Here’s an example:

“I don’t feel managing performance is appropriate for my staff, some of them are more experienced than I am—who am I to say what good performance in their job looks like?”

Employees’ rights at work are a well debated and largely well understood concept. Most managers have some understanding of the organisation’s legal duties with regard to the care of employees. And rightly so. Many managers, however, spend little time thinking about their rights as managers of people’s performance.

Here are some of the rights I believe managers must have:

The managers’ rights

• To explain and agree standards of performance for the job
• To expect their staff to consistently meet the agreed standards
• To monitor performance against the standards
• To give focused specific feedback on performance—the positive and less positive aspects
• To identify areas of under performance and to address those areas of under performance with their staff member
• To expect the staff member to take agreed actions to improve areas of under performance

I’m guessing you can think of more.

Can I bring your attention to the word ‘agree’ in the above statements? I’m not suggesting here that managers have the right to coerce or bully good performance out of their staff. That would be daft. I am suggesting that managers have the right to explain clearly and directly their expectations of their staff and to have positive assumptions about their staff’s willingness to perform to a high standard.

I’ve introduced the concept of ‘management rights’ to many managers and many of those managers have told me that understanding this concept has had a profound impact on their confidence. If we don’t believe we have the right to do anything, are we ever going to do it consistently and well?

And The Practical Application?

You could:

• Open a conversation with the managers in your business around the issue of the right to manage – what they perceive to be their rights and identifying any barriers to asserting those rights.
• Agree what rights the managers in your business have and what asserting those rights would look like in practice.
• Develop a ‘managers’ rights’ charter.
• Use the concept of the managers’ rights in coaching sessions with managers who appear reluctant to manage.

And of course if you need help with this, you know where I am.

Here’s how some of the managers I’ve worked with have put it:

“I feel embarrassed about managing performance. Some of my staff are more experienced than I am and some are my friends. They won’t like it if start acting ‘all managerial’.”

“Won’t my staff feel patronised if I manage their performance – won’t they think I don’t trust them?”

Well of course it depends on what ‘being managed’ looks like. Generally people don’t like being told what to do, being constantly watched, being constantly criticised (so that’s something you didn’t know then). But then again, that’s not effective performance management.

So What Do People Want?

In my work with managers I often ask the question ‘What do you, as an employee, want from your manager?’ Here are some typical answers:

• Clarity
• Feedback
• Recognition
• Communication
• Learning
• Praise
• Assistance
• Advice
• Support
• Responsibility
• Challenge
• Clear direction
• Incentives

I’m guessing you can see that many of these ‘wants’ are directly related to effective performance management. In fact, the comments quite neatly describe performance management. A few examples:

• Clarity of expectations, both the managers and staff members, is the basis of effective performance management.
• Feedback, the ability to make objective comments based on observed performance against agreed standards, is what drives effective performance management.
• Recognition, praise, reward, incentives – all part and parcel of effective performance management.

I’m sure you get the picture.

And The Research Says?

Here’s some research from the savvy people which basically illustrates the same point:

In a Gallup study of performance, covering more than 200,000 employees across a dozen or more industries, teams that rated managers highly on four factors were more productive and more profitable. They also had lower staff turnover and higher customer satisfaction ratings.

The four factors:

• Knowing what is expected of them.
• Receiving positive feedback and recognition regularly for work well done.
• Having a manager who shows care, interest and concern for each of them.
• Having a role that fits their abilities.

In a further Gallup study 80% of British workers said they lack any real commitment to their jobs and most blame poor management for their low level of motivation. Workers said they don’t know what’s expected of them, their managers don’t care about them as people, their jobs aren’t good fit for their talents and their view counted for little.

The Conclusion?

What people seem to want, and want quite badly, is to be well managed. No surprise there then. What might be more of a surprise is that much of what ‘well managed’ means is effective performance management. And to many of the managers I’ve worked with, that really is a surprise.

And The Practical Application?

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. How do you think the staff in your business would rate you or your managers against the four Gallup factors?
2. Do the managers in your business understand the value of effective performance management to the people they manage?
3. Do you need to do something differently?

Need to phone a friend? Contact me and we’ll talk it through.