Reimagining the Performance Model

Performance Management – Love or hate it, it’s time for a change!

Ask anyone if they like the traditional performance management process and most will let you know through their body language and facial expression, NO!  However those that have benefitted from an effective performance management process LOVE IT!

Certainly everyone loves the intent of performance management; clear expectations and role definitions set, coupled with the right resources, training, consistent and fair feedback all leading to a path for individual, team and organizational performance success and development. 

Sounds so easy. However, the actual impact of a typical performance management process often results in too many mid and end of year performance review “surprises”, and unclear expectations and roles that overlap or are in competition with one another. The feedback is infrequent and forced at the end of the year to ensure we check the box that all reviews have been completed and signed.  In addition, the performance feedback often is swayed by what we call the “recency factor”, whatever performance, good or bad, that is the most recent in history is what often times dominates the remarks and ratings during the review.   

So, what SHOULD be one of the most important processes in delivering both bottom line results and enhancing both employee commitment and engagement becomes a necessary “to do” for everyone at the end of the year. This ends up wasting millions of employee hours in performing “check the box” activities that, face it, few really embrace to their fullest potential.

So whether you love it or hate it, it’s time for the reimagining of performance management!

We will introduce a new model for performance in this four part blog series, Reimaging the Performance Model.

Part One – The ELO model for performance defined

Part Two – Employee-Led Performance

Part Three – Leader Supported Development

Part Four – Organization Enabled Success

ELO – Employee-led, Leader Supported, Organization Enabled Performance Introduced:

Imagine your organization as a place where traditional performance management becomes performance enablement!  Where every person in your organization, from the most senior executives to entry levels proactively own and manage their career development and where once or twice a year performance reviews, which often become those performance “surprises” we mentioned earlier, are now weekly or bi-weekly performance connections owned and directed by the employees, not the manager, and are focused on actions and activities that develop skills and behaviors rather than just reviewing and rating them.

Imagine every employee from top to bottom, displaying both team and individual role model leadership behavior and accountability, using technology to connect and enhance relationships rather than just adding more “communication” to everyone’s inboxes.

Imagine your organization as a place where the skills of collaboration, agile decision making, and the focus on delivering results, not excuses, are learned and cultivated and over time becoming natural and expected from everyone – where functional silos cease to exist!

Over the next few weeks, we will outline a path to long term, sustained performance model success that can, and will, provide a true ‘people’ competitive advantage with everyone in the organization enhancing both their personal and team accountability, embracing and leading change, and owning and managing their own performance and development.  In addition, we will provide a cultural blueprint that enables performance success by ensuring clarity, alignment and accountability at all levels supported by formal people leaders exhibiting new leadership competencies that develops the leader in everyone.

Employee-led, leader supported and organization enabled performance.  The performance model reimagined. 

Next week: Employee-led Performance – Developing the leader in everyone!