Page 105 - Make Work Great

Beginning Your Crystal

Quick Video: Encouraging Excellent Performance

Visit www.MakeWorkGreat.com for a short video segment about how
to encourage someone to replicate a positive behavior. This is also
an easy bit of information to share if you’re trying to describe the
contents of this chapter to a trusted friend or colleague.

employee’s skills, saying that he or she is missing a necessary ability?
Or are you discussing a growth area—a way in which the employee
can learn something new and become more valuable in the future?
There’s no guarantee of success with either conversation, but you’re
less likely to inspire defensive behavior if you can stay focused on the
future. Be careful not to accidentally suggest a gap where there isn’t
one. On the other hand, if you must address a legitimate gap, clearly
identify the current state of performance and the change in ability or
skills required; limit the conversation to a specifi c skill or topic. It’s
best to have such conversations just before the employee can use them
rather than just after he or she has made a mistake! 2

If You Are the Employee
If you have decided to add your own manager to your new crystal,
your approach must be different than the one described in the previ-
ous section. Many people feel that, as the employee, they’re obligated
to do what their manager says and not question or disrupt the status
quo. The utility of this “blind obedience” approach to employment
is debatable, especially in the (frequent) cases where employees have
some piece of knowledge or expertise the manager lacks. But even
setting that debate aside, an obligation to follow directives does not
translate to an obligation to follow outmoded patterns of informa-
tion transfer. Those who become talented at infl uencing managers
and leaders above them in their organizational hierarchies frequently
report that “managing their manager” is tremendously important to
their output and satisfaction at work.

93