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Q: What should I do if my supervisor believes I am not delivering?
A: There are five things you should do, i.e.,
1. You Must Listen Hard.
Do:
Pay attention.
Listen before you talk.
Know and figure out what's wrong.
Use your ears, eyes, and heart to listen.
Find out what the people you work with think are the most important things you can do.
Don't:
Talk first, then listen.
Not listen at all.
Think you know what's most important to other people.
Think you know everything or have all the answers.
Listening but not getting it.
Listening only to figure out what to say next.
Only caring about your own plans.
Pretending to listen.
Say:
What I think I hear you say is...
Let me make sure I understand what you're trying to say...
Let's figure out what the group is trying to say...
Is there anything else you would like to say?
You feel [[unhappy, energized, annoyed, discouraged, baffled, spiteful, angry, confused, surprised, unsure, excited, etc.]] about the [[content, topic, or meaning of what is being said]].
First, I want to understand your point of view, and then I'll explain mine.
2. You Must Make Expectations Clear.
Do:
Reveal and disclose expectations.
Examine and confirm expectations.
If feasible and necessary, renegotiate expectations.
Don't:
Go against expectations. Break what people expect.
Assume that everyone has the same or clear expectations.
Guessing. Pretending you know for sure what a person expects.
Leave expectations open-ended or ambiguous.
Not establishing the needed details (i.e., what the expected results, deadlines, and required resources) that make the expectation real.
Failing to write down the expectations. Relying on situational expectations, which can change based on memory, interpretation, understanding, or recent incident.
Do something unrelated to the expectation, then adjust the expectation based on the outcome of the unrelated action.
Say:
Exactly what do you want me to give you? How soon?
How do you know if you've been successful? How will we know if we've done our job?
What do we care about the most: speed, quality, or cost?
What resources do you need to make this happen?
What will we do next, and when?
How and when will we follow up?
What do you think you've understood from this talk?
Does anyone else need to know this?
What do you think you should do next?
What do you think I should do next?
Things are different now. We should look over what we expect...
3. You Must Be Honest and Straight.
Do:
Be truthful. Tell the reality.
Be clear about your position.
Talk in plain words. Call things as they are.
Display integrity.
Don't:
Lie. Deceive.
Alter the truth. Withholding details. Influence people.
Use business jargon, avoidance tactics, double-talk, and flattery.
Twisting the truth (manipulating, positioning, and posing).
Create false impressions (by stating the facts, but in a misleading way).
Say:
This is how I see things...
This is something I really care about...
Here's what I think we should do...
As far as I can tell, these are the facts...
From my point of view...
I value our relationship and want to be honest with you...
I want to be candid with you...
Let me tell you what I've observed...
Here's what I've learned/understood...
4. You Must Fix Mistakes.
Do:
If you make a mistake, fix it.
Say sorry quickly.
Try to make things right if you can.
Pull through service recovery (i.e., reaching out to customers who had a negative service experience to rectify the situation).
Be humble.
Don't:
Deny or excuse wrongdoing.
Make excuses for bad behavior.
Don't let your pride stop you from doing the right thing.
Trying to cover things up or hide mistakes instead of fixing them.
Not admitting their mistakes until they are forced to.
Let shame hinder you.
Say:
I'm sorry. It was my mistake.
I apologize for…
I made a mistake when...
What should I do to fix this?
Tell me what you need help with.
What will it take to get things right?
What could I have done differently?
What lessons can we learn from this?
We promise to do the following...
What can I do to make it right for you?
5. You Must Get Things Done.
Do:
Create a proven record of accomplishment.
Do what has to be done. Get things done.
Complete the missions.
Deliver results on-time and within budget.
Don't:
Poor performance/failure to deliver.
Underpromise and overpromise.
Give justifications for failing to fulfill.
Delivering activities rather than outcomes/results.
Faking up work.
Working hard, but doing nothing productive.
Say:
What specific results do you want from us? How soon?
How will we know if we've done well?
What will happen as a result of this?
I promise to deliver... by [[the due date]].
This is what we said we would do, and it costs less than we planned.
We're all done. Did you expect something else?
Whatever it takes, we need to get these results.
Which one of these goals is most important?
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