What Makes

 

 

Sooooooo Difficult?!


  • Still uncomfortable with how to handle a problem employee?

  • Still wondering where your performance discussions go wrong?

  • Still not sure how to ably address chronic employee performance issues?

  • Still unable to create an accurate, but motivating, employee performance report?

  • Still wishing and hoping that employee performance will somehow just magically improve?

So how's all that working for you?!


We've all been there.

There's this absolutely incredible employee who can make amazing things happen on an incredibly regular basis. She's great! He's wonderful! And you don't know how you could get by without his or her constant vigil, dedication, and ability to get-the-job-done, on-time, to scope, and within budget.

But there's a problem. The person is an interpersonal train wreck!

Or maybe, the person's a train wreck without all those great go-to characteristics!

Or even worse yet, maybe s/he is just capable enough to not get fired, but still requires such ridiculous amounts of time and effort from you that it's raising eyebrows of even your staunchest supporters.

This was not what you had in mind
when you first got into management, now, was it?!

Yet this is what your job has turned into and you know you need to do something about it, and fast. If you're like most, you've probably tried a number of approaches. Let's see if I can guess some of them. Did you try:

  • Ignoring the problem in hopes it would go away?
  • Telling complainers that they should be as capable as your Problem Employee?
  • Having a serious 'sit down' only to find your words came out wrong or you got distracted from what you really wanted to say?
  • Having another serious 'sit down' only to find that the performance improvements that did result were short-lived?
  • Breathing a sigh of relief whenever the person called in sick or was out of the office for the day?

Uh-huh. I thought so! I bet, too, that things have probably gotten worse because now you have the additional stress of worrying that people think you are either: (a) blind to the transgressions occurring right under your nose, or (b) a totally incompetent supervisor. 

Wouldn't it be nice if we could publicly
tar and feather
our problem employees?

Unless you work quickly - and capably - to resolve outstanding employee performance issues, you, the boss, are the one most likely to end up looking bad. After all, everyone else already knows about the Problem Employee. The only real question is if YOU do! And if you're trying to be discrete in your actions, NO ONE KNOWS that you even know there is a problem! Sheesh! At least with a public tar and feathering everyone would know that you do see the problem and that you are addressing it! Wouldn't it be nice if a supervisor could actually do this to an employee?! Alas.

More appropriately, though ...

Wouldn't it be nice if ... there was an easy way to know what to say to handle your employee performance problems swiftly, professionally, and effectively?

Wouldn't it be nice if ... there were some particular phrases or scripts you could use to really bring home the points you're trying to make to your direct reports?

Wouldn't it be nice if ... there was a way to handle performance issues without your boss or HR representative having to get involved?

Face it: Employee Performance Discussions
are Something that You, as a Manager,
Simply MUST Know How to Handle

You MUST know how to handle:

  • Employees who follow procedures, but do so in a passive/aggressive way

  • Employees who consistently make Errors of Omission

  • Employees who blame their poor performance on your unclear instructions

  • Employees who believe they can rest on their laurels whenever they'd like

  • Employees who fail to keep you updated in a timely manner

  • Employees who think that the impact of their mistakes is insignificant

And you must ALSO know how to handle:

  • Employees who try hard, but still fail to deliver

  • Employees who explain away repeated instances of poor performance

  • Employees who fail to follow-through on the commitments they make

  • Employees who revert to their old ways after only temporary improvements

Can you honestly say you can?

If you CAN'T say you can, you might as well click here.

As amazing as this may sound, I've found that very few executives have had much interest in sharing what they know about giving effective performance reviews with their direct reports and leaders-of-tomorrow. Or maybe, it's that far fewer executives ever learned these lessons in the first place! 

Fortunately, there IS something you can do. There IS  a way to learn what to do and how to do it.

Employee Performance Discussions:
10 Important Things a Boss MUST Know How to Say

This e-book Special Report on employee performance management is based on the direct experiences of a highly successful manager, business executive, and adjunct university instructor turned executive coach and leadership consultant. Someone who's been there, done that, and survived to tell the tales of what worked, what didn't ... and why.

"I knew I was supposed to know how to handle employee performance problems - and I thought I did. But whatever I tried didn't work. Until, I read Employee Performance Discussions. It really gave me the confidence I needed to say what I wanted to say."

- Mary S., training director

"I tend to avoid confrontations. As a result, my staff was starting to take advantage of me and my good nature. Employee Performance Discussions really helped me understand how I could hold my staff accountable without being confrontational."

- Suzanne M., marketing manager

As a manager, our success is dependent on our teams. In these times of economic challenges, it is even more important that every member of a team is able to apply the right skills, attitudes and behaviors needed to achieve business goals. What if they are not doing so?

Employee Performance Discussions: 10 Important Things a Boss MUST Know How to Say provides managers with a roadmap on how to coach employees on specifically what they must do differently. The overview of the problem, the description of the dysfunctional underlying behaviors, the suggestions on how to have the conversation and lock in the learning and the final question are key.

The manager provides the structure for the conversation, but the employee has to participate too. I believe this is the reason it works. It is not just “telling” but coming to agreement on what needs to happen. This allows for future discussions if it does not happen.

I would recommend this article for all managers.

- Stephanie K., director of education
and knowledge management

"It used to drive me nuts that I'd work my tail off and still get gigged by my boss for not getting more out of my employees. Employee Performance Discussions walked me through how to have the conversations I knew I needed to have with them. And you know what? They worked!"

- Joe M., director of operations

Click here to order your copy of the Employee Performance Discussions  e-book

Available for immediate download for just $37.

GottaGettaCoach!, Incorporated accepts payment by credit card.

Simply said, this e-book is MUST reading for any supervisor, manger, director, vice president, or president who's looking to improve the way they handle their employee performance issues. Yes, innate talent plays a part in effective performance management, but a much bigger part is skill-based, learnable, and demonstrable ... if you're made aware of the basic tools you need to use.

And that's what this Special Report is all about. Included in it are:

  • 10 specific conversation "clarifiers" that can dramatically improve the performance of all employees - from your very best, to weakest, and everyone in between
  • Specific phrasings of what to say, including when to say it, and why
  • Concrete examples for you to follow in your own performance management discussions with your direct reports and lower-level employees

Even more importantly, Employee Performance Discussions will help you resolve one of the more chronic problems facing managers everywhere: Not knowing how to articulate the bottom-line requirements of a job in a way that instructs, empowers, and holds the incumbent fully accountable on an ongoing basis.

Now this is how performance appraisals
are supposed to work

Available for immediate download, this e-book has been updated and expanded to make it even more relevant and more helpful. In it, you'll now receive:

  • Even more detailed explanations of each ‘clarifier’ (and in some cases improved language for using them)
  • A new Application Section that includes typical employee problem scenarios along with clarified and simplified scripts for giving constructive criticism
  • A new Locking-in-the-Learning Section where important coaching questions are raised for you to answer, and homework assignments for you to complete, so you can integrate these lessons more quickly and thoroughly into your management skill-set
  • A Primary Focus Question that directs your attention to recognizing how best to apply each specific ‘clarifier’ to your current employee performance situation.

Click here to order your copy of the Employee Performance Discussions e-book

Available for immediate download for just $37.

GottaGettaCoach!, Incorporated accepts payment by credit card.

"What amazed me was how quickly my Problem Employee responded once I used the right language to communicate my dissatisfaction and the improvements I needed to see. Employee Performance Discussions helped me save this guy's job!"

- Mike C., chief financial officer

"I was so nervous and braced for the worst. But after I said what Employee Performance Discussions suggested, what I got was, "I know, boss, I'm sorry. Please give me another chance. I know I can do better." Amazing results! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

- Ellen M., quality assurance manager

"The best part of Employee Performance Discussions is that every time I re-read it, I learn something new. It's my secret weapon for success."

- David A., human resources director

Click here to order your copy of the Employee Performance Discussions e-book

Available for immediate download for just $37.

GottaGettaCoach!, Incorporated accepts payment by credit card.

How Much You Learn is Up to You

Maybe you are already doing just fine with your employee discussions. If so, congratulations! Reading through Employee Performance Discussions can help you develop your managerial acumen even more. There are always greater depths and subtleties to master.

If you're like most, however, you'll find that several of the elements and particular phrasings provided in Employee Performance Discussions are new and unfamiliar to you. Here, it's about improving your breadth and substance. Make no mistakes - the best constructive criticism is refreshingly clear and effective. Is yours?

Giving effective employee performance reviews is not about being a jerk. To the contrary - it's about being respectful, caring, succinct, and on-the-money with your observations, comments, recommendations, and requests. The better you do this, the more likely your staff's performance will improve. Perhaps more importantly, though, the better you do this, the more likely your staff's improved performance can be sustained over time.

If you've ever had to put up with certain aspects of employee performance because you didn't have the tools to handle them properly, Employee Performance Discussions is for you.

  • Isn't it time you learned how to give the kind of performance appraisals your employees really need to have?

  • Isn't it time that your performance discussions actually empower and motivate your direct reports to do better?

  • Isn't it time to get your copy of Employee Performance Discussions?

Click here to order your copy of the Employee Performance Discussions e-book

Available for immediate download for just $37.

GottaGettaCoach!, Incorporated accepts payment by credit card.

As a boss, you simply don't have the luxury to be 'not good'
at providing clear, crisp, compelling, and spot-on feedback
to your staff ...

This is your chance to actually do something about it.


Click

©2005-2009 GottaGettaCoach!, Inc.
All Right Reserved.
1724 Larkdale Road, Northbrook
Illinois 60062-5931
847.291-9735
info@employee-discussions.com

GottaGettaCoach!, Incorporated - Executive Coaching/Leadership Consulting


links:
life coach, executive coach, leadership consultant, leadership development, career coach,
management coach employee discussions, leadership blog.