Yup, If Necessary, Tell Your Employees How Think

You are not likely to hear this in supervisor training---sometimes, you simply need to tell employees how to think. It's part of your job as the supervisor. I know, it sounds nuts. Employees are supposed to think for themselves. Newsflash: They don't. During the year, tell your employees that if they don’t agree with what’s been pointed out in their review, to ask for clarification. Too many employees accept what they deep down inside know is incorrect. And give them an example, such as, “You’ve said that I don’t always use good judgment. Could you give me an example? I’d really like to learn from this.” Tell your employees to think of a performance review as an opportunity for self-improvement. Acknowledge their disappointment and tell them that they may feel angry about what their review can do. Tell employees to resist the urge to become emotional. Tell employees that if they calmly ask for clarification, that you as their boss will appreciate having the opportunity to explain it. And tell your employees that doing this will help show that they are taking your comments seriously. When employees hear you set the tone, they almost always follow through. Doing this could change your entire work culture for the better, almost overnight. Do you have a skills newsletter for supervisors? You find two such newsletters at http://workplacenewsletters.com

The Performance Discussion (Get Your Employees to Initiate It!)

Periodically discuss with employees being more reciprocal when it comes to performance evaluations. Sure, you hate doing performance reviews, but it unlikely you will ignore an employee who requesting one. You won't to get caught not doing your job, right? But there is also much to be gained.

Being happy on the job and engaged, productive, and feeling “at one” with your supervisor is about as good as it gets. One more thing will make it perfect—no surprises at your annual review. Plan upstream to prevent this problem by having a conversation about your performance. The “performance conversation” is about getting feedback on how well you’re doing your job, but you don’t have to wait for your supervisor to initiate it. It can start with you. If you’re beginning to feel unsure about your performance and a little detached and can’t say for certain what your supervisor thinks about how you’re doing, you’re overdue for a performance conversation appointment. Don’t forget to discuss when the next one will be.