10 Nov 09 Assessment versus Evaluation

There are many things coming down the pike at this time of year for leaders in organizations. Very soon most will be doing the end-of-year performance reviews as well as goal-setting, budgeting and finalization of strategy for the next 12 months to 5 years. Each company or organization is difference so I would never be able to cover all the possible topics and not all of them would be relevant to you anyway. What I would like to do instead is use both postings this week to address two areas of end-of-year activity that apply to just about everybody. The first of these is assessment and evaluation.

The important thing about assessment and evaluation is that you need to do both. Yes, they are different, and they are different in substantial ways and they serve different purposes. This is not just hair-splitting when it comes to terminology. If you only focus on one or the other you miss an opportunity to develop your people and give them the feedback that they need to be successful.

Evaluation

This is what most leaders and managers are doing at the end of the year in terms of performance management. Evaluation is summative. By that I mean it is the result of activities that have gone on during some defined period in the past. For most organizations, this is a one-year period although some forward thinking groups make the evaluation more frequent and covering a lesser stretch of time. Evaluations are also results-oriented. They focus on what has been produced during a period of time. The findings of evaluations are judgmental. I don’t mean to say that in a negative way, just that evaluations are for the purpose of judging performance and usually determining a score or rating. From a timing standpoint, evaluations are designed as a quality-gate. In other words, they are for the purpose of giving feedback on performance in a segmented manner. For too many, this is once a year. In fact, mid-year evaluations used by many are not as much evaluations as they are corrections. If compensation and other important decisions are made based on the once-per-year function of performance evaluation, then your evaluation cycle is yearly.

Assessment

Actually, mid-year evaluations often fall into the category of assessment rather than evaluation. Assessments are ongoing and process-oriented. They check the status of progress and provide direction or correction. By process-oriented, I mean the question for an assessment discussion is “How is it going?” whereas the question for an evaluation is “How has it gone?” So assessments are formative rather than summative. They happen as performance is being conducted, not after the fact. Assessments also tend to be more flexible than evaluations. With an assessment, modifications can be made either to the development and performance of the individual, or to the desired outcomes. With evaluations, that horse has already left the barn.

The point of calling out the difference between assessment and evaluation is to realize that both are different but important. Employees and followers need feedback in both areas. From an assessment standpoint, reflection on how things are going and adjustments to the tools available or expectations are important on an ongoing basis. Assessment in this sense is not about grading…it’s about providing an honest and helpful viewpoint on the process being used by the leader or the follower in achieving objectives. Every performance management process should include ongoing assessment, but without defined evaluation periods, followers will have a “sense” of how they are doing, but will have nothing to measure their performance against.

From an evaluation standpoint, it is also important to give honest and real feedback about how effective performance has been to a certain point. For most people, this “score” is an important indication of how well they are meeting expectations. Evaluation is not coaching…it’s judging. One of the benefits of evaluation is that it marks a close to the end of a performance period. If I have been doing great, it acknowledges my performance in a positive way and gives an opportunity for us to refocus on the next evaluation period. If my performance has been poor it provides an opportunity for some pre-defined consequence and then a clean slate for the next evaluation period.

The point to take away from this. Provide both! Evaluation without assessment is just a random score that surprises our followers and provides no real direction for improvement. Assessment without evaluation is an ongoing discussion that has no end. There are no points for either rewarding or correcting poor behavior and performance. The leader who wants to give the most powerful feedback defines the opportunities and the value of both for all followers.

Tags: accountability, consistency, evaluation, expectations, feedback, performance, performance review

25 May 09 The Power of Engagement

Having completed my Latin America tour with a stay in Mexico, the good news is that I didn’t come back with H1N1, nor did I see anybody else suffering the flu while I was there. Business was mostly back to normal with the occasional surgical mask seen on the faces of food servers who were as interested in putting their clients at ease as they were protecting themselves from airborne viruses. Except for the small detail of a 5.9 earthquake the afternoon before I left (Thanks guys!), everything was as impressive as always.

One of the things I found most impressive was the spirit and the innovation of the people. While others may be overwhelmed with the currency challenges, health concerns and yes, the earthquakes and floods and other natural disasters, leaders in Mexican business have a sense that, through engagement of their people and strong customer service, they will continue to grow and lead the country into the future. And part of this future involves developing an open dialogue between managers and their employees in determining the best way to keep followers in the game even as the market becomes more challenging.

I had the privilege to be doing a workshop with Daimler Financial Services Mexico and their top leaders during my Latin America swing last week. While the leaders in this group were highly energized, optimistic, and focused on change, I was even more impressed by what I observed outside of the room. On the second morning of my workshop, a department within the company was having a departmental breakfast…an event they conduct on a monthly basis to provide updates, recognize achievements and build general camaraderie on the team.

When I got there they were in the middle of an employee-designed game show, similar to Family Feud®. However, the survey questions (which had been designed by the employees) were all focused on issues of leadership within the department. The competing teams were two leadership subteams of 4 people each. One of my favorite questions was, “What are the greatest weaknesses of our leadership team” or something to that effect (Spanish…not so good).

In a spirit of great fun, the leaders then had to guess as to what the employees felt were their weaknesses. With lots of laughing and good humor, the leaders were able to identify all five items (communication, accessibility, etc).

Interestingly enough, the leaders were not so accurate when it came to the question of “What are the greatest strengths of our leadership team.” It was clear that they were not only comfortable receiving criticism from the employees, but they were less comfortable even in receiving praise. At the end of the game, the head of the department thanked everybody for their participation and promised a follow-up for everything they had learned. To me the entire event was brilliant in its simplicity and in the value of the dialogue.

Because it was a “pot-luck” breakfast, the time together cost the company almost nothing and engaged the employees even more in the involvement of the dialogue. And in the end, that’s what it was all about…talking to employees about what THEY wanted to talk about, listening to their feedback, and making a commitment to respond. These special, innovative sorts of sessions are a success practice that you could implement before the end of the month. Simple, direct, and to the point, the respect that the Mexicans showed for their employees was outstanding. This may be why DFS Mexico was chosen in the top 10 Great Places to Work for 2008 and will continue to be a bellwether for employee satisfaction in the future.

Tags: employee engagement, feedback, mexico

24 Nov 08 Facing the tough performance discussion

Recently, one of the executives I coach came to me with a dilemma. She had to talk to one of her employees about performance which (a) she always found difficult and (b) found particularly difficult at this point because times are tough. Her fear was that, getting negative feedback from her might just be enough to push the stress level of her employee through the roof.

I asked her if the poor performance was making her happy. She of course said, “No.” I then asked her if the poor performance was making her employee happy. She shook her head and said, “No, he’s miserable too. But he doesn’t see it as his problem.” Given that he’s probably also not going to improve his performance if he doesn’t see it as his problem, I felt the only thing she could do was have the conversation.

What was also interesting about this interaction was that she was not planning on firing the employee…just giving him some serious and clear feedback. Of course the dilemma this creates is that eventualy you may be forced to have the performance discussion you are avoiding but it may be at a point where the employee has no opportunity to correct or adjust their behavior. The only time to give critical feedback is now, so here are a few tips that you can follow to make your efforts more effective:

1. If you find yourself getting emotionally worked up about the discussion, take some personal time before the meeting and ask yoruself, “What is it exaclty that is causing this emotional response on my part?” If you are unclear on the exact nature of the problem, take the time to think it through before having the discussion.

2. Schedule uninterrupted time for the conversation. No checking email, answering phone calls, or allowing other disturbances during this discussion. The meeting should be in your space, or at least in a space over which you have complete control.

3. Let the other person know the subject of the conversation ahead of time. If it is a performance issue, tell them you want to discuss their performance. Difficult discussinos become even more difficult when your employee is caught completely unaware.

4. Describe not only the problem, but the impact of the problem as you see it. Be as specific as possible. If the issue is attitude, explain the impact of the attitude on the employee’s behavior and the impact on the behavior of others.

5. If you are the leader of a culturally diverse team, and the employee represents a significantly different culture than your own, seek advice from another leader who has experience in this situation. It is easy enough to be misinterpreted and your objective is to be crystal clear about the performance. Get HR advice if necessary.

6. Ask the other person for their perception of the issue and give them the opportunity to share their perception without common on your part. Silence can feel uncomfortable but let them work through the issues and explain how they see it.

7. If there is an opportunity for mutual resolution of the issue, ask the employee what he or she thinks should happen next. Let them actively participate in the solution creation.

At the end of the discussion make sure you both agree on what actions are next, what results are expected, what the followup will be and what the consequences are. As difficult as these decisions can be, they will build your credibility and improve the effectiveness and morale of the team.

Tags: diversity, feedback, leadership, performance

03 Nov 08 Walking the Talk — Part 1 of 2

When we think of great leaders of whom we are aware either through our own experience or our awareness of somebody elses, there are a variety of ways these leaders have been great. Perhaps some were motivational, some were visionary or some were highly oriented to results. Without fail, however, there is one characteristic that is seen in all strong and successful leaders. They are congruent between what they say and what they do. They “walk the talk.”

As Albert Schweitzer once said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing people. it is the only thing.” Leading through example happens whether you decide to do it or not. You are doing it by default. You are, in essence, already “walking the talk.” The question is really, “What talk are you walking?”

This idea of congruency is a particular challenge in a global environment. Whether it is your company, your employees, or your peers that have diverse perspectives, these perspectives come into play when your behaviors are judged according to your words. Determining if we are modeling the behavior we espouse is further challenged by the fact that we are not typically adequate judges of the messages our actions communicate. The only way to truly answer the question about your own tendency to follow your words with appropriate actions is to get input from others and spend time in self-reflection. If you want to ensure you are in alignment with your expectations of others, you have to be brutally honest. In my next post, I will suggest five questions you should consider and some ways in which you might get the input you need to see if you are truly walking your talk.

Tags: congruency, feedback, global leader, great leadership