If you’re a manager, then you already know how precious time is.

It seems that there’s never enough to accomplish all that you feel you must do.

Added to that is the impression that some have that you have time on your hands; that all you do is paperwork, and that in some way, doing it is an excuse for getting out of the real work at hand.

Among the things that you know is how important regular communication is with those that you supervise.

As a manager, you know that one of your principal responsibilities is to use your authority and expertise to remove obstacles so that those who work for you can fulfill their responsibilities.

The thing is, that if you neglect to engage in these conversations, then you’ll lose touch with them.

Over time, you’ll become less and less aware of what their needs are.

If you leave it long enough, then their belief that you’re really hiding in your office to avoid the real work will be well-founded, because it’s an indispensable part of your job to be with, and work beside, them.

So before you have any conversations with others, you need to have one with yourself.

You need to make sure that you understand that these conversations are essential, and that there is no excuse for failing to have them.

 

Let’s say that you do spend time with your staff.

Maybe you are among the exceptions that do, rather than the norm who don’t.

What conversations should you deliberately have with them?

Before we can answer that question, it’s important for you to understand that these are private conversations.

You can’t talk about personal issues in the hearing of their peers or anyone else.

So, for however many people you have who work for you, that will be the number of private appointments you will have to make time for.

 

The other thing is that once per year is not often enough.

In fact, the more often you do this, the deeper your relationship will be with each person; and the deeper the relationship, the better you’ll understand one another.

There’s no substitute for that.

So with that in mind, let’s now look at the five most important conversations that you can have with your subordinates.

 

Onboarding

The first one is what we call onboarding.

You could also call it orientating if you preferred.

It’s the same idea.

New people, whether they’re new to the company, the job, or the supervisor need to know what the rules are.

They need to be given the “lay of the land”, so to speak.

They need to know what is expected of them, and what they can expect from you.

They also need to know the extent to which they are allowed to use their own judgement.

Whatever you may think of the standard of school-leavers or recent graduates, no doubt you hire the best people you can find.

And that being the case, you must treat them like they are the best.

That doesn’t mean that you kiss the ground they walk on.

Instead, it means that you respect them for who they are.

All of us deserve some degree of respect.

And the thing is that the more you respect them, the more they’ll respect you.

Too often, managers assume that they’ll be respected, while at the same time disrespecting those they work with or supervise.

You’re a fool if you think that will happen.

Your onboarding session should be such that it makes people eager to get to work because you have instilled in them the confidence to make a difference.

That’s what people want to do.

It’s when they don’t think that what they do matters that they become demoralised and think about leaving.

 

Delegating

The second conversation must be about delegating.

No matter how talented you are, you don’t have the time to do everything.

Not only that, but you won’t live forever.

And surprise, surprise, you may even decide that you want to be promoted or even retire at some point.

Whatever the reason, there will come a time when you won’t be doing what you’re doing now.

 

Delegating not only makes you a better manager, but it also enables others to grow - to prepare to fill your shoes or those of someone else either in your organisation or in another one.

And it’s your responsibility to make that happen.

One of the marks of a good manager is that his / her subordinates can do their jobs effectively in the absence of the supervisor.

 

How do you know if this is the case?

Get someone to phone your office while you’re on holiday.

Ask them to act like a “mystery shopper”.

If you’re taking on the job of a new manager with many people under you, then see if you can’t “go back to the floor” for a week.

You’ll soon find out how effective your predecessor was at delegating and it will be instructive for you, too.

 

 

Many managers misunderstand what delegation means.

It does mean that you are giving some of your work to others, but with that goes the responsibility for making many of the decisions that are necessary in order to do it.

And so what it doesn’t mean is that you then spend your time constantly looking over the shoulder of the people to whom you have delegated particular jobs.

Instead, it means that you trust them to get on with it, and you make it clear to them that they can ask you any questions they wish about it, and that you will do all you can to help them.

You have to avoid the two extremes.

 

On the one hand you can’t be a micromanager, but on the other you can’t abdicate.

Give them the responsibility and the authority to do what needs to be done, but make yourself available to answer questions and help out.

 

And recognise that, at least at the beginning, they probably won’t do the job as well as you could.

They will probably find their own way of doing things, too.

It doesn’t matter.

Let them find their own way.

Let them make mistakes.

That’s how they grow.

That’s how you grew, believe it or not.

We each of us have to find our own way through the mire.

 

Coaching

The third conversation is one of the most important.

In fact, it’s really not a conversation at all.

It’s not something that you do necessarily by setting aside a particular time when you coach.

It can be, but it will be more effective if you do it all the time.

Think of yourself as a kind of personal trainer.

You’re coaching people one at a time.

That means that you’re really not coaching a team.

There may be a place for coaching a team, but don’t make the mistakes of assuming that when you coach a team that it’s a substitute for coaching each person who’s on it.

John Wooden, one of the greatest basketball coaches of the 20th century, worked with each team member personally, as well as with the teams as a whole.

You could do a lot worse than to model yourself after him.

 

How do you coach individuals?

You start by identifying their strengths, and then playing to them.

This is contrary to much of what you hear in management circles.

Quite often, the received wisdom is to identify the weaknesses, and to concentrate on strengthening them.

The problem with that is that you’re ignoring why you hired the person in the first place.

You hire people for what their best at; not the worst, right?

So once they come to work, why would you then suddenly switch and look for where they’re the weakest?

It defies common sense.

So identify their strengths, and then look for ways to make them even better at those things.

There will be other people in your organisation whose strengths will be in the areas that others are weak in.

 

Here’s an example.

When the Wimbledon Tennis Championships come around, there’s always talk of the various coaches that players have, how one player has improved as a result of hiring a new coach.

Now imagine that one such tennis player hires a new coach, and the first thing that that coach says, “I noticed that you don’t swim very well”.

“From now on, I want you to swim 50 laps in the pool everyday before you come to the tennis court”.

That coach probably wouldn’t last a day.

And you do the same thing when you spend time worrying about how to develop the weaknesses in the people that you’ve hired.

Now it could be that in order for them to prepare for the next position that they need to develop some skills that they don’t have, but that’s where you can be especially effective.

It’s possible that that person really isn’t suited for that position.

Maybe they lack the temperament or aptitude.

You need to tell them.

But don’t use your time as a coach to work on the wrong things.

 

Discussing poor performance

If you’re honest, this is a conversation that you don’t want to have with anyone.

It’s much easier to have only pleasant discussions with people.

It makes you feel good, and it makes them feel good, too.

And when everyone feels good about themselves, then the workplace is a happy place indeed.

Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

You can get employees who, for one reason or another, underperform.

Usually, they know it as well as you do.

If they don’t, then it’s likely that the fault isn’t theirs.

It’s yours.

 

Why?

Because you’re supposed to be in regular contact with them.

If they think they’re doing great because they haven’t heard anything from you, and you’re brooding in your office because they aren’t toeing the line, you can hardly blame them for not knowing.

Sure, some people will deliberately try to see how much they can get away with, but that is usually indicative of a deeper problem which you should also know about.

The truth is that it should be on the very rarest occasions when you have to have a special meeting to discuss poor performance.

Let’s say, however, that you have been doing all the right things.

You have been monitoring their performance.

You have encouraged, corrected, and coached to the best of your ability and you’re still not getting anywhere.

At some point, you have to start the process to make it formal.

It could be that all it will take is for the underperforming employees to realise that you’re serious, and that if things don’t improve that you’ll be forced to start documenting it.

You must resist the temptation, however, to document anything until it’s absolutely necessary.

That’s because the Pygmalion Effect can take hold.

What could happen, and often does, is that you’ll begin to look for negative behaviour.

It will stand out to you.

You’ll miss the good that they do, and only see the bad.

And the whole thing could rapidly escalate when it probably doesn’t need to.

You never document “just in case”.

Keep it informal for as long as possible, but when that fails to work within a reasonable period of time, then have an informal-formal chat with them.

Tell them that you want to help them.

Ask them what they think the problems are.

Offer more help.

But, point out that if things don’t improve within the next 30 days, 60 days, or whatever time frame you feel is the absolute limit, then you will have to start formal counseling sessions.

For most people, that will be enough.

They’ll either pull up their socks or voluntarily move on.

One thing is for sure.

Once you decide that formal counseling for poor performance has to begin, then you must do it.

You can’t put it off.

That will only make matters worse, partly because the unacceptable behaviour will continue and partly because your attitude towards that person will deteriorate.

 

Performance reviews

Most people refer to performance reviews as appraisals.

They could be, but what you call them really depends on their purpose.

If the purpose is to aid them in personal or even professional development, then calling it an appraisal is incorrect.

If you’re comparing past performance with goals for the future, and you want to help your subordinates to grow, then call it a review.

We all associate different meanings with different words, so you have to be careful with the ones you use.

The danger is that a review will turn out to be an appraisal.

This will confuse everyone.

 

What’s the difference?

Appraisals are more than performance reviews.

They are official ratings of past performance.

They have a bearing on promotion potential and quite often, bonuses as well.

There has to be a period in between appraisals where people can make mistakes and grow without risking anything.

That’s what performance reviews do.

They give you and your subordinates a chance, to the extent possible, to have a frank conversation about their aspirations, your assessment of their KSAs, and your ambitions for them.

There are some who suggest that you do this two or three times per year.

That’s probably not often enough.

You really ought to do it as often as possible.

Of course, it will depend on how much they can learn and grow between sessions, but four to six times per year would be better.

Most organisations - certainly those within the private sector - think in terms of quarters, or 90-day periods, and even having this discussion every eight to ten weeks would be beneficial.

You have to remember your goal: It’s to find how much progress people have made since the last conversation.

And these meetings don’t need to be long.

Fifteen minutes might be all it takes if they are well-planned in advance.

 

 

So there you have it: the five most important conversations you can have with your subordinates.

Plan your meetings in advance, follow your agenda, take a personal interest in everyone you supervise, and get together often.

That’s how relationships are built.

If you’re diligent, then you’ll reap the rewards.

 

If you want to be more effective as a manager of people and as a leader, please email me via this link