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Do you Hold People Accountable for Performance?
Do you have a manager who storms into your office to tell you what he thinks has gone wrong and how he wants you to fix it?
When he has gone, without asking you what you think of the problem or what ideas you might have for fixing it, you may decide that the solution you have been given will not work. Or you may think that the problem is not important and so it goes to the bottom of your priority list. Either way, your commitment to the solution you have been given will be poor.
This authoritarian, tell, style of managing can sound tough, but is it really? The manager has done all the thinking, he has come up with all the ideas, and if the proposed solution does not work, it will clearly be his responsibility!
Being told what to do is a soft option compared to having to think for yourself: and letting a solution you have been given fail, is a much softer option than taking responsibility for your own actions.
Holding someone to account for their behaviour means that you ask them for their view of the situation. You invite them to share in the intellectual work of finding a solution. Then you ask them to accept responsibility for putting that solution in place. This is the only way people grow and develop to the point where they can operate competently and independently.
How do you make it happen?
It rests on your ability to make conversations safe for others to speak up. Employees become accustomed to having you provide all the information and all the ideas in every conversation. They notice when you treat the ideas of others with contempt. And they shut down. It will take time for them to trust that you DO want to hear what they have to say and to feel safe enough to speak up.
If you are reviewing performance with an employee, work on making it safe for people to speak up. Start by describing the facts of the situation, without exaggeration and without blame. Explain the implications of the situation.Then ask the other person how they see things. Listen very carefully. Take your time. Acknowledge what you have heard. Check that you have understood properly.
When you feel that you have got to the bottom of the problem, start to look for possible solutions, by first asking the employee for their ideas. Do not start by telling them what you think they should do! If you do, they only have to agree with you and you are back to square one.
If what you are hearing is very different from what you would like to hear, listen some more. Is there anything you can use in what is being offered to you? Could there be aspects of the situation that you have overlooked? Are there facts that you did not know about?
Remind yourself that you do not have all the information or all the answers all of the time, and the very best solution is the one to which the person responsible for making it work, is fully committed.
Next time you want to get tough with someone, obtain their commitment to implementing the solution. Then hold them accountable for what happens. That is tough!
About the Author Maureen Collins trains people how to handle difficult conversations, on difficult topics, with difficult people in her consulting practice, Straight Talk. She has a B.Sc. degree in Psychology from Edinburgh University and over 25 years of consulting experience. She consults in communication in the workplace. Go to http://www.straight-talk.co.za for free downloads and Straight Talk Tips.
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