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Get Commitment, not Submission, when you Manage Performance Problems

Many managers do indeed talk straight. They identify problems, decide on solutions, allocate responsibilities, and communicate it all to their people with standards and deadlines. For many reasons however, things often do not turn out as planned. When that happens, managers react by talking even straighter, and often louder, with more instructions, clearer priorities, and more deadlines. But still the job is not done! Management would be easy if only people would do what they have been told to do. And they have been told: straight!

Although managers say they want to obtain commitment from their people, the process they use to do so goes wrong right from the start, and before a single word is spoken. It is all about mindset. When you approach a problem with an employee with the intention of getting the person to solve the problem using your solution, you have already lessened any chance you had of obtaining commitment to that solution.

With this mindset it is likely you will start by describing the problem, then jump into describing the solution you have decided will work, and when the other person obeys your instructions with a muttered, OK, you take it as a sign of commitment. When the issue is important and you know exactly how you want it to be resolved, you are even more likely to focus on the solution that YOU want, pushing harder and harder to persuade, convince and if necessary, bully the other person into submission.

The problem is that when someone is not committed to a plan of action, then every obstacle, no matter how small, is an excuse for non-performance. If, as a manager, you do not obtain real commitment to action, it is more than likely you will find yourself facing the same problem some time later. However, when you obtain commitment from an employee, no problem is too big to prevent the goal being achieved.

Submission is not commitment. Today, employees expect to be involved in decisions. They want to think and decide for themselves. They demand responsibility and they have career ambitions that involve their personal growth and development. Most managers recognise that developing their people is one of the most important roles they play, but often lack the communication skills to make it happen successfully.

Managers need to focus on getting into dialogue around problems. They need to hear ideas from others. They need to work with their teams, helping each other think creatively through possible solutions before developing the best of them for implementation. What makes us believe that other people think better if they take on OUR thoughts without question?

It can be difficult to hold back on offering ready made solutions to problems you have seen many times before, especially when you are under pressure to deliver against standards of quality, time and budget. Sometimes, it is the only thing you can do. At other times however, you need to slow the thinking process down and use every opportunity to encourage employees to think through problems and their solutions, for themselves. The more they are involved in generating solutions, the more they will be committed to ensuring their success.

Resist the temptation to assume you have all the answers. Ask your people what they think; find out how they see the situation; and be prepared to consider views different from your own. Then step back and watch as new and creative solutions emerge.

Talking straight does not mean doing all the talking.

Seed Newsvine

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