SYNAPSE 2014
SYNAPSE -- 2014
Performance reviews,
if at all, become
project update
meetings, difficult
employees are best
avoided, sharing
feedback becomes a
goody-goody affair
We had to go back to
basics, make it simple
and focus on the real
intent
other employees deserve the same attention, if not
more? Rationale such as business being too dynamic
to set goals is just a wrongly used defense mechanism. In fact, in stable business environments, the
rationale shifts to ‘employees know everything’ and
thus they are aware of their goals The consequence
in either scenario is that the performance review
process focuses on what has been achieved and not
what was meant to be achieved. Only those goals are
listed where there is enough to showcase even if they
were not the primary ones.
If Tomorrow Comes
While organizations spend enough effort and time in
sharpening and wordsmithing on leadership goals,
the plunge happens when the cascade and reality
reaches the first line managers. Here is a set of people who possibly are
individually brilliant
but just starting on
people leadership.
Promoted or hired
into this capacity
their single biggest
credibility builder is
to get work done as
per schedules. Any
slippage is deemed
unpardonable and a
red cross somewhere. Being in this
position is not enviable either as their team would consist of a lot of
nerds who have not had the reality check and continue to believe they are godsend. Performance reviews, if at all, become project update meetings,
difficult employees are best avoided, sharing feedback becomes a goody-goody affair and development – why do we need it at all? The employee may
not even stay long enough. This is where the organization starts becoming hollow.
But again it is not just about the readiness of the
managers and employees for thinking tomorrow
today. The inertia is compounded due to the complexity built into such processes through overdesign
and standardization – jargons, tools et all. Mangers
then resist and go into an avoidance syndrome.
The Buck Stops There
And finally the year end arrives. Half cooked
goals, honeyed feedback and left out development
plans is a sure recipe for failure. Conformance to
the bell curve distribution while being a stated
intent becomes a classic case of upward delegation. Most managers would go all out to express
how his/her team has the best density of top talent,
was challenged with the most demanding of situations and is faced with high attrition risks. If the
shouting helps and secures the right positions on
the bell curve distribution then mission achieved, if
not it becomes a case of blame it on higher management or HR. One of the leaders I encountered
had built up a reputation over a period of time. He
used to decide the fates of every employee in his
group by having the
final say. Quite understandably he did
not have the right
visibility down the
ranks. It was a classic case of ignorance
is bliss – for the
people he did not
know he stuck to
what the manager
had rated, but for the
people he knew or he
thought he knew, he
had an opinion and
in most cases the swing was significantly on the
left side of the bell curve. The managers feared to
even suggest disagreement.
Checking In
So after years of varied experiences on performance management it was surely refreshing to hear
about something different. Whether this would be
perfect, time shall tell. But surely it resonated with
my belief that we had to go back to basics, make it
simple and focus on the real intent. I took my
plunge and six months on into my current organization am a believer.
Termed ‘Check-In’ the new approach to performance management shifts the focus from the
dreaded year end ‘difficult discussions’ to lighter