A few notes on Courageous Conversations

Some notes from our Courageous Conversations workshop.

Traditional approaches to performance management involve sitting down with your manager every so often for a formal review. These reviews are often lacking in honesty and dreaded by manager and staff member alike. At their worst, they can be rituals of form filling that have little to do with performance or development.

Performance management is changing for three reasons:

When times are tough, great performance really matters.
As more teams work flexibly, managers are forced to focus on results, not activity
As Generation Y filters into the workplace, the more people expect to that they will receive honest, frequent feedback, guidance and development.

Traditional performance management is on the way out. Instead you need to engage your staff in courageous conversations. Frequent, short conversations which are authentic, challenging, engaging and developmental.

Authentic

Be open and honest. Give people honest feedback. Be clear about what you believe in.

Challenging

Challenge others to do things differently. Set stretching goals. Live with integrity. Ask challenging questions

Engaging

Engage others in two way conversations. Be a great listener. Understand what motivates people

Developmental

Develop the people you lead. Help them to develop new perspectives, knowledge and skills. Be a great mentor and coach.

Further reading

You might like to have a look at Fierce Leadership - A Bold Alternative the Worst Best Practices of Business Today, by Susan Scott

Did you attend one of our Courageous Conversation training courses? If so, you can write a review Courageous Conversations - Performance Management for the 21st Century

You might also be interested in these training courses:

Develop a High Performance Coaching Culture

Leading Change in Turbulent Times

Influencing Skills for Authentic Leaders