The last year and a half as a manager has been quite the whirlwind. In 2021 and early 2022, the industry experienced unprecedented levels of attrition. We didn’t know how we were going to keep anyone long-term. And then during the second half of
2022 and up until the time of this writing (mid- 2023), the industry has been laying off tech workers at a rate we haven’t seen in quite some time. On top of this, some tech companies are lowering their stock compensation and limiting raises.
If this season has taught me anything it’s the value and importance of solid performance management. Performance management is so easy for managers to overlook. In the good times, we want to keep things vague because we want to keep people at our company. In the bad times, we surprise people with tough conversations because we haven’t properly managed their performance.
Over the past few years, this is how I manage the performance of everyone, from the low performers to the superstars:
Create a Performance Log
First, keep a log of the good, bad, and ugly of the employee’s performance. Managers so often fall into the trap of recency bias, where when they are asked for the performance rating of one of their employees, they simply provide a top-of-mind assessment. That is not only unacceptable, but it’s completely unfair to the employee. I had a friend who didn’t receive the yearly performance rating that they expected, and when approaching their senior leader about it, was given feedback about something that had happened a few weeks prior. That’s a clear miss on performance management by this friend’s leadership.
Let’s not do that. Instead, create a doc that is labeled $PERSON—performance log—$YEAR. Then add entries like:
6/2/2023 Heard from product that Jane was engaging with them and defining the project that will be critical to success. Shows next level effort.
or
6/3/2023 In a meeting about the new feature release, Patrick was argumentative and had to be right. Will follow up with him in our 1:1.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Instead, keep it simple, include screenshots, and you will thank yourself later when review time rolls around.
Agree on Growth Opportunities
Second, challenge everyone related to growth opportunities. It’s easy for a 1:1 to become a therapy session where the manager listens and commiserates with the complaints of the employee. Sometimes that’s warranted, but also sometimes every employee needs to be challenged on how they can improve. It seems scary at first, but your people will appreciate it.
I had one employee who told me for years that their management kept telling them, “Keep doing what you’re doing.” This person was struggling and didn’t have help to understand how they could grow. When they became my direct report, I challenged them in the ways they should grow. They were eager for this kind of leadership, and they listened and grew quickly.
You might think that you have a high performer who doesn’t need to be challenged. Please know, reader, this person needs to be challenged the most! If you are unable to challenge your high performer with advice on how to get to the next level, perhaps you should consider if you are the right person to be their manager. Go ask for advice from people more senior to you, and learn what it takes to manage a superstar.
In short, everyone should be challenged on their performance. Don’t wait until it’s too late for a low performer who gets surprised by unwelcome news or a career-limiting event. Also, don’t ignore your top performers because you have fallen victim to the “keep doing what you’re doing” syndrome.
Track Progress
Finally, formally track and celebrate progress and provide accountability for lack of progress. This part is so simple but often overlooked. Once you have a performance log and have been clear about performance challenges, take the final and important step of tracking it! Bring them up in your 1:1 and create a plan together to help the employee perform at the next level.
This is the hardest part of management because on the one hand, we want everyone to succeed and give low performers the benefit of the doubt, and on the other hand we feel like we would be lost without our high performers and fall victim to never having hard conversations with them. I have found both fears to be unfounded.
I had managed one person who was struggling in their job and ended up leaving the company. Two years later they had lunch with me and thanked me for the tough conversations and actions that led to their departure. They had a great new job with something that interested them, and the job separation was the wake-up call they needed to get themselves in the right place.
I managed another person who was a high performer that I pushed to grow, and they ended up being critical to a massive cloud migration project before then transitioning to their dream job at a much higher salary. I’m pretty confident if I were to adopt the “keep doing what you’re doing” mantra because I was afraid they would get offended by being challenged, they wouldn’t have been able to grow as they did. This person really appreciated that we had a real performance management relationship, despite all the tough conversations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, make performance management the cornerstone of your weekly management activities. Keep a journal, have an open conversation about performance, and help your people grow. In a very short time, you’ll see the magic of a performing, engaged, happy team who appreciates and value your leadership. The fears of not bringing up performance management end up being mere mirages.