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Leadership Competency # 8
Observe Performance
April 2004

ALD, Inc.

...Because you never stop learning

Providing education, guidance and solutions for
mastering leadership competencies

Each month we examine a competency associated with leadership. 
This month we continue with the Managing Performance Process and
offer you the opportunity to check yourself against the
best-practices behaviors of the competencies in
Step Two - Observe Performance

Leadership Competency # 8
Observe Performance

Managing Performance
The Process

Good results without a 
consistent process 
may just be good luck!

Effective leaders & managers of people master
the basics of a process that sets the standard for
behavior & performance, then coaches,
evaluates & recognizes performance

  

A consistent and fundamental process for managing performance can yield:

 

Improved business results

Motivated employees

Higher morale and satisfied employees

Increased productivity

Developing, growing employees

More effective leaders

Work through the Managerial Best-Practices Self-Check for the second step of the process. The intent is not to "score" your responses, but to stimulate thinking about you and your organization, to give you the opportunity to assess whether you are actually observing behaviors and interactions of your employees or just inferring, possibly making judgments on erroneous information.

Note: Though the check-up is written with an organizational focus, any individual manager can complete the assessment for his/her own use.

Read below and take the Managerial Best-Practices Self-Check for Step Two of the process

Managing Performance - Step 2
Observe Performance

Be in the now, be present.
James Autry

Be aware of what is going on - observe the actions, activities, interactions and results of your employees - come out of the office and see for yourself.  The best way to provide feedback is to give information based on factual observation.

Begin to assist employees in understanding their own performance by holding up a mirror they can look into -- a mirror that leads them to self-discovery and knowledge about themselves. Preparing to provide feedback based on factual observation begins to hold up the mirror to an employee, allowing him/her to view their own performance and behaviors.

Check Satisfied / Not Satisfied and the Importance of management practices here-- are managers observing what goes on and keeping notes for reference and accurate feedback:
 

Again, if your responses fell in the Satisfied columns, you are probably extremely observant of the activities and interactions going on within your work place. 
  Satisfied Not Satisfied Important?
Managers look for opportunities to observe people so they can have an informed outlook on performance.
Managers ask questions and listen actively.
Managers test assumptions they may have developed.
Managers make note of observations soon after the fact to keep the details fresh in their mind.
Managers note direct information (observations) and indirect information (reports, work completed, feedback from others, meeting behaviors).
Managers make note of observations relating to job knowledge and job skills including those that pertain to interpersonal effectiveness.

We emphasize observing because it is important to collect information in order to provide feedback -- the next step in this process. The more "observations" you can collect, the more data you have for providing detailed, factual and comprehensive feedback to the employee. We are observing constantly, whether in one-on-one sessions, team meetings, customer interactions, hallway conversations, etc. The accuracy and depth of our observations will make our feedback & coaching sessions productive and useful. 

Tools we find helpful in understanding much of what is observed and preparing to discuss it with employees are DiSC® PPSS Behavioral Profile and the Online Sales Skills Assessment.

DiSC® PPSS Behavioral Profile  makes us aware of different styles of behavior in the workplace. From DiSC® PPSS Behavioral Profile  we learn how people tend to behave most naturally, what their strongest characteristics tend to be, what their "weakness" in behavior might be, how they are best motivated, what characteristics add value to the workplace, how they complement a team environment and more. Understanding basic style differences can make our observations more comprehensive, can offer us, as managers, the language for discussing our observations with employees.


DiSC® PPSS Behavioral Profile

 help individuals better understand their
own behaviors within a particular focus -
management, team members, sales- 
& how they may impact customers,
employees or co-workers;
ideal for management or sales training

View Features & Applications of the various PPSS/DiSC Reports 

View a sample PPSS Report - this example includes the
General Characteristics Report &
the supplemental report: Approach to Managing Others


 

  

     

Having assessed your organization's management practices, you may have found some areas where
management development would assist in creating a more productive, results-oriented environment.
 In what areas do you excel and where do you need to improve organizational or individual practices to
best serve your employees and to get best results?

Managing Performance
The Process

This fundamental process and these techniques work in all organizations.
People want to know what is expected, how they are performing and to be
fairly evaluated and recognized. A consistent process keeps the organization focused
on business results as well as the growth and development of the
organization's most important investment and asset, the people.

Be more aware of yourself -- look into your mirror - check your own practices and attributes.
As a leader, be knowledgeable about what people expect and how well you provide that leadership.

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ALD, Inc. | 3021 Lake Forest Drive | Hayden Lake, ID 83835
PHONE: 208-762-1322 or 1-888-762-9699 | FAX: 208-762-2653 | EMAIL info@ald-inc.com
www.youneverstoplearning.com

 DiSC® PPSS Behavioral Profile  is a  products of Inscape Publishing, Minneapolis, MN
 Sales Skills Index® is a product of TTI, Phoenix, AZ
Leadership 2004 & Beyond® is a product of ALD, Inc. Training & Development

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ALD, Inc. | 3021 Lake Forest Drive | Hayden Lake, ID 83835
PHONE: 1-888-762-9699 or 208-762-1322
FAX: 208-762-2653 | EMAIL info@ald-inc.com

 

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