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Letter from the Editor
I just received a letter from a client stating:
The feedback from the [participants in the Customer Service Training] was excellent and they brought up a lot of good individual learning points and are very eager to proceed to Module 4 and 5.
They especially appreciate all the effort that is being made to tailor the program to the needs of
our company and the [business unit] team specifically. It shows in every module and in your delivery.
[The VP of the Business Unit] is very pleased with how things are coming along. I must say, you and the entire Entelechy team have truly surpassed our expectations.
Now, without appearing arrogant, this is a fairly typical letter. My point is not to brag but to ask, “What are the expectations that we’re surpassing? What DID this client expect from a training vendor? And what are we doing differently/better?”
I believe that we’re providing training that is instructionally sound and well delivered; I further believe that those are the client’s original expectations. I believe that what’s taking us over the top is our ability to define and address their business goals and accommodate their unique challenges. The training is based off of the business needs, which explains why the VP is “very pleased”.
Not to mention that we’ve customized the training by building in specific examples and scenarios to illustrate concepts and models in a language that these folks can easily grasp, which explains why “the feedback was excellent” and why participants “are very eager to proceed” with additional training.
The neat thing is that future expectations for training have been reset; Entelechy has raised the bar and any training that isn’t based on business needs and isn’t customized to meet the unique needs of the participants will fall short.
Are YOU raising the bar or simply meeting expectations? Is YOUR training the one by which all others are measured?
Set the pace. Raise the bar. Let others chase YOU!
Entelechy to Conduct Roundtable on Coaching at ISPI
 As I mentioned in the previous issue of
The Key, Entelechy has been invited to present at the 2007 International Performance Improvement Conference in San Francisco on April 30-May 3, 2007. We will be joining our client, Wellpoint (Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield), as we present “Flattening
Training Consolidating Three Regional Curricula:” We will be presenting Wednesday, May 2 at 3:30 pm in Sierra F. Check
http://www.ispi.org for more information.
In addition to the presentation, Entelechy is scheduled to present a roundtable on Tuesday, May 1 at 10:00 am. A roundtable is an opportunity for like-minded individuals to discuss a common topic; the topic for
our 25-minute roundtable is So You Want to Use Coaching to Develop Your
Employees. While we will be taking direction from those who join the roundtable,
we hope to discuss the following topics (the outline of our upcoming book on coaching):
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How can coaching increase the skills and confidence of your employees?
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What makes for an effective coaching model?
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Why is a coaching process so important?
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How do you establish a coaching relationship?
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When should you use coaching and when shouldn’t you?
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How does feedback play into coaching?
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How do you start?
We will discuss how coaching is THE tool to improve organizational performance and individual capability. Learn three questions that drive increased performance. Encourage self-assessment and continual growth.
Attendees may enter a drawing for the book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There signed by Marshall Goldsmith, best-selling author and top executive coach.
Come join the discussion. If you’re planning on attending the conference, I’d like the opportunity to meet you.
Joanne Casino joins Entelechy
This is better than my birthday!
Joanne Casino has accepted the position of vice president of
client relations. In her role, Joanne will be responsible for all phases of Entelechy’s training business, from working with new and existing clients in identifying their performance needs through the implementation of the training solution and ongoing support.
Joanne's recent experience as regional director of Northeast Operations Learning Solutions at Anthem Blue Cross
Blue Shield/Wellpoint, Inc. provides an insider's perspective that serves her clients well.
Joanne also has an MS in organizational leadership and
management. This, along with her background in training and account management for a number of large and small corporations, allows her to focus on helping companies achieve their objectives through the integration of performance solutions with business goals.
For those of you who have been around the Entelechy camp for a while recognize Joanne from years ago. Joanne had worked at Entelechy for a number of years as
performance consultant, senior performance consultant, account
executive, and business unit manager. We missed her and are thrilled to have her back on the Entelechy
team.
Joanne can be reached at jcasino@unlockit.com
or by calling 603-545-4715.
Back row: Debbie, Mary, Marty, Donna, Joanne
Front row: Terry
Analyzing Performance – Responses to Common Scenarios
As we discussed in the previous issue of The
Key, before you can manage performance, you need to analyze the performance and explore why the employee isn’t doing what he or she should be doing.
While there are really only two primary reasons why people don’t do what you want them to do (they
can’t do what you want or they won’t do what you want them to do), we further divided the reasons as follows:
Can’t
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They don’t know you wanted something (or wanted something done a specific way, or by a specific date, or…); they don’t know your expectations or they think they are doing it correctly.
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They don’t have the resources (time, people,
information or budget) to do what you want.
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They don’t have the skills or knowledge or confidence to do what you want.
Won’t
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The task is perceived as less important than something else.
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They choose to do it their way, not your way.
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The perceived positive consequences for performing don’t outweigh the effort or the perceived negative consequences.
That’s it. Two reasons. Good managers know how to tell the difference between the two; GREAT managers know what to do about it. In this article, we explore how great managers respond to each of the reasons for non-performance.
Responses When the Employee Can’t Perform as Expected
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They don’t know you wanted something (or wanted something done a specific way, or by a specific date, or…); they don’t know your expectations or think they are doing it correctly.
Many times employees can’t perform as expected because you didn’t tell them what you expect – or tell them in a way that they understood.
This should be the first question managers should ask when they run into performance issues: “Did I clearly explain my expectations?” A second question should immediately follow the first: “How do I know that the employee understood my expectations?”
All assignments should include the basics: the outcomes/deliverables, the timeline, the deadline, a description of the importance of the work, the resources available, etc.
Other non-assignment work should include a discussion about the priority, the quality of work expected, review/checkpoints, etc.
While having employees repeat verbatim what you told them may be a bit autocratic, there are subtler ways of having employees ensure that what you said is what they heard. Have employees follow up the conversation with an email. Ask them what they’re going to do first, or ask for a projected schedule.
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They don’t have the resources (time, people, information, or budget) to do what you want
Give them what they need.
If you disagree with what they say they need, discuss your different perspectives. Why do they believe they’ll need ten weeks to perform the work when you think they’ll need four? All assignments are a compromise of cost, time, and quality. Which of these is MOST critical? If a project needs to be completed in four weeks, costs (in terms of additional resources) are likely to go up OR quality is likely to suffer. Be clear about your expectations as they relate to cost, time, and quality.
Are there examples of similar work that can help you make your case? Perhaps they’re unclear about the resources they have at their disposal – information, people, etc.
If you’re still in disagreement, offer to review the project in a week and revisit the situation.
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They don’t have the skills or knowledge or confidence to do what you want.
Give them training. Or provide them with the support they need to complete the work to your expectations. Support can come from a colleague or from you and can include job shadowing, mentoring, coaching, or OJT. Training could come from inside or outside the company.
Responses When the Employee Won’t Perform as Expected
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The task is perceived as less important than something else.
“I said that I’ll get to it.” That’s a flashing signal that priorities have not been clarified.
When clarifying expectations with discrete projects, good managers will help establish the priority of the project in relation to the other work that the employee has.
When clarifying priorities with tasks that occur regularly, come up with a prioritization scheme – “A” priority means this has to be attended to immediately, “B” priority means this should be taken care of when you have time, “C” priority means that you should get to this if you get time; it’s okay if you never get to it. You will want to revisit – and if necessary, reset – priorities on a regular basis.
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They choose to do it their way, not your way.
Good employees bring experience, expertise, and a degree of independence to the job. As a good manager, you WANT that independence – most of the time. Sometimes, it’s not enough to delegate an assignment by clarifying the deliverables and deadline, sometimes you need to clarify HOW the project needs to be done. Perhaps certain team members need to be included; sometimes you need more frequent status reports – or reports in a certain format.
Good employees will want to understand the rationale for doing it your way as opposed to doing it their way. Explain your rationale. Be open to the possibility that their way MAY be better!
If, after sharing rationales, the employee still wants to do it his/her way and you still need it done your way, explain that you’ve listened and understood the employee’s arguments and that you’ve decided that the project needs to be done your way. If appropriate, say, “Try it my way and we’ll revisit this in a week.” If necessary, say, “I’ll take responsibility for the outcome.”
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The perceived positive consequences for performing don’t outweigh the effort or the perceived negative consequences.
Significant research indicates that most people don’t work hard because you pay them to. They work hard because they want to – there’s something about their work and about their beliefs about THEIR ability to contribute that makes people work hard. So how do we get them to want to?
Increase the positive motivation by explaining the importance of this work. (If it isn’t important work, why is someone doing it?) Explain how it positively impacts them, the team, you, or the company. Most people are want to make a difference; tell them how this work will help them make a difference.
Great managers know that different people are motivated by different things; they tailor their explanations to the unique motivators for each person. Some people are team oriented and will be more motivated by contribution to the team; others are motivated by individual recognition or winning.
Finally, sometimes it’s important to increase the perceived significance of the negative consequences. While you will want to do this judiciously, sometimes, the consequences of NOT performing are not clear – from negative impact on the team or company to termination.
This information comes from Coaching for Performance, a module in Entelechy’s
High Performance Management program. If you’d like to learn how coaching and performance management can help your company, please contact us at
info@unlockit.com.
And Now, Something Completely Different
A friend shared with me that there is one newsletter that she reads to the end – and it isn’t
The Key! The reason she reads the entire newsletter is because at the bottom is a little surprise – a joke, an inspiration, a website that features something though-provoking or simply time wasting. I am unabashedly stealing that idea and will include it going forward.
This I Believe
My wife is a dyed-in-the-wool National Public Radio (NPR) fan. One of her discoveries is This I Believe – “a national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives.” NPR airs these three-minute essays on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow and spawned a book (which my wife insists on reading to me!)
Check out http://www.thisibelieve.org
and read to a couple of the most-viewed public essays, or listen to a few that have been aired on NPR. They’ll certainly provoke consideration of what YOU believe.
Mailing and Privacy Information
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The Key. If you've received this email in error, please click on
http://unlockit.com/newsletter.htm
to be removed immediately from our mailing database with our apologies. (If you have trouble with the optout link, please reply to this email directly and I'll personally remove your name.)
Send this email to your friends and colleagues who may be involved in training and the performance of others and could benefit from FREE performance tips, tools, and techniques.
Entelechy will not sell, rent, or otherwise provide anyone else your membership information for any reason. Period.
Terence Traut, President of Entelechy "unlocking potential"
ttraut@unlockit.com
phone: 603-424-1237
fax: 603-424-6361
http://www.unlockit.com
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