The Worst Thing About Performance Improvement

I did a survey in one organization. The two places most managers wanted performance improvements were (1) communication, and (2) accountability. OK, no surprise there. Better communication and more accountability would make a manager’s life easier, right?

But 6 months later, guess what they hated most… Communication about accountability.

Dave, a mid-level manager, said on the comments section of the survey, “I hate dealing with people’s excuses for why they didn’t do what they said. There’s always some justification, but it’s really just a story about where they stopped and who else is to blame.”

Sharon wrote, “I don’t want to try the accountability thing anymore. People just give explanations for why they couldn’t do it. They’re creative, but it’s annoying to deal with their buck-passing.”

So the worst thing about improving performance was dealing with people’s excuses about why they weren’t performing.

One manager, Carole, found a solution. “I took my people at their word when they told me that other people were messing us up. We started meeting with key people in other units. We explained our objectives to them. We told them about our deadlines and what we needed from them – and why it was important. After that, when we asked for things from them, they were on board with us. We’re meeting our group targets now.”

Using the excuses as feedback on the quality of relationships gave Carole a reason to reach out and strengthen those relationships. A little closure conversation plus some understanding conversations and voila! Performance conversations (requests + promises = agreements) gained more muscle – and excuses for failures were no longer necessary.

Interesting – talking to people who are messing up your life can actually be a useful thing to do.