Driving Productivity Through Courageous Conversations

April 14, 2016 Karen Hilton

Courageous conversations build trust.

Driving Productivity Through Courageous Conversations

I recently worked with technology leader (we’ll call him Larry) who was trying to understand how to be honest with his Team Leader, his “right hand person” (we’ll call her Lynette). Larry genuinely wants her to succeed, but is avoiding addressing an issue, for fear that he may offend Lynette.Larry is frustrated that Lynette is rarely available during after-hours system outages, which in Larry’s mind is part of Lynette’s job.If the issue doesn’t improve quickly, Larry indicated that he will avoid giving bigger assignments to Lynette, and even reconsider putting her on this year’s succession plan. His perception is Lynette’s lack of availability during critical business needs makes her a risky leadership investment, may make the team resent her and frustrate the success of the team, long term.What I see all too often is that leaders avoid issues that intersect with what I call “hot button topics”:

Managing personal responsibilities and time
Assimilation into work-social activities
Interpersonal struggles
Communication styles
Personality conflicts and any number of other issues

When To Act

Avoiding these kinds of issues is a recipe for a disaster. It’s true that for some challenging staff members, you have to pick your battles. So how do you know when to act?There are three important things to consider. Does the behavior:

affect your ability as a team/organization to be focused on operational, financial and cultural objectives?
distract or impact the greater purpose or intended function of your team/organization?
skew the perspective of other productive members of the team, your leadership or internal or external customers?

Are You Credible?

One of the most requested services we have at T.A.P. is helping leaders develop the skills and discipline to address performance issues early. It remains a trending issue because good leaders know, or eventually figure out, that avoiding courageous conversations around things that can affect performance can affect a leader's credibility.Avoiding issues that impact performance and productivity can can also distort perceptions of your ability to lead, in general. In “The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything”, Stephen M. Covey makes the connection between accountability and trust.

"Accountability builds extraordinary trust in the culture when people feel secure in the knowledge that everyone will be held to certain standards. When leaders don’t hold people accountable, the opposite is true."—Steven M. Covey

Covey goes on to say [lack of accountability] "creates a sense of disappointment, inequity and insecurity.”Listen, your employees want to trust that you will not just engage when things are going well, but that you will also engage when things are not going well - at the individual or team level. The reality is that if you avoid the kinds of conversations that require courage, the person who is under performing won’t take you seriously, and the team won't respect you.Being willing to have courageous performance conversations isn’t about the absence of nerves or concern about how it will go. It’s about developing the discipline in your own leadership toolkit to proactively (i.e. before there is an issue) address concerns.And for those dealing with touchy subjects, let me assure you that addressing real business issues and an employee’s personal circumstances, are not mutually exclusive – this is the time to engage your HR Business Partners, who can help you successfully navigate those issues, or connect you with partners who are. It's also an excellent way to take the pressure off yourself and your leaders to address issues that may be outside of your comfort zone or your area of expertise.

Listen In On My Conversation With Larry

(All names and circumstances have been changed to ensure confidentiality)

Q: Lynette is my right hand. I originally thought she would be the next leader to promote in IT. But over the past 10 months she has been unavailable during most of our after-hours outages. She is a Team Leader so I count on her skill, but I’m hearing too much noise about the rest of the team being frustrated with her lack of availability. It always seems to be something related to her family. She knew what the job was when I hired her. We can’t afford to fail but I’m afraid if I bring this up she might accuse me of discriminating against her or penalizing her for being with her family.

A: You are smart to recognize that you may have - what I call - a hot-button issue on your hands. Let me share something I heard one of my colleagues, Stephen Paskoff of Employment Learning Innovations say: “If you treat people with dignity and respect, you don’t have to worry about knowing the law.” Let me share some practical steps to guide your approach.

"If you treat people with dignity and respect, you don’t have to worry about knowing the law."—Stephen Paskoff

Address issues early

One of the best ways to sabotage your own success as a leader, and the success of your team, is to sweep issues under the rug. Even with the best of intentions, part of your responsibility as a leader is to identify and address those things that may ultimately limit the success of the team.When you address issues early, you have a better line of sight into how to manage through the issue. You are more likely to keep the employee engaged and productive than when emotions are high and customers are impacted. From a leadership perspective addressing issues early helps you to be seen as proactive and responsible, vs. reactionary and out of touch.And for those of you breaking out in a sweat as you think about having some challenging, potentially awkward conversations, leverage your coach to help you develop the skill of addressing issues early.

State your needs clearly

Clarify what you really need from your team member, ensuring that it ties directly to job duties.

Example #1“Now that we’ve completed the project review, is there anything you want to flag as a potential roadblock to finishing on time?”

It gives your direct report an open-ended opportunity to think through whether or not he/she actually has a plan and to share those details with you.
It also gives them an opportunity to opt-in to the solutions.

Example #2“We’re under pressure to deploy code without the major disruption to customers that we had last time. What’s the plan for ensuring the team is committed to that, even through the weekend?”

It's specific about your awareness of what went wrong the last time, what your expectations are for future outcomes and your expectations for proactively managing the team.
This is a much more engaging way to relax the tone, without losing the intention of the conversation - accountability.

What Not To Say:

“So every time we have an after-hours outage, you’re doing something with your kids/family and it’s a problem…” Sounds like you have a problem with her having kids, being a mom, etc. Too much room for interpretation.

What To Say:

“We’ve tried to rotate weekend availability to cover after-hours system outages (work-related) and I notice you’re rarely available, meaning other members of the team are overly burdened (stating a fact – she is not available as often as she needs to be). It’s really important that I can count on you during critical business times and after-hours is often when I need you to manage the team and address issues as they come up. As Team Leader it’s important that you be available just as much as the rest of the team (specific to her leadership responsibilities, and your expectations). I’m committed (demonstrates what you are willing to do) to ensuring that after-hours schedules are equitably assigned, so let me know if I can clarify anything or answer any questions about what’s expected. Any thoughts?” OR “Is there anything that will prevent you from committing to that?” This invites her to provide her issues, thoughts and ideas.

Make No Assumptions

Making assumptions about what a struggling team member knows is a common misstep with leaders, yet I hear it almost every week. When I ask what has been discussed (recently) with the team member regarding job responsibilities/duties, I hear: “She should know better”, “Everybody knows what the expectations are”. Particularly when people have been on the job a long time, make time to review and refresh job descriptions. You may discover the role has changed and grown, or that more clarity is beneficial. Whether you have a written job description at the moment or not, set yourself up for success by reviewing critical responsibilities and documenting them. Discuss expectations, challenges and unique circumstances early – not when you’re under pressure, frustrated or your team member is on the way out the door.It’s important to make no assumptions when dealing with performance issues. For example, if Lynette is consistently unavailable for responsibilities that are part of her job but her absence is due to care-giving responsibilities, she may be protected under the Family Medical Leave Act. That sounds scary, but this should actually bring you some relief - there may be options that can help Lynette succeed in balancing her work/personal responsibilities.

Productivity Tip: Even being protected under Family Medical Leave doesn’t cancel your ability to require your team member to perform her job or to talk with her about it, but it may mean you need to get help from your HR team.

Many years ago a Regional Manager called me to say he was about to terminate one of his employees who didn’t show up for work for several days. He knew the employee had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, so he assumed that this was a contributing factor. He was frustrated with my team because we wanted to replicate the communication efforts, including sending an overnight letter, calling authorized emergency contacts, etc. to just make sure we weren't missing something.What we learned several days later is that this employee had been in a car accident, due to no fault of his own, and he was laying in a hospital bed unable to communicate. Had this Regional Manager relied on what he thought he knew and terminated the employment of his team member, he could have exposed himself - and the company - to significant risk.Address the issue, but avoid making assumptions and ask for help.

Once you communicate, circle back and get an acknowledgement.

I am not a fan of over documenting. Documenting every word and interaction is mechanical at best, insincere at worst. Asking someone to acknowledge what you’ve discussed is simply a matter of healthy communication, engagement and accountability.

Acknowledge improvement or ask your HR team/Coach for guidance.

One of the opportunities that I see leaders miss is acknowledging improvement in an employee that has had performance or productivity issues. Some of your team members will benefit from a private form of acknowledgement, others may want/need a more public kind. Whatever you choose, acknowledgement builds trust.If you are still having issues, your HR team can help you identify not only what the issues are, but how to effectively address them.

Check your own perspective

Unless you have evidence that proves otherwise, assume that your team member wants to succeed. Start with that perspective and you will begin to tap into not only what to say, but how to say it.Driving productivity through courageous conversations reinforces your commitment to build trust, treat people with respect, and puts the responsibility for individual performance back into the hands of your team members, which is exactly where it should be.

T.A.P. Executive Coaching exists to help individuals and organization achieve Focus, connect to their Purpose and gain Perspective. The reality is, “You have more options than you realize”.Let’s have a conversation about what may be getting in the way of you making progress. We’re looking forward to talking with you.

This post does not constitute legal advice. We partner with our clients’ Human Resources department and/or legal counsel to review and address matters that are complex. We encourage you to do the same.