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<v Speaker 1>Hey, this is Chris with Hacking your Leadership on today's

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<v Speaker 1>discussion on employee engagement. I want to go over something

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<v Speaker 1>that was brought to my attention by one of our

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<v Speaker 1>listeners after our Monday episode that we just published three

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<v Speaker 1>days ago. We talked a lot about performance reviews and

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<v Speaker 1>about the tendency for some leaders to use a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of personality traits in performance reviews as opposed to talking

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<v Speaker 1>about actual observable behaviors and outcomes that are more objective,

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<v Speaker 1>as opposed to just based on the feeling the leader

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<v Speaker 1>has about a person. And I had a listener reach

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<v Speaker 1>out and say that they felt like they owned it.

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<v Speaker 1>They felt like they were pretty bad at doing this,

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<v Speaker 1>and they wanted to get better, but they didn't really

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<v Speaker 1>where to start, and they felt like this was impacting

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<v Speaker 1>the engagement of their team. That they've been given feedback

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<v Speaker 1>from their team after delivering a performance review that they

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<v Speaker 1>didn't like that review, or they didn't understand it, or

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<v Speaker 1>they just felt lost after receiving the review and didn't

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<v Speaker 1>know how to move how to move forward, or how

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure that it was better next time. And

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<v Speaker 1>I like this because I think you know when you're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about what to put in place or what to

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<v Speaker 1>do to get better at this if you're not good,

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<v Speaker 1>or even if you are good, the idea of being

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<v Speaker 1>able to level check and kind of verify that you

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<v Speaker 1>are still good at this, because it can it can

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<v Speaker 1>get very easy to start writing reviews incorrectly based on

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<v Speaker 1>personality traits, especially if you're writing a lot of good reviews.

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<v Speaker 1>I think some leaders really you know, dive into the

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<v Speaker 1>evidence based reviews when it comes to writing performance reviews

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<v Speaker 1>that require a change in behavior from from employees because

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<v Speaker 1>they need to have kind of their their their t's

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<v Speaker 1>crossed and their eyes dotted. But when you're writing a

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<v Speaker 1>very positive review, it can be assumed sometimes that employees

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<v Speaker 1>won't have a problem with that review that they're getting

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<v Speaker 1>because it's positive anyway, and so the leader is less

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<v Speaker 1>likely to have a lot of evidence based reasons of

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<v Speaker 1>why the review is positive, and again that short change

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<v Speaker 1>the employee. And so I want to kind of, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>talk to this individual and anybody else might be feeling

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<v Speaker 1>the same questions around, you know, the things they can

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<v Speaker 1>do right now to get better at this and to

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<v Speaker 1>you know, make sure that they're you know, doing right

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<v Speaker 1>by their employees.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think it's great, and I think it's awesome

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<v Speaker 2>that people are kind of thinking about this and talking

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<v Speaker 2>about it. And again, the realization is that almost all

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<v Speaker 2>of us need some help here to get better at

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<v Speaker 2>this over time. And the reason why I think it's

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<v Speaker 2>also so important is because this is a practice that

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<v Speaker 2>as you continue to do it will help you to

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<v Speaker 2>observe things differently and even in the informal conversations like

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<v Speaker 2>I know, right now we're talking about the formality of

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<v Speaker 2>like a performance review and why this is important as

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<v Speaker 2>you write it on paper and it stays with the person.

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<v Speaker 2>But I also think about, you know, the informal times

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<v Speaker 2>of conversations that you're having when you're when you're actually

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<v Speaker 2>observing the behavior in the moments, right, are you saying

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<v Speaker 2>something like oh, Chris, like hey man, I really appreciate

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<v Speaker 2>it your positive ata to today in the meeting and

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<v Speaker 2>just you know, the way that you you know, allowed

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<v Speaker 2>everybody to have a voice. Sure, I mean that sounds good,

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<v Speaker 2>right like, oh, yeah, you got no problem anytime? Absolutely,

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<v Speaker 2>or right am I going to say, hey, Chris, you

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<v Speaker 2>know one of the things that I appreciated about your

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<v Speaker 2>impact to the meeting this morning and the fact that

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<v Speaker 2>we were able to really align on the strategy was

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<v Speaker 2>that you created a space where you allowed everyone to

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<v Speaker 2>share their ideas, and you even took a step back

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<v Speaker 2>at one point as you saw that somebody was sharing

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<v Speaker 2>and then we jumped into something else and you paused

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<v Speaker 2>the whole team and you went back said, well, hold on,

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<v Speaker 2>let me let me make sure that you get to

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<v Speaker 2>finish your thought here, because because I want to, I

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<v Speaker 2>want to be sure that we've all had the opportunity

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<v Speaker 2>to talk through this and share what we're thinking as

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<v Speaker 2>we get to this point. And that type of leadership

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<v Speaker 2>in the moment and the op like observing where people

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<v Speaker 2>are at, body language and conversations that are happening, that

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<v Speaker 2>really allowed this to be a space wherever one was

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<v Speaker 2>very attuned to everyone else and everyone had a chance

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<v Speaker 2>to talk through their ideas, and that really was extremely

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<v Speaker 2>helpful in that process. Yeah, big, big difference between there's

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<v Speaker 2>a lot more, write a lot more, but very specific

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<v Speaker 2>based on the behavior and and and doing my best

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<v Speaker 2>right in the moment, even to avoid the personality things

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<v Speaker 2>because like it's just kind of what we do. But

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<v Speaker 2>I but I think that's why this is such an

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<v Speaker 2>important topic, and I think that you know, I'm sure

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<v Speaker 2>you'll share a couple things. I'll share a couple of

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<v Speaker 2>things around ways that we can go about sharpening this

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<v Speaker 2>skill and in ways that we have gone personally around

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<v Speaker 2>sharpening the skill for ourselves.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure if that segue was intentional, but uh,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a it's a great one to say. We're going

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<v Speaker 1>to go over that. I want to talk about the

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<v Speaker 1>things that people can do to actually sharpen this skill,

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<v Speaker 1>or to if you're if you're starting from a blunt

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<v Speaker 1>stick on the ground and you and you and you

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<v Speaker 1>have some a lot of sharpening to do then, or

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<v Speaker 1>or if you just want to kind of fine tune

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<v Speaker 1>some things. I want to go over some of those

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<v Speaker 1>things that you can do right now with your coworkers

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<v Speaker 1>to get better at this do and do right by

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<v Speaker 1>your people. But first I want to get upward from

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<v Speaker 1>one of our sponsors. All right, one of the things

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<v Speaker 1>that I like to do when it comes to honing

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<v Speaker 1>this skill and making sure that it's in the right space,

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<v Speaker 1>especially as I'm approaching you know, performance review season, and

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<v Speaker 1>you know some organizations you write them year round because

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<v Speaker 1>it's based on the anniversary of the employee. Other organizations

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<v Speaker 1>have a time of year that you write them for

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<v Speaker 1>all employees. If this is something you do throughout the year,

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<v Speaker 1>because it's based on an employee anniversary, you might argue

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<v Speaker 1>be better at this skill because you it's in the

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<v Speaker 1>front of your mind all the time. If you're in

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<v Speaker 1>an organization that does this, you know, once a year

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<v Speaker 1>for every employee, then it sometimes it might be harder

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<v Speaker 1>to get back in the mindset of it and you

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<v Speaker 1>have kind of like relearned this a little bit each time.

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<v Speaker 1>But one of the things that I love doing is

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<v Speaker 1>I'll pull old performance reviews out that I've written for

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<v Speaker 1>people or that were written for me, and I will

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<v Speaker 1>partner with a coworker that doesn't know the names of

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<v Speaker 1>these people or doesn't know who they are, pull the

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<v Speaker 1>names out, and have that person read a review back

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<v Speaker 1>to me that I wrote. And am I left with

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<v Speaker 1>the feeling that I know a what behaviors I should

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<v Speaker 1>start doing right away that I'm not doing, and what

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<v Speaker 1>behaviors I should stop doing that I am doing. And lastly,

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<v Speaker 1>am I clear on why those behaviors led to the

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<v Speaker 1>outcomes being measured on the performance review? So the company

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<v Speaker 1>has the goals. These are the goals we're getting towards.

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<v Speaker 1>This is how I met this goal or didn't meet

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<v Speaker 1>this goal. And these are the behaviors that I exhibited

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the year that led to meeting or not meeting

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<v Speaker 1>this goal. If I'm clear on those things, then it's

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<v Speaker 1>a good performance review. If I'm not clear on what

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<v Speaker 1>I need to do going forward and I just know

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<v Speaker 1>how that person feels about me, it's not a good

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<v Speaker 1>performance review.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think it's great. I would almost do something

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<v Speaker 2>of like when you're in the practice for writing a

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<v Speaker 2>self review. I think we get pretty good at this

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<v Speaker 2>over time. But also sometimes and I'll be guilty as well.

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<v Speaker 2>Sometimes you write a self review and it's just like

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<v Speaker 2>here's the data, here's the thing, here's what went well.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, basically, just here's some information, right and then

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<v Speaker 2>and then I'm just waiting to get my review from

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<v Speaker 2>my direct leader. Like that's kind of a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>times what we can do here. But this is a

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<v Speaker 2>great space to say, Okay, you know, what are two

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<v Speaker 2>or three things, and just let's keep it. Let's keep

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<v Speaker 2>it like timely in the last maybe you know, three

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<v Speaker 2>months or six months, what are two or three things

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<v Speaker 2>that were outcomes that you felt really good about. They

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<v Speaker 2>maybe got recognized for they were you know, they exceeded

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<v Speaker 2>the expectation. Maybe they were done you know, on time

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<v Speaker 2>or early. But like two or three things that you

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<v Speaker 2>feel really good about from a body of work. Write

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<v Speaker 2>those three things down and then take the time to say, Okay, specifically,

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<v Speaker 2>what behaviors did you do that had the impact on

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<v Speaker 2>that outcome? What did you do and just even if

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<v Speaker 2>you have to list them, you don't have to make

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<v Speaker 2>it all pretty, but then list those behaviors down. Now

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<v Speaker 2>write the review for yourself as if you were your boss. Right,

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<v Speaker 2>use that information and write yourself a review as if

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<v Speaker 2>you were the boss. And what does that look like?

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<v Speaker 2>How does that feel? What's different? Now that you have that,

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<v Speaker 2>go back and review both review your own self reviews

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<v Speaker 2>and review previous reviews that maybe you've received and look

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<v Speaker 2>to see what the differences are.

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<v Speaker 1>Right.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think if you go about doing it that way,

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<v Speaker 2>you're going to build in some practice with some things,

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<v Speaker 2>some behaviors that are really easy for you to remember,

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<v Speaker 2>things that are personal, things that are you know that

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<v Speaker 2>you clearly know that you did. But I think just

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<v Speaker 2>the act of writing them out this way will be

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<v Speaker 2>helpful as you start to think about others, and it's

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<v Speaker 2>probably going to have you think about when you write reviews,

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<v Speaker 2>how you get information from people in that review, because

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<v Speaker 2>that's the first thing I'm thinking of, is, like, what

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<v Speaker 2>questions am I asking my leaders to get the specific

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<v Speaker 2>details of behaviors that maybe they did or that were

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<v Speaker 2>a part of this that maybe I didn't even observe

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<v Speaker 2>or that I wasn't aware of, but are definitely a

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<v Speaker 2>part of you know, why they either had success or

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<v Speaker 2>maybe they struggled.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, I like this a lot. There's there's there's something

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<v Speaker 1>that someone said to me once, almost like an exercise,

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<v Speaker 1>and it had nothing to do with leadership, but I

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<v Speaker 1>thought it was I thought it was kind of a

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<v Speaker 1>fun exercise. They asked me to describe the color blue

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<v Speaker 1>without giving examples of things that are blue. And I

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<v Speaker 1>thought that's interesting, and it's interesting how some things are

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<v Speaker 1>really hard, if not impossible, to describe without just giving

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<v Speaker 1>examples of it. And if you're thinking about the things

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<v Speaker 1>you're writing about people on a performance review specifically, you

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<v Speaker 1>need to go into it with that mindset of if

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<v Speaker 1>you can't describe it, then you shouldn't write it. It's

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<v Speaker 1>the difference between telling somebody that they're nice versus telling

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<v Speaker 1>them that they made their team feel appreciated by giving

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<v Speaker 1>them credit publicly on the hard work that they did

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<v Speaker 1>and complimenting them in that way. One leaves a person

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<v Speaker 1>feeling complimented, but the other leaves a person knowing exactly

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<v Speaker 1>what they did so they can replicate it in the

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<v Speaker 1>future because it had a positive outcome on what the

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<v Speaker 1>team was looking for. And if you're doing it in

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<v Speaker 1>this way, if you if you think about it from

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<v Speaker 1>a standpoint of can a person actually replicate the behaviors

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<v Speaker 1>because they know what they were, or can they stop

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<v Speaker 1>the behaviors because they know what they were they didn't

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<v Speaker 1>get them the outcomes, then that is a good performance review.

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<v Speaker 1>And if they can't do those things, then you need

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<v Speaker 1>to rewrite the performance review until they are able to

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<v Speaker 1>do those things very clearly. They can look back on

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<v Speaker 1>the review throughout the year to kind of level set

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<v Speaker 1>themselves on the things they should be focusing on and

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<v Speaker 1>working on when the review is not clear in their

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<v Speaker 1>mind because you just gave it to them. Thank you

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<v Speaker 1>for joining us in this episode about employee engagement. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>see you next Thursday. For the next one, you have

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<v Speaker 1>a great day.