Performance Coaching for Results

NEO WorkshopJuly 18,2013

Exercise

• Reflecting on your experience to date in giving and/or receiving performance feedback, think of a time when you felt the feedback made a real difference to you and/or a direct report.

• What were the circumstances?• How did it feel?• Who were you working with?• Why did it make a real difference?• What was achieved?• What was special about this experience?

As you think about your role as a supervisor…

• What is it you most value about yourself as supervisor, your distinct competence?

• What are your hopes for your Library? Your department?

• What key success factors would indicate for you that your department is doing well?

Emotional Intelligence

• The capacity for recognizing our own emotions and those of others, for motivating ourselves and others, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and our relationships.

EI Framework

• Emotional intelligence consists of 4 clusters:

• Self Awareness• Self Management• Social Awareness• Relationship Management from work of Daniel Goleman

EI Competencies

• Self Awareness: emotional self-awareness, accurate self-assessment, self-confidence

• Self Management: self control, transparency, optimism, adaptability, achievement orientation, initiative

• Social Awareness: empathy, organizational awareness, service orientation

• Relationship Management: Developing others, inspirational leadership, influence, change initiator, conflict management, teamwork

Self Awareness Competencies

• Emotional Self Awareness: recognizing our emotions and their impact

• Accurate Self Assessment: knowing our strengths and limitations

• Self-Confidence: a strong sense of our self-worth and capabilities

Self Management Competencies

• Emotional self control: managing disruptive impulses

• Transparency: maintaining standards of honesty and integrity

• Optimism: persistence in pursuing goals despite obstacles and setbacks

• Adaptability: flexibility in adapting to changing situations or obstacles

Social Awareness Competencies

• Empathy: understanding others and taking an active interest in their concerns

• Organizational Awareness: understanding and empathizing (issues, politics) at the organizational level

• Service Orientation: recognizing and meeting customer needs

Relationship Management

• Leading Others: developing others, inspiring and guiding others, using effective tactics to influence others, initiating or managing change

• Working with Others: conflict management, team work and collaboration

Leaders Lead People…

• And the leader/supervisor must get work done in and through people.

• The people are the plan• People issues ARE the work of supervisors

Boundaries

• What you create, what you allow• What you create and what you allow is aligned

with Library direction • Supervisors make sure certain things happen,

prevent other things from happening, and keep it all moving forward

• Positive: help staff/staff member stay focused on what should be attended, helps them identify what they have control over that drives results and empowers them to take action

• Negative: set limits on confusion and distractions; curb negativity (not differences of opinion)

Questions (Individual)

• What are you creating and/or what are you allowing to happen in your direct report’s performance?

• How could you help each of your direct reports to stay focused on what is important?

• How could you help them identify what they have control over and empower them to take action?

• How can you help them identify what needs to stop?

Brain Science

• Brain’s Executive Functions• Attention (what to focus on)• Inhibition (what not to focus on)• Working Memory (what to do)• When executive functions working well, next level works

better, including: goal selection, planning, initiation, flexibility, execution/goal attainment, self regulation

• based on work of Henry Cloud, Boundaries for Leaders, 2013

Emotional Climate Matters

• Lower Brain: fight, flight, or freeze• Research confirms that how we view others,

positively or negatively, significantly affects goal oriented behavior.

• As supervisor, invest in building positive emotional connection to people you supervise

• Moods are contagious• Relational PLUS clear expectations, accountability• This is not happy talk, its neuroscience

Questions (Group)

• How is your balance between creating positive relationships with staff who report to you and high expectations for their work performance/results?

• Given what you have heard about how the brain works, how will you help your direct reports with performance coaching?

Performance Management Cycle

• Set Expectations, in conversation with staff member and based on organizational tools

• Measure performance• Provide feedback• Reinforce strong performance; address need for

improvement/weak performance• Document, document…and share with staff

member in writing• It is a process…not an event!

Let’s Add….

• Expectations….Purpose of everyone’s work should be to make a significant and positive contribution to the organization (ie, page ex)

• Help ensure that we envision staff member beyond a ‘just enough’ performance

• Help define profoundly positive outcomes based on job description

• Coaching…Help staff member imagine what great performance outcomes/results actually look like (performance that benefits customers, team/co-workers, Library)

Children’s Librarian

• The children’s librarian creates value through strong customer and community partnerships. These partnerships help customer feel heard and respected. The librarian anticipates customer/citizen needs and communicates Library services in clear ways. The librarian anticipates additional information/service needs and proactively suggest other services and community resources to meet customer goals. Customers feel supported, heard, equipped and empowered.

Children’s Librarian’s Team

• Co-workers also feel heard and respected, and are comfortable approaching the librarian with questions and customer needs. There is great synergy between the librarian and other team members and the children’s librarian looks for ways to contribute positively to team performance.

Library

• The Library benefits from the loyalty and commitment customers feel for the Library as a result of their partnership with the librarian. Customers think more highly of the Library because of their interactions with the librarian.

Supervisor

• The supervisor creates profoundly positive outcomes for the department’s customers by anticipating, listening to, and proactively responding to emerging customer needs. Customers feel they can approach the supervisor at any time when quality or service problems arise. The supervisor continually seeks out ways to exceed customer expectations through routine conversations with customers, where emerging issues are explored and the partnership is strengthened.

Supervisor’s Team

• The supervisor’s team members’ needs are anticipated, and anxieties are addressed through routine one-on-ones that strengthen the performance partnership. Learning is shared with all team members and best practices shared. Success is routinely celebrated.

Library

• The Library benefits from the supervisor’s strategic insight on future trends and strategies for maximizing value and reducing costs. Customers think more highly of the Library because of their relationship with the supervisor.

Question (Individual)

• Who do you need to build a positive relationship with in your work team…and how will you do that?

• What steps will you take within a week?• How might the relationship look in a month if

you take positive action now?

Setting Expectations…

• Defining specific process goals, strategies, actions and steps that the staff member and Library will take to ensure strong performance happens.

• What training is needed? What resources does Library have to help employee?

• Frequent communication with staff member

Measuring Performance

• Based on written expectations in performance plan

• Includes how training that was received was implemented? Shared with others?

• Impact

Providing Logical Consequences

• Positive outcomes—rewards? Can be unique to individual

• Reinforcement of desired behavior and discourage behaviors that run counter to great performance

Performance Management is A Process…Not an Event

• Skills develop over time• Coaching happens throughout the day• Watch others who do this well and integrate

as appropriate• Use your team (discuss with your supervisor,

HR)

Scenario One

• A long term direct report is doing the minimum this year. In years past, she got top-notch performance evaluations and as a new supervisor you aren’t sure when her performance began to go south.

• What does your first conversation with her sound like? What is your overall strategy for coaching her?

Scenario Two

• Your new children’s librarian tells you she loves story time…but you are getting reports back from parents that she seems nervous and unprepared.

• What does your first conversation with her sound like? What is your overall strategy for coaching her?

Scenario Three

• You are the new adult services supervisor. One of the librarians who reports to you is a super-star and her performance continues to be outstanding.

• What does your first coaching conversation with her sound like? What is your overall strategy for coaching her?