One of the least fun aspects of management is raising issues of poor performance with team members. Tim and Pilar share their own experiences and learnings along the way.

2:00mins Giving performance feedback to a friend, one of the few occasions Pilar needed to seek advice and the one piece of advice that helped her have a difficult conversation.

4:30 What we’ve learned from the book Radical Candor by Kim Scott

5:00 Tim shares why, if you value the relationship with the person, feedback can be hard to give and also hard to avoid giving.

8:20 Pilar reinforces that performance reviews are not about “me”, it’s about helping the other person. What happens when feedback comes from a place of caring about the other person.

9:00 Pilar has a realisation live on air!

11:00 We talk about the benefits of regular conversations, how to stay on top of performance without micromanaging people.

13:30 Tim has an extended rant about the impact on the employee that comes from clumsy performance conversations and getting fired without care.

15:05 How to have more human conversations about performance

17:10 Taking a balanced approach to evaluating performance, what was our role in the situation? What circumstances would be required for this person to thrive? The trap of “demonising” someone over their performance.

18:30 Who is actually responsible for performance? Whoever creates the conditions bears some responsibility…

19:30 The benefits of taking a holistic view of the person you are managing and the role of processes and regulations in managing performance.

22:45 The most crucial ingredient in addressing performance is whether the person wants to change what they are doing.

And finally:
25:00 what happens when you try to be proud of the performance conversations that you have?

How about you, our listener? What are some of the things that have worked with you when addressing the poor performance of a team member? We’d love to hear from you.

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