Managing Performance

How do you know if someone’s performance is up to the mark?  Here’s a clue: it delivers against objectives.  No more, no less.  Simple, innit?  Well it would be, if only people could write clear objectives.  SMART goals.  Something for someone to aim at that is actionable, measurable and describes a result rather than a process.  Too many goals are meaningless. Rubbish objectives are a pet peeve for many of you.  Here are some usual suspects: ‘be more proactive’, ‘have more gravitas’, ‘raise your profile’ and ‘improve your time management’. 

The recipient may get the message that something needs to change, but is left wondering what exactly – and how.  Here’s a simple technique for setting better objectives: next time you find yourself on the road to rubbish, asking people to ‘have more gravitas’, first ask yourself, ‘how would an impartial observer be able to tell X has more gravitas?’ and ‘what would X be doing and saying?’  So for ‘gravitas’ answers might include, ‘speaking up more in meetings’, ‘expressing a point of view’, ‘speaking more clearly’.  Notice these all begin with verbs, so the objective is not only clear; it’s actionable, specifying the desired behaviour.  Try it and let me know how you get on.