David

  • A tough performance situation

    One of the most challenging performance management situations occurs when you have an employee who is genuinely putting forth their best effort but still can’t meet the expectations of the role. These ones hurt. When someone isn’t capable and doesn’t care to put any effort in, it’s easy to act. But when the engagement and caring is high, it’s natural to feel a strong desire and obligation to help.

    Unfortunately, if you’ve exhausted all your training strategies and the capabilities simply aren’t there, at some point you need to accept that allowing an individual to strive for success and not succeed inhibits them from finding an alternative role where they can truly thrive. While true in all challenging employee performance situations, it’s particularly important in these cases to remind yourself of this point.

  • First week of September

    The first week of September, following Labour Day weekend, is one of my favourite weeks of the year. When you’re younger, it’s the first week back to school. You see all your friends and catch up on how the summer went. When you’re in high school you come back and can tell who went through puberty, who changed their look. All very exciting.

    Even as an adult, there seems to be a buzz in the workplace. People have mostly wrapped up vacations and summer travel and are serious about getting back to business. The out of office notifications drop off. The pace and hustle pick up. That type of energy is contagious and has always been a motivator for me. Only one calendar quarter remains in the year and there’s a push to complete any projects or transactions ahead of year end.

    I once made the mistake of booking vacation that extended into the first week of September and learned never to repeat that. It felt like I was missing out on the return, and coming back mid-September felt like I was playing catch up. I missed being around the first week back and have been ever since.

    I thoroughly enjoyed my summer this year and am looking forward to the September return and transition to fall. I hope you are too.

  • Receiving feedback well

    Hopefully, you’re already bought into the concept that feedback makes you a better professional, and you’ve made a practice of seeking it regularly. If so, it’s important to intentionally receive feedback well. If you identify as a strong performer and take pride in your work, even if you genuinely want feedback and believe it will make you better, receiving it well can be challenging and require practice.

    Receiving feedback well means receiving the information without attempting to defend yourself or justify your behavior. If you start to experience the temptation to disagree, try to resist acting on it, particularly when someone first communicates it. It’s important to actively listen and digest (sometimes easier said than done). Acknowledge the feedback and be grateful for it. Importantly, if any part of it resonates with you, make an effort to action it quickly. Demonstrating action is an important part of receiving feedback well.

    I have found receiving feedback regarding something you’re already self-aware about can be particularly difficult. You might already be working on it and receiving known information can be frustrating. But receiving it well pays off. Many managers, particularly junior managers, will struggle to provide explicit feedback regularly. The better you receive it, the more likely and more often you will get it.

    The more senior you are, the more important it is to receive feedback well. If someone has worked up the courage to share with you, the boss, an opportunity and suggestion to improve, make damn sure you receive it well.