We’re wrapping up our fiscal year this month, and I’ve been evaluating what it looks like to be an effective leader during performance reviews. I’ve continually found that my team is always most willing to adapt, grow, and learn while I’m coaching and learning alongside them, rather than managing them.
Take a look at this article to learn how we’ve been using SMART goals, TrueU programs, and meaningful performance reviews to drive change and encourage professional growth at The Farmers Bank.
Stop Managing and Start Coaching. How to Perform Reviews and Set Goals for Your Team.
We’re wrapping up June, which means our team at The Farmers Bank is reaching the end of our fiscal year. While for many of you, this is mid-year, we are preparing for performance evaluations. Although you may not be approaching these evaluations yet, now is a great time to be thinking about how you might make your next year’s performance review system meaningful for your company and your staff. This season can be stressful for managers and their teams alike! While preparing for these reviews, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of being a coach to your team and not just a manager of projects, processes, and products.
When I say manager, I’m not talking about the job title, but of any managing role. You could be a CEO, director, manager, anyone who is leading another individual or team. Managing is about execution, making sure people get the right things done. But to be a coach, you have to be able to motivate and support people. To be an effective coach, you need to really understand your people and build deep relationships with them. Focusing on creating an open dialogue on expectations and goals lessens the chance of disconnect and unmet expectations. Using SMART goals, understanding the dynamics of your team, and encouraging continued learning are all ways to make a performance review a success!
Below I’ve listed ways you can improve your reviews. Try them and I promise you, you’ll see a difference.
Using SMART Goals for Your Team
By rigorously applying the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound) to goal setting, then regularly reviewing goal progress, you instill a sense of accountability, pride and accomplishment in your team. Most people who feel they are making good progress know that growth is a journey. With this in mind, they’re eager to see the progress they’ve made and are ready to set the next steps for continued growth.
You can find examples of SMART goals you could give your team here.
Never Miss a Step
I’ve found in most reviews when we missed one of the five criteria of SMART goals, it resulted in a disconnect in expectations. My team thought they’d accomplished something well, but it fell short of my expectations because I wasn’t clear enough. And that can be hard to admit as a leader! Usually, we can make course corrections, as we have regular goal conversations, but setting clear expectations and goals in reviews creates greater trust and alignment. Building that trust requires being upfront with the specific action, how it’ll be measured, setting attainable goals, and making sure they are moving our organization or personal development forward in a defined timeframe. When both parties are in agreement on all five criteria it reduces the risk of miscommunication and misalignment.
How to Establish SMART goals for each employee
When beginning the process of establishing SMART goals, I like to start with a couple of key resources: the companies’ strategic plan and the employees growth plan. I aim to tie in the goal that the company is trying to accomplish as much as possible so that the employee sees how they can contribute to the whole. This provides a sense of purpose and belonging.
Beyond professional goals, I also like to have the employee set goals related to their personal growth. Letting the employee take the lead in setting goals for the new year creates greater buy in and accountability. I will often have a few additional goals or tweak the goal milestones so that the employee does not have more than what is reasonable to accomplish.
The important point is to make sure that the goals are mutually agreed upon then regularly followed up. Our team has recently gone from bi-annual reviews to quarterly reviews, which has greatly improved our ability to make sure we are communicating our goals and processes clearly. We have quarterly touch points with our staff, but I also make sure that we are talking about goal progress at our regular one-on-one meetings, which are held biweekly. Also, I ask our team to share their goals with each other. We don’t work in a vacuum, and we need the support of our fellow teammates to accomplish our goals, even if we are from different disciplines.
Guiding the Team to Their Goals
Once each employee’s SMART goals are established, remember that your responsibility as a leader doesn't stop there! Help your employees reach their goals by creating an open environment as a coach to a team where they can ask questions.
One way to improve your coaching is by working to understand your team’s preference for learning. This can help improve communication, retention of new information, and better their understanding. It allows them to maximize their potential. When teaching someone a new skill, I like to use the Tell, Show, Do approach, that way it touches on all three styles of learning- auditory, visual and kinetic- in case you or your teammate does not know their learning style preference.
You can find an example of the Tell, Show, Do approach here.
As you begin checking in on your team and conduct performance reviews, always focus first on the employee’s success. Instead of criticizing their shortcomings, praise them for their progress! When they feel like they have contributed to the success of the team, the employee will feel valued and fulfilled by their progress. As you dive into what they need to improve, give them a chance to give you feedback as well. One of the ways I encourage feedback while creating an environment that is safe to do so is to ask, “What do you need more of from me?” and, “What do you need less of from me?” This encourages an open dialogue between you and each member of your team, which will give both a chance to learn from each other!
Encourage Learning As a Leader
One of my personal philosophies is that you’re either green and growing, or ripe and rotten. As a leader, there’s never a moment where you stop learning. Even if you’ve decades of experience, there’s always a chance to learn more in your career and improve your leadership and coaching skills.
Here’s an example of learning in my own life. At one time, I’d found that many of my direct reports had gone back to get their master’s degree. I’d not yet taken the opportunity, so I decided to get my Masters in Organizational Leadership at the age of 50. Although it had been a long time since I’d been in a classroom environment, it was worth every moment, as it gave me the opportunity to expand my knowledge!
There’s been tremendous change in our industry, and by continuing to take advantage of learning opportunities, we have been able to adapt well. We’ve joined a group of like minded companies called TrueU, who believe if you grow your people, you will grow your company. TrueU focuses on personal development and providing great content available to all of our employees in a variety of forms - virtual, in person, video, podcasts, forums, panel discussions. They include a reward system where you earn a “badge” if you complete a series on a particular topic. I recently earned a badge on Healthy Relationships, and my next endeavor is Healthy Communications. Sharing with my staff that I am on a journey of personal growth alongside them creates a shared environment of growth mindedness.
Whether you are approaching the end of your fiscal year and need to prep for evaluations or are still a ways off from your next reviews, remember that there are always changes you can implement now! Evaluate yourself as a leader and consider how you have approached your employees when giving them feedback. Do they feel like they can approach you if they need to reevaluate their goals? Are you invested in creating an environment that allows employees to strive for professional and personal growth? Keeping these thoughts in mind, along with a continual desire to grow as well, will put you on the right path to stop managing and start coaching.