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String Music

During the past 11 years and three months I have written 135 monthly issues of my e-newsletter – originally titled “The Franchisee Focus” and rebranded four years later to “Fast:Forward” to reflect the expansion of my coaching practice into the corporate world.

I finished issue #4 around 11 p.m. on April 5, 2004, immediately following the Championship game of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, having watched Connecticut defeat Georgia Tech. My storyline in that missive focused on how the committee ranks every team on an S-Curve from one to 64 and seeds the bracket accordingly.

One of the key points referred to a franchisor client that “has an outstanding management team, a strong product in a growth industry and a solid marketing approach. Yet, like many franchise systems, their franchisees are not achieving the results they or the franchisor expect. Put in sports terms, they have a good game plan, but their execution is coming up short.”

As the Tournament begins today, my premise remains valid. The difference between a champion and everyone else often comes down to which team plays together best during March Madness. And, except for this year’s undefeated favorite Kentucky, it isn’t always the most talent that reaches the summit. Terrific coaching and a desire to excel often determine who cuts down the nets just before CBS signs off with “One Shining Moment.”

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Review Time

This is the time of year when some leaders struggle to complete annual reviews. Often the process involves filling in a comprehensive form that requires you to rate each team member on a scale of ‘Exceeds Expectations’ to ‘Needs Improvement’. After approval up the ladder, it’s time for the oft-dreaded face-to-face meeting – during which you deliver results to the employee and let him know what percentage of annual bonus and performance raise he’ll be receiving.

Last week one of my clients was struggling in preparation for the review meeting with a direct report who tends to react dramatically in these settings. As Bill explained the approach he intended to take – which was a line-by-line explanation of each category on the form, I asked him a simple question: “Why do you need to do all the talking?” I could see the ‘Aha!’ insight clearly in his raised eyebrow and smile.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “That’s how I always do these. Guess it might be better if I first ask her how she thinks the year went, huh?”

Reviews work best when there is a two-way dialogue around performance that identifies development opportunities and leads to specific action steps for improvement in the months ahead. Seems to me it makes sense – to paraphrase Stephen Covey – to understand the other person’s perspective before commenting on your rating. There might be strong alignment of opinions or a complete misperception about the efforts of your employee.

At this point I had my client stand up and look out his window. Then I asked him to turn around and look at me. “What you’re seeing right now,” I said, “is in the past – and nothing you say is going to change it.” I put my hands on his shoulders and repositioned him to look out the window again. “That’s the future,” I said. “Focus the discussion on that and you’ll position Joan to deliver what you expect in 2015.”

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Feedback Circle

One of the key modules of the training program I’ve been co-facilitating recently focuses on providing feedback. When we initially ask participants to engage in a demonstration of how they would hold a crucial conversation with a direct report, their approach goes something like this:

“Um, Joe, I just want you to know you’re doing a really good job and I appreciate all your hard work with our internal customers, but I think you might want to try getting back to them sooner. Does that make sense?”

The first opportunity for improvement here is to do away with the ‘but.’ Offering a compliment immediately followed by a redirection sends a mixed message and undermines both statements. It is more effective to separate these into two discussions with the employee.

For this program, we teach the SBI model for feedback, where S is the Situation, B is Behavior observed and I is the Impact on myself, the team or your business. Using this approach under the same scenario as above, here is a more valuable way to provide insight for Joe:

Compliment – “Joe… do you recall last week when you received that request from IT? (‘Yes, I do.’) I noticed you reached across departments to involve Finance in the process. (‘That’s right.’) From my perspective that made the difference in your being able to solve IT’s challenge, and it made me proud to have you on our team. (‘Thanks!’)

Redirection – “Joe… do you recall last week when you received that request from IT? (Yes, I do.) I noticed you didn’t respond right away and didn’t reach out to any other departments for assistance. (That’s right.) From my perspective that’s why it still isn’t resolved today and I feel like you missed an opportunity to make our team shine.” (‘Thank you. I didn’t realize that.’)

The SBI model – in either situation – opens a dialogue between the leader and her direct reports. Many people struggle remembering to provide the Impact piece; yet, with mastery, SBI becomes a valuable tool for turning observed behavior into recognition or learning moments

 

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Good Health

Sunday night at 10 o’clock is typically when our son calls to provide the ‘update on the week.’ It’s a tradition that dates back to my college days… when there weren’t texting or emailing or mobiles. There was a black rotary phone in our dorm room – where I lived for three years – and the Sunday night calls were how my parents knew I was alive, attending classes and the cash my dad handed me on the last trip home hadn’t run out.

So when the phone rang at 10:20 p.m. last Sunday, I perked up from a nap-before-bed and said hello. When I heard my sister’s voice, I thought, “This isn’t good.”

Ann told me she was following an ambulance and that my brother-in-law was inside it. She was calm and steady – and after a few minutes said they would let us know an update when they had news. A half-hour later, the phone awakened me again. This time my brother, who had met her at the hospital, said, “Just want you to know, Brad is resting comfortably. Didn’t want you to worry.” Kathy and I slept well.

Monday began an anxious week… filled with update calls and texts…

Brad collapsed at home. Ann performed CPR. Called 911. Ambulance arrived in 15 minutes. No heart attack. Blood clots in lung and legs. ICU. Machines connected. Could be fatal. Blood thinners. RBC dropping. Stabilizing. Released to room. Improving.

We are a close family of faith that has experienced many joys and heartaches. Those moments bind us together – appreciative of each day and knowing another challenge will rise to greet us somewhere down the road. Ann’s last text message – “We are home!” – gave this one a happy ending.

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Solid Feedback

During this first month of the year, three clients asked for help on the annual review they needed to give a specific employee. Each had concerns about how to address challenges – knowing their direct reports were likely to react poorly.

My response was to have them stand up, look toward me and describe what they saw over my shoulder. Then I asked them to turnaround and look out the window. “How much of what you see now is the same as when you just looked at me?”

They quickly understood: what happened during 2014 is in the past and nothing will change that. The goal of a review is to look forward… identifying what went well and what didn’t – then mutually agreeing to build on strengths and work on areas that need improvement. The approach should be a robust dialogue about opportunity – not a “you did a good job, but…” listing of shortcomings.

Back in the day when I was managing a lot of people, I kept a cartoon on the bulletin board of my office: ‘If you don’t have something good to say, drop it in the employee’s file and save it for his review.’ It was a reminder to address issues throughout the year as they appeared: to create a culture of continuous improvement, instead of a company with an environment of fear and dread over a once-a-year meeting.

Last week one of the clients sent me an email update: “Had the review with Joe today. It went well. Calm. Cool. Collected.”