross to be really useful as a measure and the cycle time is also too long. That’s fine. The idea is ok, so just expect it to speed up and get unpacked in 2014.

WHY CHOOSE THESE THREE?

My reasons for choosing these three game changers are simple. They all impact performance, they become more important in disruptive times when companies are dollar, time and talent stretched, and they are doable with current technologies.

Cooperation Isn’t The Same As Collaboration

Everyone seems to be collaborating with everyone these days.  Or at least they say they are.

Just ask a colleague who they’re collaborating with and they’ll rattle off a list of who is or isn’t making their life easier or harder.

But hang on a minute. Doesn’t that sound more like they’re looking for cooperation rather than collaboration?

Cooperation is doing things that help others to achieve their aims.  It’s sharing resources, helping to get obstacles out of the way and not rocking the boat. We tend to like people who cooperate with us because they make things easier. Cooperation is great, at the right time and in the right place.

Collaboration is creating something meaningful together. It isn’t smooth sailing or just making it easy for someone else. True collaboration is co-creation. It is skin in the game, it’s creative conflict and it can be particularly hard work in the early stages.

Great teams learn to collaborate; Mediocre teams crave cooperation. You don’t cooperate to win Olympic medals or to build a successful business. You collaborate.

Great teams hold the tension while they find that superordinate goal, they challenge each other’s thinking, they expect and even seed creative tension, and above all they get in and solve the real problems that enable them to create something special together.

The businesses that are really building momentum around collaboration are moving products to market faster, they’re breaking through bottlenecks and they’re testing and finding that breakthrough business model.  It certainly isn’t easy but it isn’t boring either!

Are you planning to collaborate with someone this week?  I hope so, although would life be a little easier if they were just a little more cooperative? 

It’s your choice of course, but if you can hold the tension and both learn to collaborate, imagine the possibilities of what you could create together.

TRUST – is it earned or assumed in a new leadership team?

Here are a few thoughts that might come in handy if you work with people!

At a recent Executive Team offsite a debate ensued between two members of a new team about trust.

One was adamant that trust had to be earned, while the other assumed (and demanded) that trust was immediately granted on joining the team.

A bit of facilitation soon revealed that neither person’s position was quite as black and white as their initial pronouncements suggested, however it also showed that few people have a shared language or model for describing what they mean by trust and yet it remains so fundamental to effective teamwork and collaboration.

Fifteen years ago Larry Reynolds wrote a handy reference book titled The Trust Effect (Nicholas Brearley, 1997) in which he suggested four elements of trust: Competence, Openness, Reliability and Equity.

At Think One Team we combined that with Integrity to create an easy-to-remember acronym, I-CORE which has proven to be remarkably useful in assessing people’s level of trust – and it also offers a very handy tool when coaching and guiding people to address trust gaps.

Take a moment and try it on someone who you’d like to build a stronger relationship with:

·         Integrity – do they meet your definition of a person of integrity?

·         Competence – how do you rate their capability on what matters?

·         Openness – are they suitably open minded and willing to share their thoughts and feelings?

·         Reliability – do they get things done how and when you expect?

·         Equity – do they treat you with respect?

OK. Do you trust the person?  Chances are that the answer is ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ when you break it down to the five elements.

And if they just joined your team, what does that mean? Do you trust them implicitly?  And would you expect them to trust you? 

Many people seem to have strong answers to the question of trust and yet it is a classic adaptive challenge, which means that we learn how to trust each other: and having a shared language certainly helps to speed up that process!!

Learn How City of Marion Improved Their Performance

The City of Marion, a leading South Australian Metropolitan Council, has a reputation for achieving excellent outcomes for the community through its innovative approach to developing a constructive workplace culture and a strong service ethos. 

Think One Team International designed an alternative to the traditional performance management process, with emphasis on creating a framework that creates a constructive culture and improves quality of conversations.

What was our approach?

With our Cure the Review™ framework, we designed a framework with supporting resources and coaching based on these four key principles:

1.    Create an environment where people achieve meaningful outcomes, develop, grow and enjoy their work

2.    Work towards gaining an ideal relationship between the manager and team member to work together effectively

3.    Performance conversations should be based on two cycles - an annual cycle and an inside quarterly cycle

4.    Provide staff with simple non-traditional tools and practical coaching to help make performance partnering effective

 

The Results

As a result of this project, there is greater enthusiasm and commitment to the performance discussions. We found that people preferred the simple and engaging tools that were provided and realised that over time, there is a need for continued reinforcement of a positive constructive culture.

Interested in reading the full City of Marion Case Study? Click here.

Can Think One Team International turn your traditional performance review into a meaningful process which fosters a high performing culture? Speak to Paul Lloyd today for a no-obligation diagnostic of your local government organisation.

What does 'One Team' really mean?

It’s not difficult to get people to agree that a ‘One Team’ mindset and approach will be beneficial for their organisation. The promise of better leveraging resources, greater speed and agility, and less waste is compelling.

But .... when it comes to defining what  ‘one team’ really means things aren't always so clear.

Accordingly, let's look at three introductory concepts that form part of the think one team methodology which can be helpful in creating a common language about 'one team'.

Principle #1:  'One team' means great alignment and teamwork within and between teams.

 'One team' doesn't mean everyone connected to everyone (and living in some sort of bliss).  That's neither desirable nor feasible. However what is needed is an answer to the question:

Which linkages / relationships are most important to drive greater speed and quality in your enterprise?

The answer will come from within one or more of the following areas:

1. Within teams (particularly leadership teams where unity is critical to alignment and flow)
2. Between teams / functions (eg: sales to operations, head office to regions)
3. On cross-functional projects / multi-disciplinary teams
4. With alliances and other external partners
5. Between managers and direct reports

Armed with awareness that these are your 'mission critical linkages' (where the enterprise needs one team behaviours / practices) the next step is to remember that 'one team' isn't about demolishing silos ....it's about connecting them (or 'punching holes in them').

That means understanding the five practices that characterise one team operations, so we can assess current state and develop skills, capabilities and practices. That introduces the second principle....

Principle #2:  It's not about the silos - it's about five practices

The five practices model of think one team describes the five groupings of behaviors and practices that distinguish 'silo thinking' from 'one team' thinking.

The diagram below highlights the five practices and a brief descriptor for each. 



These practices offer an extremely effective tool to understand and assess the extent and quality of teamwork and partnering across any or all of the five linkages / relationships discussed above. For example, if getting two or more functions to work as 'one team' is important, then we need to know to what extent they currently share a bigger picture than their own individual business units.

(Various versions of diagnostics are available, so check the tools section in the Thought Leadership section of our website www.thinkoneteam.com - thought leadership for an example of an asessment tool for United Leadership). 

Principle #3:  Develop 'one team' skills and capabilities

After over five years of working on developing the various development suites that comprise Think One Team, my view is that 'one team skills' come down to three words: Align - Collaborate - Learn.

These three words describe the 'conversation cycle' that is exactly what's needed in any of the key linkages / relationships. In particular, when the teamwork and partnering is happening there is a continual cycle of alignment, collaboration and learning.

For example, to develop a united leadership team requires a continual process of Alignment (values, goals, expectations), Collaboration (on problems and opportunities) and Learning (feedback, debriefing, adapting).

That's why our entire Think One Team International suite is now navigated through these three elements, so that clients can target the right tool for the right linkage / connection - .(I'll explain more in a future blog)

Summary

There is no doubt that one team skills are the key to adapting and performing in the increasingly volatile business world.

If your enterprise is keen to better capture those benefits of working together as 'one team' then here are the three key points:

1. Define precisely where you most need alignment and teamwork within and between teams (ie is it between teams, or perhaps amongst leaders?)

2. Understand and assess the current practices in those 'mission critical' areas by using the five practices model

3. Build 'one team' capabilities by instilling skills and tools that guide leaders and teams in your mission critical linkages / relationships to align - collaborate - learn together

For more details on how to foster the all-important one team skills please visit our website at www.thinkoneteam.com

What is the most important role in the business?

At a recent retreat we asked a group of leaders to identify the most important role in their organisation. Two people ‘voted’ for the Chief Executive and then not surprisingly the rest chose a range of functional roles in Sales, Operations and Finance.

The reason for asking the question was to stimulate a discussion about the role that I am convinced is absolutely the most important. The Team Leader.

Why the Team Leader?

The vast majority of business initiatives require nimble teams that are skilled at their own technical tasks and also skilled in collaborating with others across the business (and outside). The Team Leaders sits right in the middle of that challenge.

Unfortunately, a significant percentage of team leaders are subject matter experts who understand the technical side of their role but have limited capability to develop their team and to connect it with others.

The result is a feature called ‘experts in silos’ and it is arguably the biggest threat to any organisation being nimble and adaptive.

Expect to see a much stronger focus on team leader capability and accountability in the next 1-2 years because the whole business is affected when one or two leaders ‘ring fence’ their functions and make it difficult for others to do their job.

Try this exercise:

Grab a black marker pen and draw separate circles on a whiteboard for every functional team in the organisation (including the Executive Team). Write the team’s name inside the respective circle.

Now pick up a red marker pen and colour in each team circle where the level of collaboration or partnering isn’t what’s needed to execute the strategy at speed.

Now ask yourself what damage that is doing in the organisation.

Develop those Team Leaders

When most organisations do this exercise they are confronted by the reality that their team leaders are not only equipped mainly to be technical leaders, but that the organisation reinforces this through its KPI’s and other recognition systems.

My view is clear and strong:  in a disruptive and rapidly changing world, the most important role in the organisation is the Team Leader (from CEO to Frontline) because they hold the opportunity (and the accountability) to mobilise and connect the teams that tackle the challenges that will make or break the business.