A number of folks working from home are telling me two common stories – either their manager is checking in too often and micro-managing or, they communicate less often and only have superficial conversations. Leaders it’s time to step up and team members, it’s time to lean and ask.
My high school and college job included working in a beach shop in Florida – you know bathing suits, t-shirts and sunscreen. Most nights when closing up the shop, the owner, chewing on an unlit cigar, would say, “Nice job today.” Of course, I said, “thanks”, and left for the night. For years I heard this and I always wondered what I did well each day.
Regardless of your position or pay grade, we all want specific suggestions for improvement and/or recognition for tasks and projects that meet and exceed expectations. Once per year performance reviews don’t cut it and they’re often full of recency biases – those missteps and accomplishments that occurred in the month prior to the review.
Leaders
Invest a few minutes per employee and write down success stories, accomplishments, exhibited talents for each person on your team. Be as specific as possible and be prepared to share examples. Afterwards, schedule a call or meeting (Zoom?) to discuss your conclusions. Let them know the conversation will be 100% positive and take less than 15 minutes. At the end of the conversation, if you’d like to go out on a limb, ask them if there’s anything you can do to help them perform more effectively. If so, write this down. That’s it. It’s not a performance review. It’s not a discussion of future development. It’s just positive. Step up.
Employees
I wish I knew at the beach shop what I eventually realized: If you’re not getting performance feedback, then you must ask for it. Yep, be assertive – with preparation. This is not meant to be a catalyst for a full performance review, more of a check-in. However, it is worthwhile to review your job description, or if you don’t have one, jot down your primary responsibilities. From there, develop questions you’re most curious about. Is it how you interact with clients; your expertise on the financial statements or a recent presentation you gave? Apply your questions to specific examples of some of your recent tasks and projects. Schedule a 15 minute meeting with your manager to review your questions. (I once created a one-page check-in form with a few of my job questions. Since my director was a thinker, I passed along my questions in advance. It included a target deadline. It became a monthly event, my boss never failed to follow up and it was a great way to start a discussion.) Lean in and ask.
I have yet to observe a leader who has given too much positive, authentic and specific feedback to their team. Therefore, if you’re the leader, it’s time to step up. If you’re the team member, and all you hear is crickets, then it’s time for you to lean in and ask for the feedback that you need and deserve.