THE HABIT M AGAZINE YOUR CUTE MAGAZINE ON HABITS AND MORE SARAH CHERI F on
E C N A M R O F R E P r? W u E I a V os RE n i a d it s I
"THE BI G DI SCONNECTI ON" SOME WORD PORN TO KEEP YOU WARM HABI T TALK WI TH TOM VANFLETEREN ENJ OY SCI ENCE about t he t opi c! Some s el f - cont r adi ct i on I S ALWAYS OK
POW ERED BY
EDITORIAL Dear readers, It?s that time of year again, to reflect on the past and to make intentions for the new. I don?t know about you, but for me, I can?t escape it. I?m that kind of person that really does make the balance, think about what I appreciated, what I don?t want anymore and how I want things to be different in the next year. For this year, my biggest New Year?s resolution is to optimize my lifestyle design. Meaning, I want to spend more time doing things that energize me and make me laugh. When I looked at my agenda the past year, I think about 30% really excited me, but the largest chunk was work to be done. Often non-inspiring meetings and operational stuff that did not feel like I was working towards a bigger, exciting and world changing plan. This period of reflection, I am going to use to think about how I am going to up my game to 70% of inspiring and exciting stuff in my agenda and only 30% of "work".
If I think I will succeed? Yes, I do. I know I will. That?s the power of habit design. You know how to set an ambition and shape habits that will get you there. This edition is all about that yearly time of reflection. In a professional context, we all know it by the name of the performance review. And this edition is all about the philosophy of the performance review, the trends and the habits of course. We hope it inspires you to ask yourself that one big question that is at the core of it all. WHY? Why are we in business? Why do I get up and go to work in the morning? Why am I doing this? Best wishes to all of you and may you set inspiring ambitions and achieve them!
Sa r a h
Wh a t t o ex pec t HABIT EVENT
BEST PRACTICE
HABIT AHA
WE WANT YOUR OPINION
Q & A WITH SARAH
LET'S ENJOY SCIENCE
WORD PORN
THE ART OF SELF CONTRADICt i ON
HABIT TALKS
HABIT TOOLS
THE QUESTION WE ASKED OUR CUSTOM ERS
Let 's h av e a l a u g h
HABIT EVENT s n o i t u l o S LEARNI NG E T U : C s t n e s e r DEVELOPMENT FESTI p
AND VAL
Food and CUTESolutions: match in heaven. This event abandons the classical session of 45 minutes, and chooses for short but powerful meetings between L& D providers and a select audience. When you are looking for the some inspiration about learning and development, this festival is the perfect event for you!
Interested? Surf to http://www.bedr ij fsopleidingen.be/stimulear ning/proever ij en/pro_progr amma.asp
HABIT AHA? What 's i n a name? Let's be honest, we're always evaluating: in our heads or out loud. But performance reviews differ from those spontaneous evaluations because it's as formal, periodical, systematical and objective as possible... or, at least that's what they're supposed to be. Yeay , I t 's ev al uat i on!
t i me
f or
my
Surveys generally show that most people think the performance appraisal is a good idea. But in
practice, most managers only carry out performance appraisal interviews when they are obliged to and controlled upon. Yeay , my s pot on!
ev al uat i on
ANNUAL PERFORMANCE APPRAI SAL
is
Research shows, next to the low commitment to give/receive the appraisals, that they aren?t always accur ately assessing per for mance. Lots of things can go wrong, in all aspects of the process: the assessor makes mistakes, the assessment is not measuring the performance.
WHY SO ANNUAL?
Ok , we t hi nk y ou?v e got t he poi nt now. We?re not a huge fan of the traditional annual performance review. But hey, god invented change! What habits can we develop to create an effective, year-round appr aisal culture in your or ganization? On the next page, you?ll see some beginner, intermediate and expert level habits to evaluate performance more often and more effective. When you practice these habits, don?t forget there is failure before success. It takes 6 à 7 attempts to create a new habit!
"ev i dence s ugges t s t hat empl oy ees s how hi gher l ev el s of engagement when f eedback and coachi ng t ak e pl ace on a r egul ar , i nf or mal , and cont i nuous bas i s " t hr oughout t he y ear . "
promotions, evaluating overall performance of personnel... Second, you have the "within persons" purpose, wherein employees receive feedback about the individual performance, strengths and pitfalls, potential need for training... Third, there is the "strategical" A f i nal not e purpose, where the performance management is directed According to Cleveland, there are 4 big pur poses for towards the overall ambition of the company. Last, you per for mance management. First, you have the have the "research" purpose, a check if a training "between persons" purpose, for determining pay and program had effect. Why are we telling you this? If you
want a organizational culture where evaluations are effective and not engagement-killers, ask your self why. You have to decide for yourself what the exact purpose of the evaluation is, And not just do it because you're obligated to do so. OK, NOW THE f i nal NOTE f or r eal Pulakos and colleagues start their paper about performance reviews pretty negative: "Performance management (PM) is viewed as more broken than ever, with managers and employees seeing it as a burdensome activity that is of little value (...). So where is the disconnect? The problem is that formal PM systems have reduced PM to intermittent steps and processes that are disconnected from day-to-day work and behaviors that actually drive performance: communicating ongoing expectations, providing
informal feedback in real time, and developing employees through experience." But after that, they propose a 5-step PM refor m process that helps organizations achieve this change. If you're interested, you can read the full article HERE.
HABIT LEVELS EXPERT LEVEL HABI TS
-
Hold each other accountable for reporting out on progress Agree on expected results & follow up on results Expect alignment, not agreement Measure output, not input Challenge the future
I NTERMEDI ATE -
Set objectives together LEVEL HABI TS Celebrate progress early on Follow up on SMART objectives Set milestones for reporting out on progress Challenge each other on how things are done Hold other responsible for following up on SMART objectives
BEGI NNER l ev el HABI TS
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Set SMART objectives Explain why you are in business Ask "why" with every decision you make Share personal objectives with the team Respect meeting hygiene (start on time, take actionable notes...) Ask "why" you are doing something and give responsibility on the "how"
Q& &A
Wi t h SARAH ABOUT PERFORMANCE REVI EW
Sarah, founder of CUTESolutions, has been giving hundreds, if not thousands of managers training on how to tackle the performance review. Curious about what her main recommendation is, what animal performance review is and should be, and why it is such an amazing topic to think and talk about? Just click on the video below and... Enj oy!
Somet hi ng t o t hi nk about . . . If performance review were an animal, what animal would it be, and why? What animal should it be?
WORD PORN?Mos t Hal o ef f ect Tendency to generalize a positive aspect of a person too much to other aspects
HORN ef f ect Tendency to generalize a negative aspect of a person too much to other aspects
t r oj an hor s e ef f ect Tendency to give a bad review because one is fearing that otherwise the person will outflank on them on the career ladder
common habi t er r or s made i n per f or mance r ev i ew
PRI MACY EFFECT Tendency to form a global impression of person within minutes
CENTRAL TENDENCY Tendency to avoid extreme positive or negative judgments and thus only use the central point on the rating scale
CLONE EFFECT Tendency to review employees better as the behavior and personality of the employee is similar to the assessor
CONTRAST EFFECT Tendency to be influenced by impressions of former employees
MEET THE aes t i mat i o annua r ex Yes , t he CLASSI C per f or mance r ev i ew i s EXTI NCT.
HABIT TALKS wI TH TOM VANFLETEREN (PROXI MUS)
Feedback and per f or mance one and t he same?
appr ai sal :
Tom: For me, feedback and performance appraisal differ from each other, but are part of the same process. During the first part of performance appraisal, you formally agree upon expectations and objectives for the coming year. After 6 months, you agree on the progress and eventually re-assess those targets. At the end of the year, we look if the targets have been reached and provide a scoring based on the achieved realizations. Feedback is something you give on a day-to-day base about the activities and behaviors of someone and can be formal or informal. On the one hand is feedback key for development of people. On the other hand however, is feedback a perfect tool to check if everyone?s still aligned with the targets and gives the opportunity to change behavior or attitudes if needed. As a consequence, the
Tom Vanfleteren is Head of Cloud & Industrialized ICT at Proximus. Whilst valuing self-development and leadership, he affirms that performance review is not a one-time and one-side story where a leader evaluates employees one time a year. We asked him some questions about the performance review and good habits to create an all-year feedback culture.
outcome in the performance cycle should never be a surprise! Do you see changes wi t hi n Pr oxi mus i n t he per f or mance appr ai sal cul t ur e? Tom: Since a few years, we?re having an extensive cultural change program, called ?Good To Gold? (G2G), as we believe we need to align our culture with our strategy. Our new culture is based on 3 key corporate values: agility, collaboration and accountability. We need these 3 pillars to fulfill our mission (that is: differentiate ourselves by putting the customer first). One module of G2G is about coaching and feedback, as this is a key requirement to install the new culture in every layer of the organization. This module is a 4-day training to become a better coach, providing more and high quality feedback.
Di d you change or cr eat e own habi t s t o al i gn wi t h t hi s cul t ur e change? Tom: I lead approximately 80 internal and external technical experts in Proximus. In the scope of coaching and feedback, I practiced 2 new habits. First, I start the day by thinking about all the interactions I had the previous day. I choose one interaction and give feedback to the person I had it with. My second habit is to thank people after a meeting when they presented something (especially) for me. In addition, I started to take a coaching-attitude when speaking with my employees, by asking open questions. The implementation of those new habits is a process of trial and error. And I think, it?s important to build in some moments of reflection to think about whether or not you?re still aligned with what you want to change. If you t hi nk about a successf ul l eader at Pr oxi mus, what do t hey do dur i ng t he year t o make sur e t he per f or mance r evi ew moment i sn?t somet hi ng dr eadf ul t o t hi nk about ? Tom: They provide clear expectations and give regular and proper feedback on performance. The employee knows at all times where he/she stands (what is going
well and what can be done better) and sees it as an opportunity to improve. They don?t pretend the performance review does not exist, but communicate about it with their employees. They prepare the performance review independently of the input of the employee. Of course they ask the employee to do this as well. Comparing both versions is a great cross-check to see if, along the year, manager and employee are sufficiently connected to each other. Giving regular feedback & organise coaching moments is in the DNA of the leader so the formal performance review is no longer perceived as an burden but as a formality ( it?s only a summary of what has been said during the year ). Is t her e speci f i c f eedback consi der ver y i mpor t ant ?
you
Tom: The feedback I receive should not be limited to the one coming from my manager. I?m always eager to receive feedback from employees and peers as well. Also... Every day, I strive to become better than I was yesterday. The opportunity to grow and learn matters. So for me, the most important aspect of feedback is the part where they tell me what I can do better in the future!
La st w eek w e a sk ed SOM E CUSTOM ERS o n e b i g q u est i o n CONSI DERI NG The PAST 2 YEARS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRI BE THE TREND OF PERFORMANCE APPRAI SAL I N YOUR Kr i s Cuy per s
J or i s CELI S
(BPOST)
(AXA)
"The key trends are to focus more on development than on evaluation and to separate the discussion on variable salary from the performance review."
"Two years ago, a performance appraisal was a pretty uncomfortable moment between employee and manager where the manager gave a score based on achieved targets. Today, it evolved to a dialogue where employee and manager sit together to look at last year. Not only what you have done, but also how you have developed and how you can grow next year. That one score is somehow becoming less center of interest. That is what we preach at AXA: by having a permanent informal dialogue between employee and manager about performance and expectations, the formal moment of evaluations becomes less important."
BEST PRACTICE The bi g
N O I T C E N N O C S DI
bet ween t he appr ai s al and coachi ng conv er s at i on
There's one big best practice we at CUTESolutions would recommend. I n per for mance management, salar y and development should not be discussed in the same conver sation. When there's money at stake, employees will probably get defensive about their evaluation and maybe not admit there have been some gaps in their performance. When the performance review feels more like a negotiation, the focus on growth often gets lost. So disconnect the appraisal and coaching conversation, immediately!
al s i a r p Ap on i t a s r c onv e
COACHI NG CONVERSATI O N
WE WANT YOUR OPI NI ON
"When it comes to performance reviews, there's no question that nothing is better than something. That's how bad they are." (S. Culbert, in "Get Rid Of The Per for mance Review")
E? E R G SA I D R O E AGRE HERE
R E W ANS
LEt 'S ENJOY SCIENCE Mus t - r ead ar t i cl es of HARVARD BUSI NESS REVI EW Becaus e we l ov e i t !
CUTE'S FAVORI TE
We don't keep our knowledge to ourselves. We love science and we love to share it! So here's the deal. We wanted to know what's recently trending in performance review research, so we decided to look into articles of Harvard Business University. We sorted on popularity, relevance and most recent publication date. These were the 5 magazine articles that came out of our search. Please click on the title if you would like to read them!
Of all articles, we had one favorite. "Split Roles in Performance Review" is based on the contradiction that people do want to be appraised, yet almost never take initiative to ask for a performance appraisal. Enjoy!
1. Team Bui l di ng i n t he Caf et er i a 2. Why or gani z at i ons don?t l ear n 3. The bes t - per f or mi ng CEO?s i n t he wor l d 4. Rei nv ent i ng per f or mance management 5. Spl i t Rol es i n per f or mance r ev i ew
Th e a r t o f sel f c o n t r a d i c t i o n
FORGET SETTI NG GOALS. And f al l i n l ov e wi t h s y s t ems
CLI CK HERE TO GO TO J AMES CLEAR's WEBSI TE
As Sarah said in her video: in performance management, it's not all about the appraisal of that one goal at the end of the year. But still, there are always goals, targets, objectives (name it as you want!) to give direction for the expected behavior. But with our habit method, in line with methods as scr um, we focus more on the way (the HOW) we work than the specific output. That doesn't mean that goal setting should be forbidden, but we do feel that "systems" should be considered as well. Do you feel this contradiction in your organization? Like teenagers have music idols, CUTESolutions has its favorite habit experts. James Clear is one of them. Watch his video about systems here:
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HABI T BULL We know you're curious. This time, we let you discover it yourself: Click HERE to sur f to the website of Habit Bull.
THE WHI TEBOARD Especially when we talk about performance review, discussing targets... this could be an effective tool for introducing habits in your company. Gather around the whiteboard every morning to discuss 2 things. First, did we achieve the most important expectations and targets of the previous day? Second, what are the expectations for today?
in t u o what i s i t ?
A digital performance management tool, that is user-friendly & engages your people to give/receive feedback and learn 'on the job'.
y ou def eni t el y need i t when y ou. . .
- Are redesigning your performance cycle & are searching for a great tool to support this. - Want more communication in your team on result-oriented working. - Are searching for a positive vibe & more engagement in your organization regarding performance management. - Want to bring new employees up to speed faster and keep current ones up to date!
ot her s t uf f y ou s houl d k now about i nt uo:
- It's a great, innovative team to work with! - You can just request a free demo & give it a try.
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