As a manager, how do you discover what people expect you to do? What feedback do you want that will help you improve your game and create opportunities for expansion in the future?

The best way yet found to increase knowledge is to ask questions. So here are a few questions to ask that will help you discover what your team expect of you:

Management role: How do you define the quality of work I produce? What do you expect of me as your manager? How should I communicate with you?

Decision-Making: What do you expect me to do when making and communicating decisions? How should I include you when I make decisions? When would you like to be involved when decisions are made?

The working environment: What environment would you expect me to build and maintain? How would you define the company/department culture, and is this what you want it to be?

Creativity: How important is innovative thinking and creativity to our roles? Do I encourage creative thinking or is it ‘same-old, same-old’? How would you like to be motivated to generate new ideas?

Team development and productivity: What does a great team look like? How would you like me to help you develop your own skills and abilities? How would you like me to deal with poor performance?

Communication: What does effective communication mean to you? In meetings, what would you expect to see and hear? How would you like me to communicate with you if I see problems or challenges?

Partnership: How important is the way we partner and collaborate to you? In what ways would you like to see partnership and collaboration improve?

Growth and advancement: In what ways would you like to see me grow and advance? Which areas require more work than others?

If you think you already know the answers that your team will give, think again! Things change fast in business and people’s attitudes and ideas can change just as fast. Ask these questions annually at least, and have an open mind when you discuss their answers. Expect to be told things that will make you think. And consider changing things that you can when you hear things that show your team’s expectations are different to what you thought.

Many thanks

Nick Hill

Training Director

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

It’s a more commonly-asked question than it might appear. Should I actually promote the person I am considering is right for the advanced role, or should I ensure they have the attributes, skills and knowledge before placing them in the new role?

A good way of identifying if this person is ripe for promotion now, is to ask about the personal attributes and qualities they possess, and would that make for a good employee for the role you are attempting to fill.

They may well be competent in doing the job itself; that is, they fit the ‘can-do’ requirements of the role. The big question is…will they do the job well?

In many roles, these are the will-do factors that can be all-important:

* A good team-player. Will this person work well with others in a team situation? Are they co-operative and helpful? Have they displayed evidence of good teamwork in their current job, and what’s been their reaction when working in teams?

* Track record. No matter how long they have been doing their current job, measure how well they have done it. Promoting someone simply because of the length of time they have been with you won’t bring the results you need at a higher level in the organisation. What did they accomplish in their current role? Look at their track-record and identify what results they have achieved and how they will make an impact at the higher level.

* Interpersonal skills. They might have a high IQ, skill-set, talent and ability, but what about the key aspect of all leadership, that of great interpersonal skills? How do they currently interact with others to get the job done? Can they verbally communicate ideas and concepts constructively and clearly?

* Organisational skills. What’s their attention to detail like and how organised were they in the current job? What changes will they need to display in the new role?

* Flexibility. Can they adapt to change, or are they grasping for the status quo? How happy are they with constantly-changing demands and data that changes every few minutes?

* Willingness to Learn. You need people these days who are open to learning new ideas and concepts, curious to try new things and assess new values. If the person is kind of stuck in their ways, or have been doing things the same way for years, ask yourself how open they would be to developing new skills.

* Initiative. Will they be able to take on the responsibilities that the new job will entail without too much direction? Can they seize the initiative and drive changes through proactively?

* Problem-solving ability. Do they have good analytical abilities and show a solutions-focused mindset? Is it critical to have such qualities in the new role?

* Creativity. Like showing initiative, creativity is a key skill you want the new person to being to the role. Do they need to think of new ideas for the role? How have they shown creative thinking in the past? If they haven’t been very creative before, don’t expect them to start now.

* Reliability. Do they follow-through, have they met all their deadlines, can you count on them to get a good job done? All these are important traits to show how reliable a person is.

* Good motivator. Can they provide the environment for their team members to feel self-motivated? How do other people feel about their motivation traits?

* Effective leadership style. What behaviours and judgments have they shown in the current role to depict how they will behave as a leader in the new role? Are these the traits you desire, or must the person select a new style before they can make an impact in the promoted position?

These are desirable traits in any promotable person, but you need to assess the value of the person in the new role before deciding whether they are ripe for promotion now. It may be better to hold off for a short while and allow the person to improve their skill-sets in these common areas before considering them for promotion. Remember that overlooking someone for promotion now may be very demotivational for them. Setting specific goals for their skill-set before promoting them may result in a strong foundation being laid before building a fragile structure. Think about how you develop them and those desired skills before making the commitment and regretting it later.

Many thanks

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

A while back I wrote to about the best ways of preparing for an appraisal. Today I’d like to expand on that by adding a few additional items that will help the appraisal process to run a bit smoother.

Set a Date and Time

Start by letting your employee known exactly when and where his appraisal will take place. Most employees know around what time of year their annual appraisals take place so letting him know the date and time a bit in advance will save him a considerable amount of anxiety. It will also give him plenty of time to gather any information he’d like to present.

Choose a Neutral Venue

Choose a private place within which you can hold your appraisal meetings. Don’t use your office or the office of your employee. Try to find a quiet conference room and make sure that your staff knows not to interrupt your appraisal meetings. Your employees deserve all of your attention during their appraisals.

Positioning

Make sure that no matter what room you are in the layout is friendly and welcoming. Try to choose an informal environment and try to avoid sitting face to face or across from one another. If one person sits at the head of the table the other should sit to his right or left, at a 90 degree angle. It’s a bit more causal and a lot less confrontational.

Be Friendly

Despite your distaste for the appraisal process, you simply must be friendly, positive, and calming. Your employee, regardless of how great he performs, will likely be terrified of his appraisal. Make sure you smile, open with a positive statement, and use open body language at all time. Make sure your employees know that their appraisal meetings are theirs and they are welcome to add their own input at any time.

These are only a few more things you can do to make the appraisal process a more positive experience – for both you and your team members. I’ll have more for you later on! Until then, enjoy planning for your next set of reviews!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Follow us here on Twitter

You’ll have read lots of information about how to conduct an appraisal with your team members.

But what about when you, personally, are being appraised by your boss? Do you spend time preparing well and laying the foundation for your own success?

Firstly, ask these questions:

Am I satisfied with my own performance in this appraisal period?
Have I achieved all the objectives set out for me?
What went well and what went not so well at my last appraisal?
What objectives do I need to set for this next appraisal?
What did I learn from the last time I appraised one of my staff members?

Answers to these questions will assist you in the preparation of your own appraisal.

Let’s look at a checklist of ideas that will help you become more confident in what you have to do to succeed in your own appraisal:

1) Understand what the main objectives are and how your performance is monitored: If you’re going to discuss your pay and remuneration, find out what the terms of reference are first.

2) Lay the groundwork: Your manager should give you adequate notice and guidance on the structure of the meeting. Review your past performance and plan your objectives for the next few months.

3) Focus on key areas: Discussions should revolve around the key tasks or projects you thought went well and not so well, your overall performance, areas of improvement, plans for future projects and your short and long-term development plans.

4) Ask for specific feedback: If your boss gives you fairly woolly or generic feedback, ask them to be specific; you want to know exactly what their expectations are. If they say ‘you need to show more assertive behaviour’, ask them for examples and specific things you can do and say.

4) Dictate how you can be helped to improve: Propose your own solutions to problems that may be interfering with your performance. This is a great opportunity to show your boss that things could improve if you could get help.

5) Discuss your current and future priorities: Your boss might be trying to align company goals and objectives, while you are dealing with day-to-day minutia that takes a lot of your time. Agree what your key priorities need to be to assist your boss achieve their goals as well.

6) Agree goals and objectives: You can reassess the factors contributing to changes in your business environment. Make sure you are both aiming for the same target.

7) Agree further training and development for yourself: You should agree a general programme of skills and talent acquisition for yourself that will continue to make you a valuable team member and asset to your boss. The more you learn and develop, the better chances you have for future promotion prospects yourself.

8 ) Agree the evaluation and set yourself up for progress: Make sure your final evaluation is agreed and ensure you are clear on the measurables for the next time period. Write up the agreed action plans and determine how they are going to be monitored. Keep a record for yourself and plan regular reviews with your boss so there are no surprises at your next appraisal.

Remember that preparation is key. As Warren Buffett said “Noah didn’t start building the ark when it was raining”. If you apply all the ideas and ground rules for your own appraisal, you give yourself a great chance to progress and prove your worth to your boss and your company.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

While no one really enjoys the appraisal process, I’m going to take a chance here and suggest something a bit different – why not have monthly or semi-regular appraisal meetings with each of your employees?

Before you start throwing your hands up and calling me crazy, let me explain. There are quite a few benefits that, as a manager, you can achieve by having more frequent appraisals and, in the end, your major annual appraisal will go much smoother. Here are a few reasons to consider.

• The more frequently you sit down with each member of your team the more you’ll understand exactly where is is in the grand scheme of things. You’ll have a better understanding of his goals, strengths, weaknesses, and limitations and will be able to adjust his tasks to focus on this strengths.
• Having frequent meetings will give you the opportunity to identify potential problem areas, giving you the ability to make changes before those problems have a negative impact on the team’s overall work and progress.
• Your team members will be more likely to ask for needed help if you open the door and give them an opportunity during which they feel comfortable.
• You will have the opportunity to work together to set realistic training and development goals.
• Your employees won’t be as nervous or scared about their appraisal meetings because they won’t be as formal and the frequency will make them more comfortable with the entire process.
• Frequent reviews will give your team members a better opportunity to prepare for their large annual appraisal, saving time in preparation.
• The more frequently you work with your team members the more accurate your notes about individual performance will be.

Why not consider a more frequent appraisal process? I think that by implementing regular meetings you’ll find that your employees are not only happier and more receptive to the process but will feel as though you care a bit more about their successes and development paths.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership Development

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”