Some managers believe that they must be a ruthless manager. These ruthless managers operate with a theory X [Douglas McGregor] management philosophy. They use an extrinsic [carrot and sticks] approach to getting others to do their bidding. These ruthless managers believe that anything else would be wreckless; and would mean allowing employees to do whatever they want. This would result in failure.
Allowing employees, who may not have the company’s best interest in mind; to do whatever they want would be wreckless. Even the best intentioned employees, who may not know what’s best for the company, can make poor choices if left on their own. Being wreckless also results in failure.
That’s why the better choice for managers to use when leading others is rigorous. Rigorous involves having clear goals, objectives, and boundaries. And rigorous management ensures that these are all clearly and thoroughly communicated. Rigorous management allows for true commitment and knowledgeable empowerment from dedicated employees.
Clarity: an important element is clarity. Managers need employees to be the best at what matters most. Employees need to understand exactly what is most important. Lack of clarity around goals/priorities and roles/responsibilities are common dysfunctions. Mixed messages around priorities is a common cause for failure.
Communicated: performance goals are more than a list of tasks posted on a job description. Although many times the problem is that the job description is totally out of date, performance goals need to be specific and clearly communicated to the employee. That communication includes answering questions and ensuring agreement, which leads to the need for commitment.
Commitment: this is important for all levels. Many times there is conflict at the end of a performance review period because there was no commitment from the employee or the manager at the beginning of the process. The final review is not a time to negotiate. Those decisions should have occurred at the beginning when goals, measures, and timelines were discussed. Managers need to buy into the goals and measures the same way employees need to.
The choices for using effective performance management when managing other is more than simply being ruthless or wreckless. There’s another choice, a better choice; rigorous. Being rigorous means being clear about goals, ensuring that communications are complete, and ultimately that there is commitment from all parties to be fully invested and engaged in producing the desired outcomes. Choose to be rigorous.
Mark McCatty, Leadership & Team Advisor
Leadership Results through People
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As a leadership and team advisor, I have helped numerous organizations, through speaker presentations, group training, and individual coaching, to meet the challenge of creating engaging and purposeful work environments.
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