As kids we learn how much fun it can be hiding. But as adults hiding can prevent us from reaching our potential.
Qu: How did you go with <that thing> today?
Ans: Oh, I gave it a good go but <excuse of the day> happened so I’ll get to it tomorrow
The above conversation must take place millions of times around the world everyday between the boss and their team members - don’t you think?
This must be because people love having this conversation right? Or maybe not…
Actually this is an insidiously wasteful conversation to have because it;
- takes up precious time
- allows people to avoid their responsibilities which they deep down probably don’t feel good about
- potentially allows people to develop a sense that they are entitled to avoid their responsibilties
Its much more effective to monitor and discuss performance over time as;
- looking at the history, if performance has rarely been obtained then something is obviously wrong
- anecdotal evidence that there have been extenuating circumstances on a daily basis will become obviously pointless
- putting the numbers on the table will short circuit 'excuse oriented' discussions
There is no hiding when you can see the trend over time.
Reports are not of themselves an ethical or unethical tool
- In the wrong hands they can be used to do harm or create dysfunctional behaviour [behaviour against the best interests of the business]
- in the right hands they can be a powerful tool to gain insight and understanding and enable action to further improve your 'money making machine’
Follows these rules around using reports to manage your team to get the best out of them;
- seek to understand why performance may not be up to standard - is it partly your fault and have you done everything you can to ‘set them up for success'
- praise publicly - criticise privately
- reward against performance metrics [of outcomes]
Remember - Don’t leave anywhere for you or them to hide!
- Being able to see the trend over time is often the most valuable way to view your business as positive and negative trends can be hidden by only looking at a point in time
- Anyone can fail badly on a given day so poor performance over time needs to be visible before it can become acknowledged, accepted and manageable
There is no hiding when you can see the trend!