CHAPTER 1

Set Expectations to Avoid Performance Issues

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

As our research and our work has told us, many performance issues result fromthe lack of understanding of performance expectations or the lack of clarity ofthose expectations. Without a clear target, it is impossible for employees toknow where and for what to aim. On the flip side, their managers should not beable to hold them accountable without these same measures or tools.

Leaders need to build a performance-based team whose objectives are consistentwith the organization's vision and mission.

CREATING TEAMS

The synergy that comes from putting employees together to form teams to solveproblems, make decisions, and take action is power that organizations canharness for greater success. In these increasingly complex, changing times foryour business, using the principles of teams can supply more creative solutionsand more powerful support for your teams and the organization as a whole. Withan effective team, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Creating teams and leading them to success require skill and finesse on the partof the team leaders. We discuss and provide practice for the skills that canhelp make you successful in creating a good team environment.

WHAT DOES A TEAM LOOK LIKE?

To help you determine whether you have a team or just a group of individuals,consider the following questions:

* How do you make decisions?

* How do you deal with conflicts?

* How do you solve problems?

* What happens when things go wrong?

* How do you build a team that makes effective decisions, surfaces and managesconflicts, and works together to solve problems and handle issues?

BUILDING THE VISION

At the center of every high-performance team is a common purpose, a mission thatrises above and beyond each of the individual team members. To be successful,the team's interests and needs must come first. This requires, "we-opic" vision("What's in it for 'we'?"). A challenging step up from the common, "me-opic"mindset.

To embrace this principle, make sure your team purpose and priorities are clear.What is your overall mission? What is your game plan? What is expected of eachteam member? How can each member contribute most effectively? What constantswill hold the team together? Then stop and ask yourself whether you are puttingthe team first.

In order to develop successful plans, it is necessary for managers both tounderstand their organization's strategic vision and to incorporate that visioninto their plans and day-to-day operations. To accomplish this, consider thefollowing steps:

1. Become comfortable articulating your organization's vision and strategicdirection. To clarify and increase your understanding in this area, ask yourselfquestions such as:

* What is the organization's strategic vision?

* What does the strategic vision mean for me and my department?

* What are the future opportunities?

* What talents and resources will I need to accomplish my part?

2. Ask for whatever information you need to understand the strategy anddirection.

3. Link your operational plans with the organization's vision and strategicdirection.

4. Plan for ongoing review and updates to ensure that your departmental planssupport your organization's strategic vision.

Company's Vision/Strategy

If you are unclear about your company's vision, you can get more information by:

* Reading the annual report.

* Attending company meetings, such as town meetings, and reading quarterlyupdates, newsletters, and press releases.

* Talking with members of the management team.

* Reviewing annual objectives.

Your Team's Vision

What is the vision for your current team? What is the purpose of the team? Howdoes your vision fit into the company's overall vision and strategy?

MAKING THE VISION HAPPEN

Now that you have established your vision, established clear expectations foreach team member, and assessed the strengths and weaknesses of your team, it istime to implement the vision and make it happen. The first step in making ithappen is communicating the vision and keeping it alive. Use the followingworksheet to develop your communication plan.

COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE

The communication process can also be thought of as a public relationsinitiative. As we learn in the case studies in Chapter 8, the team'spurpose and vision not only needs to be communicated to the team members, butthey also need to be communicated to the rest of the organization, particularlythose functions with which the teams will be working closely.

STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR TEAM

Many leaders are focused on tasks, results, and projects. While these items areimportant, leaders must also take the time to communicate with their teams.Effectively communicating with team members increases productivity and minimizesconfusion and wasted effort. The following strategies outline opportunities forleaders to communicate with their teams.

* Hold regular staff meetings:

* Make these important meetings a priority.

* Plan an agenda, allowing for changes when needed.

* Include a development activity on a regular basis.

* Keep formal department documents up to date, such as:

* Organizational charts

* Department vision

* Management by objectives (MBOs)

* Hold regular breakfast or lunch meetings monthly or quarterly:

* Discuss current items affecting the department.

* Cover broader items that are happening in the organization.

* Allow for and encourage questions.

* Display current "news" items. Put up a bulletin board or something similar fordepartment and company news items to be placed. Keep it current.

* Hold impromptu meetings as needed. When new, urgent information comes to yourattention, share this information with those on your team who are affected.

* Return phone and e-mail messages to your team members promptly.

* Develop your own way of sending handwritten notes to your team members.

How to communicate with your manager:

* Have regularly scheduled meetings with your manager. If he or she does notinitiate them, arrange to get on his or her calendar.

* Know how your manager prefers to receive information.

* Make sure there are no surprises:

* Keep your manager informed of any important issues that affect your team.

* Invite your manager periodically to attend your staff meetings.

* Make use of informal opportunities, such as lunches, travel, and social eventsto communicate with your manager.

STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER KEY GROUPS

In addition to effectively communicating inside the team, it is also criticalthat leaders develop strong communication across departments. Clear and opencommunication channels between departments have several advantages: surfacesissues, problem solving, minimizes rework, and increases productivity. Below isa list of strategies to first identify these key groups and then foster strongcommunication with them.

* Identify the key groups that your team needs to interact with.

* Develop relationships with your peers in those groups.

* Create opportunities to relay pertinent information on your team's activitiesand successes to these key groups. Opportunities might include:

* Your manager's staff meetings

* Newsletters

* Lunches

* Meetings that include members of these groups

The next step is to understand how to apply the strategies within your specificcompany culture.

UNDERSTANDING A COMPANY'S CULTURE

Answers to the following questions can help uncover and articulate a companyculture:

1. How would you describe this company? Answer as if you were describing aperson (three words). When you talk about where you work, what do you tellpeople?

2. What does the company value? What is important here? How do you know it'simportant?

3. What areas are dominant here? Does marketing lead, or finance, or production?Why?

4. What are the "unwritten rules" for getting along in this organization? Whatdo we always do? Never do?

5. How does the organization handle conflict? Good news? Bad news? Deadlines?Decision making? (Provide examples of ways that the company has handled crises.)

6. Whom do you see as the primary customers of the company? What happens when akey customer complains? To what extent does the company hold true to itsexpressed standards for dealing with its customers? Shareholders? Stakeholders?Employees?

Having a clear understanding of the culture provides leaders with importantcontext for managing performance situations. Without this context leaders arevulnerable to making mistakes and taking missteps that can lead to larger andpotentially risky situations.

A leader's HR partner is typically a good resource for explaining the companyculture as well as how performance is managed within the culture. Successfulleaders join with their HR partners to gain an understanding of the culture andhow to navigate within it.

ONBOARDING: A FRESH START

Starting a new role or hiring a new employee is one of the few opportunitiesthat we have in our professional experiences to start with a clean state. It iscritical to take advantage of this unique opportunity. This fresh start allowsus either as the manager or as the new employee to set clear expectations orestablish performance standards that in turn allow us to avoid many commonperformance problems. So how do we do this?

STEP ONE: START WITH A PLAN

After orientation, a new employee usually reports to his work area and hopefullyis allowed to get acquainted with his coworkers, the physical environment, andhis manager. This is a pretty easy process, and most new hires and their teamsare excited to get to know one another and are looking for ways to make thetransition smooth. There are times, however, when this initial excitement wearsoff quickly, and new hires are left to "figure things out" by themselves with nostructure or plan. Managers who don't hire people often are usually the onesguilty of not putting enough thought and preparation into how their new hireswill spend those first few days, weeks, and months on the job. The managers maystart with great intentions and have a few early meetings, but then not give thenew employee enough to do, or give him too much information to absorb at once.The manager, and the rest of the team, will quickly revert back to their workhabits and routine, without much consideration of the new hire. Sometimes acoworker or "buddy" will be assigned to train or get the new employee up tospeed. This can work effectively if the coworker is engaged and clearlyunderstands what is expected during this process. Unfortunately, what typicallyhappens is that the new hire shadows this person without a clear picture of howwhat he's seeing relates to his job. He feels like a burden because he cannotcontribute much to the process. It is also common for the responsibility ofnew-hire training to fall on a select few individuals who can become quicklyburned out because they are called upon too often to show the ropes to newpeople in their department.

The Critical Importance of an Onboarding Plan

What is missing from the typical scenario is an onboarding plan. Some refer toit as a 90-day plan or a transition or integration plan. Whatever you call it,the important thing is to have one! As soon as the job offer has been acceptedby the candidate, the hiring manager, with the help of her HR partner, shoulddiscuss the most important things that this new hire must do during his firstfew months on the job.

Equally important is identifying the people with whom he needs to buildrelationships in order for him to accomplish those things. Just the concept ofhaving a 90-day plan gives both the manager and the new hire the opportunity touse the first weeks as a chance to both "learn and do." It is important to havea healthy balance of getting and absorbing information and actually deliveringwork. Too often organizations are heavy on one or the other. Some expect newemployees to sit in their offices or work spaces and read binders full ofpolicies and procedures, or voluminous reports, or endless e-learning programswith no context. Others have demand for work and expect the new employee to hitthe ground running and start to contribute immediately.

There are always various definitions of what exactly "immediately" means, andthis creates unrealistic expectations both for the new hire and for theorganization. The work delivered is often of low quality or just wrong, whichresults in rework and frustration from the new hire and the organization.

Building In Quick Hits and Early Wins

The onboarding plan takes into account both the type of information thata new hire needs and when he needs it. It also identifies "quick hits"or "early wins," which are those smaller objectives and tasks that new employeescan accomplish and check off the list so that they feel like they arecontributing to the business while gaining credibility and traction in their newrole.

A good onboarding program lays out the specific roles and responsibilities ofall the participants. We find that the best-practice onboarding programs use the"three-legged stool" model of onboarding. The hiring manager, the HR partner,and the new employee are all key participants in the process and have specificroles that are played out. If any one of the participants fails to perform hisor her part of the process, one of the legs is "broken," and the onboardingexperience is not as effective as it could be. We also find it extremely helpfulto spell out the roles and responsibilities of each of these processparticipants as they are being introduced to the onboarding program. They canrefer to it throughout the experience to keep each other on track. Build adocument that spells out the roles and responsibilities of all the participantsin the onboarding programs in your organization and then share it. In thesidebar below you'll find an example of an Onboarding Process Partner Rolesand Responsibilities Summary. Although it may seem overly formal to lay outthis type of document, it will serve as a touchstone as you start to develop whowill do what actions throughout the process.

There is a commercial running on television that shows a customer talking withhis financial advisor. They finish the conversation, and the customer starts towalk away when a big, bright green line appears on the ground as he walks.Surprised, he turns around and asks his advisor about it, who tells him to "stayon the line" because that is his path to reaching the financial goals that thetwo of them just created. In one commercial, the customer walks out into thestreet, following his green line, but stops at a luxury car dealer to look inthe window. The financial advisor looks out her door and down the street andmotions the customer back to the green line. The customer looks a bit sheepishbut happily returns to his path and walks on down the street. Think of theonboarding plan as the "green line" for new employees. It is the road map thatkeeps them and the organization focused on what's important and when it'simportant. There will be times when the employee or someone in the organizationveers off the path and will need the help and feedback of someone to get himback on track, just like the financial advisor did for her customer.

Onboarding Plans Are Not Just Task Lists or Checklists

Let's take a look at what a typical onboarding plan might look like. Bestpractices suggest that the objectives are somewhat high level, time based, andhave resources associated with them so that they can be carried out. It isimportant to note that an onboarding plan is not a task list or checklist. Itidentifies those key areas that the new employee should focus on, and there areusually several steps or tasks associated with the larger objectives.

So let's take an example of an objective and break it down into tasks, or "earlywins" that will help the employee accomplish that objective. In month one, thefirst objective is "understand company financials." Because this is a broadobjective, the employee will probably get started on it in month one but may nothave the objective completed until later. There are several steps the employeewill need to take to achieve this objective. First the employee must understandthe company's financials and, for example, how the supply chain function canaffect them.

Following are tasks or early wins that will help the employee accomplish thisobjective:

1. Review annual reports and company Web site.

2. Find a contact person(s) in finance who can provide the best overview as itrelates to the supply chain.

3. Talk with team members to get their perspectives and hear about theirexperiences.

4. Attend meetings where financial results are reviewed.

5. Work on project team to launch product 2.0.

The new employee will also find that many of the tasks or early wins to meetcertain objectives will overlap, and she can usually complete more than oneobjective at the same time. So, as she learns about the financials and how thesupply chain affects them from a colleague in finance, she is also beginning tobuild a key cross-functional relationship with that someone or more than oneperson in finance.

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