Redirecting Performance
Growing up, my family’s mantra was “Choices and Consequences.” This adage was short for a broader philosophy for us… Every choice you make will have a consequence, either or good or bad. We must consider the consequence before we make the choice.
When it comes to #performance, it is important that employees are fully aware of the consequences of their choices before the consequence occurs.
An important part of this is expectation setting. #Expectations and #boundaries are the framework for a healthy organization. In order to keep an organization aligned, leaders must address deviances in performance behavior as they occur. When an employee is failing to meet expectations, the first question is, has the expectation been explicitly established with that person? If the answer is yes, and there is no doubt that the employee is aware of what is expected of him/her, then the manager must address the discrepancy as soon as possible after it occurs. This should happen in a one on one “redirection” discussion.
Redirection Discussion
What makes this different than the initial coaching/expectation setting conversation, is that the manager should address exactly what about the employee’s behavior is not meeting expectations, as well as communicate what the consequences of continuing the behavior will be. At the conclusion of this discussion, desired future behavior should be discussed and agreed to.
An important point here is the use of the term discussion. This is a conversation between two people, not a lecture delivered by the manager. As such, managers should be just as prepared to listen to #feedback as they are to lead the conversation. Through these conversations information about why a behavior is happening (an unknown trigger from a faulty process for example) may lead to uncovering a larger opportunity. Remember, the intent is to address and redirect behavior that is not aligning with expectations. Managers should approach these conversations with a problem-solving mindset, rather than a punishing mindset.
There are five key elements to preparing to lead a successful redirection discussion.
Five Elements of Leading a Redirection Discussion
1. Context- Set the stage. Where did this happen? When? Be specific.
2. Behavior- Describe what happened. Make this about the behavior, not the person.
Focusing on behavior helps disengage defensiveness. This conversation is not about criticizing or “told you so”ing. This is about redirecting behavior so that the employee has a fair chance at succeeding in the organization. Managers have to approach these conversations through a helping lens.
3. Impact- This is the why behind the expectation. What happened as a result of this behavior? Did the organization lose a sale? Was another employee negatively impacted?
4. Consequences- What are the individual repercussions of this behavior if it continues to occur? Does your organization have a formal discipline process (if not- consider working to develop one)... Will they lose responsibility? Will they be demoted or transferred? Or maybe even their employment terminated? Consequences are just as important to communicate as expectations.
5. Future State- Moving forward, how should the employee behave? What could they do differently? In layman’s terms, what does ‘good’ look like? An important part in closing is to get agreement from the employee. Ask if they understand and are willing to meet the expectations you have laid out for them.
Of these five steps, the consequence piece deserves extra preparation. No one likes to come across as “threatening” and so we tend to shy away from communicating the consequences of poor performance. It doesn’t have to be this way, but we do have to think through it in advance.
Communicating Consequences
First and foremost, the severity of the #consequence should always be consistent with the impact of the behavior. It should also be clearly communicated in advance of further violations. If your organization does not have a formal framework for discipline, leaders may have to determine what is appropriate (highly recommend roping in HR here). If this is the case, consider the 4 R’s of Communicating Consequences.
Consequences should be:
Revealed in advance- What will happen if the behavior continues?
Respectfully disclosed- This is not a threat, it is a fact.
Related (Clearly!) to the behavior- Tie the consequence to the behavior in advance.
Reasonable- This is subjective, and should be discussed with HR. Factors that help determine what is reasonable might be “How long has the behavior been occurring? How many times has it been addressed? How severely does the behavior impact the team/business?”
Many organizations have formalized progressive discipline processes in place. I highly recommend this for large, highly segmented organizations. A consistent process allows employees to know exactly where they stand and what to expect, and also enables an organization to be consistent in how they respond to performance issues across geographic areas and department structures.
A formalized process is good for #culture- it boosts perceived organizational justice, and it’s good for business. Consistency in discipline enforcement helps protect against any kind of discriminatory legal claims as a result of performance based employment actions (i.e. termination).
What does this look like in practice? Let’s walk through an example below.
Apply it- Preparing for a Redirection Discussion
Using the following scenario, let’s walk through step by step what a conversation might look like.
Karen is a new employee in your department. She has been with the company for about 6 months, and has recently (past 2 months) been consistently leaving early or calling out last minute. Your department is very fast paced and handles a high volume of work. You are about to hit your busiest season and need to be able to rely on her to be there.
You have previously had a conversation with her about staying until 5 and giving you as much notice as she can about being out. You have reached out to HR to discuss and are in alignment that the next step is a redirection discussion.
Step 1: Prepare
Think through what you want to say to Karen. Consider jotting down your thoughts to help you stay on target when you discuss with her.
Consider:
The Context- “Monday afternoon, I came into your office at 2:30p to ask you about the status of XYZ client’s deliverable.”
The Behavior-
“You were not there and no one knew where you had gone. I was unable to reach you on your cell.”
The Impact-
“The client’s deadline moved and we had to get our deliverable to them before Tuesday at 8a. Because you were not there, Susan and I had to stay late to rebuild our presentation because we could not access what you had been working on.”
The Consequence-
“This behavior is not an isolated incident. I have noticed that recently you have been leaving earlier despite our previous discussion about this. If this behavior continues to occur, you will forfeit your annual bonus.”
The Future State-
“Moving forward, I expect that if you need to leave early you will let someone know. Additionally, our working hours are 8-5, but there are days that we need to be able to get a hold of you after that. Please make sure that moving forward if there is a reason that you need to be out you will:
1) Let us know 24 hours in advance.
2) If it is an emergency and you can’t give notice, let someone know before you leave. Additionally, when we have time sensitive projects, please be sure to save the most recent draft in a common place (Drive etc.) or at least make sure one of the other teammates has access to it.
Are you willing to meet these expectations moving forward?”
Step 2: The Setting
Who?
Depending on the issue, decide with HR whether you need to have someone in the room with you or not. If you both agree the there is no risk in holding the conversation 1-1 that is the preferable situation. There is a better chance for genuine dialogue in that situation.
Where?
Ideally, this conversation should happen in a private place, an office or conference room. Face to face is always best.
When?
The conversation should happen as soon as possible after the behavior occurs. If the discussion is likely to get tense, consider waiting until the end of the day. This will allow you more time if the conversation needs more time and also allow for the employee to be able to collect themselves privately if they get emotional.
Step 3. The Meeting
When you sit down with the employee, bring your notes from step 1 to make sure you stay on track. Remember to keep the conversation about the behavior not about the person and try to keep any judgement or assumption out of your voice. This will help keep the employee from getting defensive.
Say your piece, but also be willing to receive feedback. There may be something that is triggering the behavior that you do not know about. It is important that managers are willing to listen as much as talk in these discussions... you never know what you might uncover.
Finally, remember to ask for #agreement in your request.
If you follow these 3 steps, you will have a much more productive redirection conversation with your employee. Remember, the goal isn’t to threaten, it is truly to redirect so that that person has a chance at being successful within the organization.
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