Expectations - Do your team members miss their targets?

  Often during the annual performance discussions, we see gaps. While the team member feels they had a great year, the manager does not feel so. It leads to an uncomfortable discussion and, both want it to end soon. Trust is lost. The team perceives the manager as “Not fair”. Performance suffers in the following periods.

During some of my turnaround assignments, I have seen the same non-performing team deliver exceptional results by a simple change. Interested, READ ON.

Most Managers e-mail a table with targets and feel satisfied to have set the expectations for the team and its members. The team members acknowledge the same on the portal and, that's the end of expectation, setting exercise. The e-mail is archived for records and only opened during the annual performance discussions. Both the Manager and the team member have thus short-circuited the process of managing performance. 

As a Leader, many of us struggle with this challenge. I tried something different and, it worked. 

I set frequent expectation discussions as my 1'st priority. Built it into my calendar every quarter to have a One o One discussion with my team members. As a ritual, I blocked a window for each member in the 1'st week of every quarter. I used to do my preparations well in advance. E-mail the targets and achievements for the last quarter and mention any outstanding effort put in by the team member. 

The team member was aligned even before they came for the meeting. During the meeting, I listened to what the team member had to say. What were their challenges and, what worked for them? They also discussed what they would do differently in the next quarter. As a leader,  it also gave me insights on support required by the team member. These discussions also led to determining their future training needs. The team member used to leave with a lot of self-confidence, complete alignment on how his performance is measured and, OWNERSHIP. 

Four such discussions in a year made a difference and, it had no scope for surprises during these discussions. There is nothing more important than having a happy, engaged team member.

Results are bound to follow. 

Do make these discussions a ritual. Believe me, it works.