Managing performance

• Why is managing performance a development need for you?
• Are your team members not managing themselves as effectively as you would like?
• Or do you need to change your approach to managing their performance?
  Are you using a laissez faire managment style - treating your team members as fellow professionals who should not need managing?
• But managing performance need not mean close supervision.
• Do you ensure that your team understands your expectations?
• Are they as motivated as they could be?
• Do you give them challenging responsibilities or keep these for yourself?
• Do you keep them informed of changes in plans?
• Have you asked them what they need in the way of support from you?
• If you are already using some performance management techniques, what aspect of your approach do you think needs changing? What feedback have you sought?
• Your first reaction might be to say it is their fault, but however much this might be true, the question remains: ''What could you do differently to improve the situation?''

Some steps to take:

• Get some feedback from your team to identify any performance blockages that you can resolve together.
• Ask them what they think you expect - present yourself as their most important customer to encourage them to take more responsibility to meet your needs.
• Ask them what more they might do to ensure that they please their most important customer. Asking rather than telling might get better results.
• Ask them to commit to dates and ''customer service standards''. Challenge them to aim high, stressing benefits to them of exceeding their customer's expectations.
• Ask them how often it would be useful for them to meet with you to review how well they are meeting your needs.
• Stick to set review dates - ad hoc chasing of people is a total turn off and a certain way to destroy motivation.