Dean Smith—A Great Coach, Mentor, and Teacher

So much was written when Dean Smith passed away recently about his coaching record at North Carolina and the superstar players he coached and mentored. What was even more significant to me was the words about him as a person—and not as a famous person—but comments about his character and how he treated people around him.

I am sure he wasn’t perfect but when coaches who competed against him for years had glowing things to say about it, it made me think there was a lot more to him than being a legend in the basketball world

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One of the most interesting comments was from Mike Krzyzewski, longtime coach of Duke University—UNC’s in-state rival.  Mike said, “Of course he will live forever. Not because of what he did but because of what he taught.”  This quote was in an article in the Washington Post on Dean Smith’s death written by John Feinstein on February 9, 2015. 

Feinstein goes on to say that yes, Smith taught the mechanics of basketball but that he also “taught loyalty.”  And he taught it to his players long after they left UNC by being loyal to them.  He also “taught passion—not just about winning games but about doing the right things in life.”

It is well known that Smith considered players, no matter how long ago they’d played at North Carolina, as family and he helped them in many, many ways.  He never let them forget that he cared about each on personally and that they could come to him with problems and issues they were facing.

What kind of a leader are you?  What are you teaching your employees?  What will they say about you when the time comes for you to move on in life or in death?  I hope they will talk about the lessons you taught them by your character and loyalty, and that you treated everyone with respect and dignity.  That is the kind of legacy I know I want to leave and hope you do too!

More Than Just Names On A Wall

At last year's observance at the Wall, the memorial to those we lost during the Vietnam War, the following excerpt from a letter written on May 28, 1968 by Lt. Randall Planchon USMC was read: "There are only 89 people in M company mow.  We should have about 200.  We still have a couple of bodies out there we have not recovered.  I just pray to God that we don't go back, but we must go back.  My men can't take much more of this and I can't either.  No longer can I lead these men to their death."  Two weeks after he wrote this, he was killed in action. 

The Vietnam War had an impact on all of us who lived through it. It was a conflict that defined the Baby Boomer generation, but it impacted our parents – parents like my neighbors who lost their son, Bobby Palenscar – and children born during that time who lost fathers they never knew or who were left behind in Vietnam when their father’s returned home.

The Wall is a unique memorial, unlike any other in Washington DC. Whenever I visit, I stop by Bobby’s name and remember the teenager who lived across the street. For my husband, Carl, the visits are more moving as he visits his friend, Peter Penfold, who was killed in the Tet offensive and whose death moved him to enlist in the Marine Corp.

Over the past three decades, the Wall has become a hallowed spot, a place of pilgrimage, homage and reconciliation – a place to remember, mourn and forgive. Remembrances are brought and left behind – letters, dog tags, college rings, a football helmet, a motorcycle, posters, sneakers, medals. Now, some of the 400,000 items left there over the years by visitors are being selected for display in the new Vietnam War education center planned for a site nearby. Jan C. Scruggs, whose Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund created the memorial claims that there is no sociological or anthropological precedent in the United States for such actions – leaving behind remembrances.  Legend has it that the first object left was a Purple Heart medal, placed at the cornerstone of the Wall. As more items were left and park rangers began to realize their importance and the importance of the gestures and thus began the next tribute to this conflict – The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection.

As you kick off summer this Memorial Day, take a moment to remember those heroes who won’t been kicking back at barbecues and drinking beer. Pay homage to our fallen heroes, but also think what you can do for the men and women who are returning from today’s conflicts and are struggling. Help them get re-established in the job market.

Reengineering Performance Management

The practice of reengineering started in 1993 with Mike Hammer and Jim Champy's book, Reengineering the Corporation, followed two years later by Champy's Reengineering Management. Twenty years later, we're still reengineering things in organizations. The latest is performance management.

Remember when your mother told you "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it"? Well, some organizations are taking this to heart when it comes to performance management. In February, The Wall Street Journal reported on companies that have been reengineering their performance appraisals to put the focus on employees' strengths and accentuate the positive. The companies include VMware Inc.; Wayfarer, Inc.; and the Boston Consulting Group.

Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall recently wrote in Harvard Business Review about the work they are doing at Deloitte to reinvent the company's performance management system. They are making it nimbler, real-time, and more individualized, with a focus on fueling future performance rather than assessing it in the past. Out with the once-a-year, time-consuming event that's dreaded by managers and employees alike, and on to meaningful conversations between managers and employees. The objectives of the new system are to recognize performance, to see performance clearly, and to fuel individual performance.

To achieve the second objective, team leaders are asked to answer -- on a periodic basis, not just once a year -- four future-focused questions regarding what they would do with each team member, rather than what they think of the person.

Two questions use a five-point scale from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" to measure:

1. Overall performance and unique value to the organization: Given what I know of this person's performance, and if it were my money, I would award this person the highest possible compensation increase and bonus.

2. Ability to work well with others: Given what I know of this person's performance, I would always want him or her on my team.

The remaining questions use yes-or-no responses to identify:

3. Problems that might harm the customer or team: This person is at risk for low performance.

4. Potential: This person is ready for promotion today.

The simplicity and ease of this "appraisal instrument" should make everyone leap for joy. However, the process doesn't stop with answering the questions. Remember, performance management is a system, not an event. An integral part of the new Deloitte process is tied to the last objective -- to fuel performance -- and the conversation or check-in between employee and team leaders. Their purpose is to provide clarity -- what's expected, why it's expected, what great work looks like, and how it can be achieved in the short term (we're talking days). Check-ins must be frequent to be effective, and to ensure that they happen, the system is designed to have the team member (who's eager for feedback and guidance) initiate them. Talk about innovation -- a radical redesign to the entire process and culture of performance management.

While everyone's been buzzing about Deloitte's four questions, I was most taken by the third objective, to fuel performance rather than improve performance. It's exactly what the other companies are doing. Recognize strengths and leverage employee talent to grow the individual along with the organization. There's much to be said about lessons learned -- but too often, those exercises focus on the negative. Yes, the past can give us great feedback, lessons, and history, but they might as well sit in dusty books on shelves (or in file drawers) if we aren't going to take them into the future.

It's often been taken for granted that good performers need no encouragement for future performance. Finally, organizations are discarding this assumption and putting energy into inspiring all employees.

Performance Reviews - Tips and Guidance

Thanks to Sharon Armstrong, Sharon Armstrong & Associates, for providing us the following insights about performance management.

The key to evaluating an employee’s performance is to review the objectives and key performance factors, and the results or outcomes in each of these areas.  When the supervisor and employee are clear on the expectations of performance, they will be able to easily determine whether the employee achieved, exceeded, or did not achieve the performance expectations based on the recorded results or outcomes.

Guidance for Writing Results

For Objectives:  Review the performance documentation and outcome results of the objective and identify the information that objectively demonstrates the accomplishment of that objective.  When writing results, provide:

·       Outcome results of the accomplishment of each objective and specific examples of how the employee achieved, exceeded, or did not achieve expectations; and

·       Specific examples of how the employee achieved, exceeded, or did not achieve the performance standards for each objective.

For Performance Factors:  The best measures for determining performance for the key performance factors are observable skill applications and/or behaviors and their specific outcomes.  When writing the results for each performance factor, describe:

·       A situation that required the employee to demonstrate the specific skill or behavior required of the performance factor.

·       The action that the employee took, or the behavior that the employee exhibited, in this situation.

·       The specific result or outcome of the situation.

·       Specific examples of how the employee achieved, exceeded, or did not achieve the expectations of each performance factor.

Performance Management Tips

Below is a list of actions managers can take in order to manage employee performance effectively.

·       Use a balanced approach of talking and listening (often a matter of judgment, experience, and knowledge of the needs of the employee).

·       Avoid being a micro-manager.  Discuss with the employee when and how performance might best be monitored.

·       Involve the employee directly to help build commitment to his/her work and the performance management process.  Emphasize employee responsibility and ownership of his/her work.

·       Plan for specific milestones in reviewing the employee’s progress, which are specific, rational, and well understood.

·       Set aside a quiet place and enough time for performance discussions.

·       Ask the employee what assistance is needed from you to help accomplish his/her objectives.

·       Be specific about next steps after performance discussions.

Sharon Armstrong, PHR, CMF

Author of "The Essential Performance Review Handbook"