|
Where on the following continuum do your employees fall?
-
Just showing up in order to survive?
-
Interested and engaged in what they do?
-
Willing and able to push beyond limits and boundaries?
-
Fully committed to achieving and succeeding with purpose meaning, and a clear sense of inner direction and personal satisfaction?
What does it take for people to find meaning and purpose in what they do? At the most basic level, it involves clarifying “who has expectations of whom about what by when?” The expectations organizational stakeholders have on those doing the work and the results they produce and the expectations people have of themselves and of those for and with whom they work.
It is a given that the world of work is in constant change. The social contract between employer and employee has changed. To compete, employers are restructuring their businesses, reorganizing departments and functions, reengineering work processes, re-deploying people and expecting more from retrenched resources. Any guarantee of lifelong employment in any one company is gone in all industries, including the government sector and there is an emerging expectation on the part of employers that employees be accountable for their performance and that employees be stakeholders in the results they produce. At the same time. employers are looking to recruit and retain the best employees who are able to take responsibility for their own job development and performance improvement and employees are focused on the quality of their personal, professional, and spiritual life.
In the midst of these changes, employees feel isolated, confused and unproductive and managers are under constant pressure with little time to provide one-on-one attention. Ultimately, if companies expect to achieve the results they desire, everyone must learn to become their own coach.
CORE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
In my experience, the nature of work comes down to three core performance expectations that both employers and employees share: (1) to be your best; (2) to get along with others; and (3) to contribute to your company’s success.
BEING YOUR BEST
To “be your best” is to assess the attributes of personal success that are determined by self-awareness and the choices one makes in order to come to terms with who you are, what you have to offer, and where you want to go in your work life. This requires exploration of one’s beliefs about work, what motivates you to succeed, how to use your creativity and intuition, tap into your energy and feelings, clarify the roles you play at work, learn how to adapt to change, and create the outcomes and lifestyle you want.
I have noticed that an all-too-common dynamic occurs within the ranks of employees undergoing organizational change. A majority of people typically take a “wait-and-see” approach to the impending change, often with the attitude that "the more things change, the more they stay the same". A small group of people deal with the situation by holding tight, resisting, fearing, or rebelling against the change, often spreading rumors and gossiping. Still another small number of people seek to keep informed about what's going on, assess their options, and take a proactive approach so that they become part of the change. When the change and transition occurs guess, which group (a) gets the better jobs, (b) is likely to be-out of a job, or (c) gets what's left over whether they like it or not. To be your best simply means that the best way to cope with change is to anticipate and to move along the path so that you will be part of the "A" group.
GETTING ALONG WITH OTHERS
To “get along with others” refers to the behavior and skill that enhance communication and relationship with other people in terms of how one’s behavior is perceived by others, how to develop trust, enhance how to listen and develop rapport when communicating, set the stage for dealing with differences and conflict, and present yourself assertively when working with others.
To get along with others means to take advantage of the unique opportunity to interact with a diversity of people we work with, people we might never have otherwise met through our friendships, families, and community. The workplace, on a daily basis, puts us in situations to interact and negotiate with people who have a varied personal styles and competencies. We also must confront our and other's prejudices and biases and resolve conflicts of communication and perspective. All of this challenges us to maintain our own integrity while collaborating and teaming with others.
In my consulting practice, I have interviewed members of work groups in order to understand what's going on between people and enhance team work. I have heard people tell the most passionately detailed stories about a grievance or breach of trust that has kept people from talking with each other. Invariably, when I ask when the offense occurred, I learn that the event occurred years ago, though it is still talked about as if it had happened that morning. Then, during a meeting to mediate the issue, the parties come to realize that the whole scenario was based on a simple misunderstanding. How much time, energy, and productivity have been lost?
CONTRIBUTING TO YOUR COMPANY’S SUCCESS
To “contribute to your company’s success” focuses on the organizational dynamics that create and support a productive work environment. In this case, people must determine where they fit into a company's big picture, learn how to work as part of a team, understand how a company evaluates the bottom line, determine how to add value in what you do, and develop your own approach to being a leader.
Perhaps the greatest workplace challenge is determining how to find meaning, value, and reward in the role one plays in an organization. Our contribution may seem diminished by confusion due to unclear levels of authority and decision making, having no direct input into any big picture, and having little control over our own individual job or career destiny.
Many employers evaluate employee performance criteria on the following scale: "below expectations," "meets expectations," "exceeds expectations." As such, it becomes essential to clarify what one is supposed to be doing, needing to learn, and how results will be measured in order to work with feeling there is value in what you do and care about it enough to learn how to deal with possible unclear and changing expectations.
I have designed numerous workplace training and performance improvement programs to support changes in business vision and strategy, mergers and acquisitions, restructured departmental operations and functions, or reengineering of work processes. Though the main objective of the training was often to develop a very specific set of skills, it always became evident that it was extremely important to engage people doing a particular job how and why the training supported the overall company's business strategy and goals. On-the-job results subsequent to training programs that included such a context demonstrated that not only did people become more effective in their productivity, but also they took less time to learn what they needed in order to perform the work.
Through the exploration of these organizationally focused dynamics, people discover a deeper sense of individual purpose and meaning, for these ingredients comprise the dimensions of personal empowerment -- the confidence, competence, and commitment that promote within each of us a sense of satisfaction and success in our work life.
MOVING FROM JOB DESCRIPTIONS TO PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
When an individual's performance is evaluated, it is typically based on a set of job descriptions written as an often vague collection of qualifications, functions, general tasks, responsibilities that focuses on delineate the expectations for the outcomes and results the person is expected to achieve and be evaluated on, let alone how that performance will be measured.
A performance management approach links expectations connecting business strategy and goals with work processes and outcomes, individual competencies, learning and developmental opportunities, evaluation measurements, human resource and management practices, bottom-line results, and invariably recognition, reward and compensation. The emphasis is placed on people developing the skills, knowledge, attributes required to meet and exceed performance expectations along with determining "best practices".
To begin to move from job descriptions to performance management, consider the following strategic questions:
-
What changes are occurring or do you anticipate within your business environment or service base in the near future?
-
How thoroughly do you understand the type of work, skills and knowledge that needs to be performed to address these changes and achieve the future business objectives?
-
How well do people understand their roles and performance expectations related to any changes in the environment, strategic goals, and work processes?
-
Are people focused on and evaluated for the activities they do or the results they achieve?
-
How well are your human resource and management practices (hiring, evaluation, compensation) aligned to support the business strategy?
-
Do people perceive the performance evaluation process as subjective, unfair and punitive or is it based on objective criteria that affords people the opportunity to improve, develop and be rewarded for their accomplishments?
EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO COACH THEMSELVES
The process of performance management is an ongoing one in which the more each person is engaged and motivated to understand and clarify the expectations associated with the work they do, the higher performing they will become and the more connected and satisfied they will be with the work they do.
What are the qualities of a coach? They include being trustworthy, open and honest, sincere, committed, and nonjudgmental. A coach asks questions, challenges, listens, pay attentions, and stays on the acknowledged purpose. For people to learn to coach themselves they must learn to, and practice, incorporating these qualities of a coach into their on-the-job behavior. That is, each employee, not their manager, supervisor or trainer needs to become self-motivated to continually clarify expectations and make responsible changes to improve their improvement.
For people to coach themselves on-the-job, the organizational climate must support the openness for people to take the time to question, reflect on, offer each other feedback and engage in ongoing dialogue about the issues and challenges they face in the ever changing environment they are in. This is the essence of “empowerment”.
To empower people to coach themselves:
-
Create opportunities for people to take the time on their own to think about, reflect on, and gain insight and understanding as to what is at issue regarding expectations about their work performance. For example, provide people thought provoking material that deals with an on-the-job issue or concern. Have them explore the personal significance or practical implications and consequences of the material, take some notes, and then outline some action steps to take.
-
Have people initiate and nurture peer feedback opportunities to share their interpretations and gain further insights related to their personal reflections.
-
Engage in ongoing work group dialogue to explore, deepen and expand collective meaning related to performance improvement issues and approaches.
-
Follow-up with action and recycle through the process.
Ultimately, reflecting on the question “who has expectations of whom about what by when” will guide people to:
· Become responsible for they own ongoing development
· Achieve and maintain productive interpersonal relationships
· Commit to achieving organizational goals through improved performance
|