Posts in the ‘Coaching’ Category Blog Index

The other night, while everyone in the office was at The Roots concert, I was busy with my new puppy, Buddha. We had puppy class! The first few classes were introductions and simple lessons, but last night we got down to the hard stuff: sit, stay, wait, come, lie down. Turns out Buddha can’t lie down, so we’ll just have to forget about roll over for now! All in all the class was great. The main message vocalized by the instructor? Dogs need constant feedback.

I started thinking about feedback and everything I’ve learned working here at Rypple – it all relates to dogs as well. Here’s what I learned from an hour and a half of puppy class:

• Feedback, feedback, feedback. I need to give my puppy constant feedback if I want to teach her new tricks. If I want Buddha to do something better, I need to give her constant feedback. It is the same for humans! If a manager wants his employees to do something differently or improve, he or she should give them feedback.
• Treats = kudos. Giving a dog treats lets them know that they are doing something well. Giving a person public recognition with something like kudos lets them know that they are doing something right. Dogs always want treats so they will continue to try and impress you to get more. Give people public recognition and hopefully they will want more!
• Coaching 1:1 is effective. Letting dogs play together is always good, but my dog needs to know who her master  is. If I want her to keep improving, I need to spend some 1:1 time with her outside the class room. It’s easier for her to give me her undivided attention when 6 other dogs aren’t barking and peeing on the floor beside her! Coaching and mentoring is a huge part of the business world as well. People can learn in big groups, but 1:1 meeting are always more effective.

It’s funny how I can learn so much about the business world from puppy class! It just proves the point even more strongly: people (and dogs!) need feedback constantly if you want them to learn new tricks and listen to you.

Tags: Coaching, coaching and mentoring, constant feedback, dogs, Feedback, Kudos, teaching new dogs old tricks

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I know they’re stressful and unpleasant but I didn’t know performance reviews are bad for your health!

On the New York Times blog, Tara Parker-Pope tells us about the impact of performance reviews on our health. At first, I was surprised to find an article entitled “Time to Review the Workplace Review?” in the Health section, and not in Business. But now I understand why it’s there.

Parker-Pope presents data from a number of studies suggesting that job satisfaction is way down and unhappy workers are at higher risk for heart problems and depression.

According to some researchers, performance reviews play a big role in making people more stressed and less happy. Parker-Pope interviewed a CEO who stopped doing reviews at his company because of the “emotional havoc” they create. This CEO describes the blurry line between professional and personal at review time: “If [people] get a review saying, ‘You’re not effective at work,’ they would hear, ‘You’re not effective as a person.’ ”. Here are some of the other ways they can impact your health:

• Increased risk of heart attacks. A 15-year study of 12,000 nurses found that nurses struggling with excessive work pressures had twice the risk of a heart attack.
• Increased risk of heart disease. An 11-year study of 6,000 workers found that those who regularly worked more than 10 hours a day had a 60 percent higher risk for heart disease than those who put in 7 hours.
• Increased stress. According to the Conference Board, only 45 percent of workers are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61 percent in 1987.

Yikes! But I’m not surprised. Through the intellectual, emotional and even physical energy we exert in pursuit of success, we’re putting a lot on the table – and making ourselves vulnerable. To be criticized for something we’ve put so much time and energy into is demoralizing, to say the least.

Probing and insightful questions from a good manager are tough to bear, but they’re helpful. When managers cross the line and make it too critical, they risk making their feedback personal. Bundle it all into one review, once a year, and you can see how things can quickly get out of hand.

Parker-Pope cites UCLA professor Samuel A. Culbert’s book Get Rid of the Performance Review, in which Culbert suggests that: “There is a very bad set of values that are embedded in the air because of performance reviews.” Culbert argues that: “Annual reviews not only create a high level of stress for workers…but end up making everybody — bosses and subordinates — less effective at their jobs.”

Culbert told Parker-Pope that he’s heard from: “countless workers who say their work life was ruined by an unfair review.”

One solution is to replace the annual review with more frequent conversations. Parker-Pope spoke with Dr. Gary Namie, Director of the Workplace Bullying Institute, who suggests that  performance reviews “should be replaced by daily ongoing contact with managers who know the work and who can become coaches.”

I love it! One of the reasons I haven’t had so many performance reviews is that I’ve been fortunate enough to work in environments where frequent conversations between managers and employees happened naturally. Until reading Parker-Pope’s article, it never occurred to me quite how fortunate I’ve been.

Stress ball photo by Amy McTigue. Licensed under CC.

Tags: gary namie, get rid of the performance review, happy at work, health, heart attacks, heart disease, new york times, Performance Management, Performance Reviews, samuel culbert, stress, tara parker-pope, work, workplace bullying institute

Business Development

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Performance reviews are a very valuable motivator for many employees, and yet many managers don’t know how to properly give a good performance review. Here are 10 tips we’ve discovered for presenting a good and useful review.

1.  Be Prepared

• Document the good and bad performance of your employees throughout the year. If you keep a record, you will be more prepared when review time comes.
• Employees know right away if you’re not prepared for their review. If you’re not prepared it looks like you don’t take this seriously and therefore they won’t either.

2. Remember the Goal

• The goal of a review should be to have more communication, ensure alignment on key goals, recognize achievements, and build a strong sense of cooperation and teamwork.

3.  Appreciation

• There’s a lot of research that shows that salary is not the most important factor in motivation and job satisfaction (see McKinsey Quarterly: Motivating People: Getting Beyond Money). People want to feel useful and be appreciated. Recognize the employee’s contribution and commend them for a job well done.
• You should recognize the achievements of your team outside of the review cycle by giving them public kudos.

4.  Keep it professional

• Talk about work, not the employee’s personal life. What to say: “We’re here to talk about your performance over the past year and set goals for the upcoming year.” What not to say: “How are your kids?”

5.  Don’t do all of the talking!

• This should be a conversation between you and your employee – not a confrontation. Listen to their explanations or suggestions even if you are not willing to change your conclusions.
• Encourage your employees to keep notes in between your conversations so they’re also prepared to do some talking.

6.  Balance Positive and Negative

• People won’t listen if you just discuss the negative factors you’ve noticed in them. However, if you openly talk about the strengths you have seen in the past year, he or she will respect you and be willing to listen to the weaknesses you’ve observed.

7.  No surprises

• If you have something to discuss with your employee and the performance review isn’t for a few months, request a quick meeting with them. You don’t want to sit down in the performance review and say: “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this, but a few months ago I noticed….”

8.  Feedback should be as specific as possible

• Employees will have a difficult time responding to instructions or suggestions that are vague.  Taking the time to gather your thoughts and deliver your message clearly will increase you chance of getting the results you want.

9.  Don’t withhold

• It’s not a good idea to hold back the negative feedback that you have. You don’t want to criticize too much and cause them to feel discouraged, but remember that people need to know how they’re doing.

10.  Follow up!

• If you’ve made suggestions to an employee and notice the changes in their work, let them know. When you follow up and recognize the effort they’ve made you show that the work is important.
• Try Rypple to follow up with coaching and mentoring. It’s and easy way to have continuous discussions with employees and commend them on their improvements.

It’s hard to give a good performance review if you have no idea about what the employee has been doing for the last year. Try Rypple and be productive throughout the year by tracking your employees actions and feedback using the coaching and mentoring tools. You’ll be more prepared when review time sneaks up on you!

Tags: before giving a review, giving a good performance review, giving a performance review, how to give a performence review, performance review, Tips

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When you’re organized, you and your team will be more effective. Log in to coach your team.

I know – managing is complicated. You’ve got to keep track of your team’s activities, get work done and keep them engaged and learning. If you use email, spreadsheets and your notebook to manage your team, today’s video is for you! You’ll learn quick, easy ways to:

1. Capture notes, actions and kudos in one place – even from email
2. Have more productive 1:1 meetings
3. Save tons of time on annual reviews

Tracking everything in one place will save you time and you’ll get more done!

Log in to coach your team

Daniel Debow is a co-CEO of Rypple. Daniel was one of the founders and the VP of Corporate Development and Marketing for Workbrain, an enterprise software company. He holds a JD and an MBA from the University of Toronto and an LLM in Law, Science & Technology from Stanford University. He's a huge music fan, plays the bass (badly), and spends far too much time online. He lives in Toronto with his wife.

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I often read books, articles, and posts from companies that I admire; companies like Apple, Google, BMW, IDEO. My goal is understand what makes them succeed, so I can apply some of these strategies at our company, Rypple. Some of the reasons for their success are more obvious: a great product line, great marketing, great people. The question is, “why do these companies have great people, products, and marketing, leading to outstanding results?” The answer, the root of their success, may shock you: Their employee’s find meaning in their work.

The leaders of these companies make this happen through three key actions:

Clarity of vision and purpose:
Every employee in the company understands the mission and vision of the business, and how their weekly activities will impact company goals. The DNA of the company then guides day to day activities.

Ongoing coaching:
The leaders (managers) of these companies provide continuous coaching and mentoring to their teams. As opposed to providing their teams with guidance only once or twice a year through a formalized process, they meet regularly. These quick conversations ensure their teams are focused on the right actions, get feedback they can put into action immediately, and are learning all the time. This constant communication fosters a collaborative and inspiring environment.

Recognition for achievement:
Leaders of great organizations understand that their people aren’t solely motivated by money, but instead, derive a lot of meaning from recognition. Whether publicly or privately, being recognized for a job well done makes us all feel validated, appreciated, and more engaged in our work. We all like to receive Kudos, and great companies ensure that accomplishments are recognized. We believe that meaning leads to engagement, and engagement leads to amazing results!

With these answers in hand, I’m working hard to ensure that our team finds meaning in the work they do everyday.

What are you doing at your organization to find meaning and achieve extraordinary results?

Tags: achievement, Coaching, david stein, engagement, Feedback, Leadership, motivation, recognition, Rypple

David Stein is a co-CEO of Rypple. David was one of the founders and the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Workbrain. He is a recognized HCM strategist and has helped some of the biggest companies in the world to get the most out of their people.

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My father taught me how to ride a bike. He showed me the basics and provided the setting for success – he held on to the back of my seat to prevent me from falling but let me steer. He let me take on the challenge and subsequent glory. I learned how all on my own – or so I thought – and, more importantly, my dad taught me to trust my skills and believe in myself.

Marshall J. Cook talks about the same pattern in Effective Coaching. Cook’s book focuses on workplace coaching and managers as the target audience but the lessons he shares can be applied elsewhere – in schools by teachers, in sports by coaches, and at home by parents. Cook emphasizes understanding people through asking them the right questions, listening to their answers, and then by extracting the essence to ensure the common understanding and agreement on a course of action. Most importantly, after instructing and empowering their employees, Cook instructs managers to step aside and let their subordinates execute and eventually bask in the glory of a job well done.

Read the rest of my post, and learn how to be an effective coach on my blog

Tags: bike riding, Coaching, Effective Coaching, interview, learning, lesson, Marshall J. Cook, onebookaweek.com, Rypple

Development, author of onebookaweek.com

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