Effective Team Briefing

For me, team briefing was always a vital component of employee engagement in the businesses I worked in. It enabled me as a manager to know that all employees received information about the business and their own teams’ performance, as well as being a great source of feedback from them. I believe team briefing is a vital skill for any manager no matter what position they hold and being able to deal with tricky or difficult briefing situations is an important part of a manager’s toolkit. I have briefed many teams over the years and have found the following tips useful in managing and dealing with difficult briefing situations. 1) Set Expectations. Setting clear expectations is a great way to ensure that a briefing runs smoothly without constant interruptions. By stating expectations at the start of my team brief it helped me to manage the process more effectively. For example, I would set expectations around the length of time the team brief was expected to take, how and when questions will be taken, and the level of attention required - i.e. mobile phones and other electronic devices to be switched off! 2) Dealing with Questions. My experience is that you shouldn’t ignore a question, as doing so may be taken as a sign of defensiveness on your part and so I would answer questions directly and honestly. Even if questions were inappropriate or ill-timed, I tried to acknowledge them and thank the other person for asking them. Sometimes I would refer to the expectations I set out at the start, and answer any questions at the end. If I did not know the answer, I would respond with “I don’t know” to some difficult questions. I never felt that I had to know everything. People will soon see through any answers made up on the spot anyway. However, in the majority of cases, not getting an answer to someone's question was not acceptable. I would say, ‘Thank you. I do not know the answer to that very interesting question. I’ll have to get back to you on that, after I’ve spoken to (x). I will do this by (y)”. 3) Dealing with questions that keep on coming. One of the most common difficulties you are likely to encounter is a barrage of questions from either one or more people. Sometimes these people really want answers to their questions but at other times the interrupter may have a disruptive motive. However, you may not be able to tell which is which! I found that the least confrontational way of dealing with a constant stream of questions was to answer each question as briefly as possible. I tried to limit my answers to one ‘breath’ in length. Before stating my answer, I would check if this material would be covered later in the briefing. If it was, I would tell the questioner that the material will be covered later. I tried not to expand on my answers, because lengthy replies containing additional details will only serve to give the questioner additional opportunity to ask more questions. Remember, keeping your answers brief minimises the negative effect of any interruptions and allows you to move on. Another tip if you find that giving short answers and setting expectations haven’t deterred interruptions, acknowledge the question but delay the answer, letting the other person know that you will cover this at the end of the briefing. 4) Dealing with off-topic questions and discussions. My view is that one or two ‘off-topic’ questions from the audience isn’t a problem, but if there are a lot of them this can be very disruptive and cause the briefing to wander or over run. One technique I used for dealing with an off-topic question was to ask for its relevance to the briefing. The sooner I could relate the question to the briefing, the sooner I could move on. 5) Dealing with confrontational questions Occasionally I might get a very confrontational question. However, I learned the hard way that if I responded to the tone with a challenging or sarcastic response, I simply lost some credibility. However, it’s vital never ever to lose control. I would try to rephrase and restate the question in a neutral way to reduce confrontation. 6) Dealing with someone who is angry or frustrated If you encounter someone who has become particularly angry, upset or frustrated during your briefing, the best way to deal with it is to accept that they are feeling angry, upset, etc (you are not necessarily agreeing with them), but deal with it after the briefing. For example, “I recognise that (x) has made you angry / frustrated etc, and that you want it resolving. I suggest therefore that we discuss these issues separately after the briefing”. 7) Dealing with a ‘Heckler’ You may find you are conducting a brief and a member of the audience decides to make comment out loud (sarcastic, amusing or otherwise) about what you are briefing. Again, never get upset, or lose control. The best way I found in dealing with these people was to find merit in what they are saying, or express agreement on something, and simply move on. 8) Always have the final say. While it can be helpful to keep the questions until after the brief is finished, I felt it was important to make sure that I had the final say – literally, by summarising the points covered. Team briefing is a vital management skill and hopefully by sharing my experiences above, it will help you to improve your briefing skills too.

Why Performance Appraisals Don’t Work

I recently worked for a client that struggled to get their annual performance appraisals completed. Less than 20% of their staff received an appraisal at the end of their financial year. The challenges that they faced reminded me of a study undertaken by Investors in People a number of years ago that found a third of employees think that performance appraisals are a complete waste of time. The study identified that for many the annual performance appraisal ranks as one of the most unpleasant aspects of their job, as well as the most pointless! The same study found that half of those appraised believed that their bosses were being dishonest during the process, a quarter thought that it was just a tick box exercise and a fifth thought that their manager did not put any preparation in before their appraisal. All of these findings are a sad indictment of a process that in my opinion is an invaluable performance improvement and development tool when used properly. This got me thinking about why these issues arise in the first place and what can be done to prevent them from occurring? From my own personal experience I believe that there are a number of reasons why personal appraisals don’t work: • I have worked with and have been managed by people who think that an appraisal is simply an annual event. Yet, I have always believed that managing an individual’s performance and development is a continual process. In my opinion it is vital that people are given continual feedback and support to ensure that that they perform to the best of their ability. Rather than sitting discussing performance once a year, I believe firmly that managers need to formally sit down with each member of their staff on regular (e.g. bi-monthly) basis. This enables both the manager and employee to have full and frank discussions about progress and performance and nip any issues in the bud before they become a serious problem. I have found this approach a far more successful way of managing someone’s performance and development, than attempting to discuss these things on an annual basis. The annual appraisal should be a summary of all the discussions that have taken place during the year, and consequently not a surprise to either the employee or their manager. • I have worked for organisations who dictate that appraisals must be undertaken/completed within a specific time frame, for example, during December, in time for the year end. However, the problem with this approach is that a manager may have 10 or more staff that they have to appraise. This becomes too much of a burden in the time available and so the manager cuts corners to get them completed. The problem is then compounded if the manager concerned has staff based in different locations nationally or internationally. To combat this problem, I have seen more enlightened organisations use other approaches such as the date an employee joined as the appraisal anniversary date. In this way appraisal task becomes spread across the year. • Finally, too often managers do not have the skills necessary to manage the performance of their staff effectively. I have had managers conduct my appraisal who clearly did not know or understand even the basics. The consequence of this was that it left me extremely frustrated and de-motivated. In my view, performance management training should be an integral part of a manager’s recruitment or promotion. The training should include the principles of performance management as well as providing the opportunity for a manager to practice their appraisal interview and feedback skills in a safe environment. Sadly performance appraisal has a bad name in many organisations. However, by addressing the issues that I have highlighted above organisations and their staff can gain the full benefit from their performance appraisal processes.

The Meaning of Leadership

I was discussing with a colleague the other day about what leadership is and what it means. To help my understanding I looked up the meaning in the Collins English Dictionary which defines the verb ‘to lead’ as ‘to show the way, to guide, to go ahead’. At its heart leadership I concluded is about taking people to new and different places. I reflected on the great Antarctic Explorers such as Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen, and realised that is exactly what they did. They took their teams to places that no one had ever been before. They did not have detailed maps, signposts or directions to show them which direction to go in, they just had the vastness of the Antarctic, and they had to provide the direction for their team themselves. My conclusion is that this is not so different from a leader of any team today. Neither I nor anyone else knows what the future will hold. There are no Ordnance Survey Maps, signposts, directions or a yellow brick road to future success, only blank space. This is an important point as my own experience has been that employees tend to look to their leaders to provide comfort from this ambiguity by providing a clear direction for them to follow. In my view this doesn’t matter whether the leader is the CEO of a multinational or the leader of a team of maintenance engineers. Working in an environment without clear direction is hugely frustrating. It is like watching a film that’s not in focus; you know that something is going on, you just don’t know what it is. I have seen the consequences of this at first hand. Without clear direction, employees chose for themselves the direction they should take and what they should focus on. While in some instances this may be acceptable, too often I have seen it create divisive relationships and poor performance as different team members pull in different directions and work on conflicting priorities. As stated above, the Collins English Dictionary defines the verb ‘to lead’ as ‘to show the way, to guide, to go ahead’. At its heart leadership is about taking people to new and different places, and in my view providing clear direction is a vital part of being a leader.

Leadership in a small business

In my opinion effective strong leadership is critical to the success of any business but its form depends on a business’s stage of growth. For example, when the business first starts up what is required is hands on approach while larger organisations will have managers who will be less involved in the day to day managing. Their position is much more of a leadership role, setting direction and conditions for success and establishing goals. I think that SMEs occupy the middle position between these two where leaders need to manage actively as well as set direction. My experience of working with different businesses is that they grow leadership style and their approach needs to change and ‘grow’ too. For example entrepreneurial individuals who start companies have unique skills and traits that often do not make them good leaders of larger organisations. I know that one of Sir Richard Branson’s secrets of success is that having started a business, he has always known when to bring in a professional management team to run it. It is therefore important that the person starting the business recognises the right time to handover the reins. My experience has been that this is often problematic as the person who started the business often doesn’t want to let go This is where an external person can add real value by challenging the business owner to prepare a plan for succession. They can also help to find the right personal fit with the CE or owner that is critical. The cost of making the wrong hire can be devastating! For a family run business I would normally expect the successor to be part of the family and expect it to remain in family hands. However, for the entrepreneur with no skilled or willing family members, it can be complex and emotional to identify successors. The best way I have seen this happen is to have a deputy ‘learn the ropes’ until the right time is to hand over. This provides both parties with opportunity to check that it works for both of them. While at its core leading a small business is no different than leading a large organisation there are some critical differences dependent on where the business is in terms of its stage of growth.

Is coaching more effective than other forms of training and development?

Mark Evenden I have often had discussions with other training and development professionals about the different approaches and interventions to developing leadership and management competence. When discussing the various development options, questions often arise over the relative effectiveness of coaching over other more ‘conventional’ workshop style approaches. Several colleagues have suggested to me that using coaching to improve leadership capability and performance is more effective than spending the equivalent time on a conventional leadership or management development programme. While I recognise that this is a somewhat subjective statement and quite difficult to measure objectively, there is a fair body of evidence that supports this view. But what are the key differences between these two approaches to development that might produce different outcomes? My personal experience has been gained from being coached and attending leadership development courses, as well as having coached many leaders and delivered numerous development programmes. From my experience I think that there are a number of key differences. Firstly coaching is a 1 to 1 process that is focussed is completely on the individual and their needs, whereas conventional workshop style leadership development programmes are run in groups. The agenda and objectives for a group leadership development intervention will have been developed to best meet the needs of the whole group and may or may not relate directly to an individual on the programme. This is in stark contrast to the objectives for coaching which are set by the coachee and can be flexible and evolve as the coachee progresses. The coaching process deals with the reality of a coachee's situation rather than the generalities, theories, models or techniques that form the basis of a leadership programme. This can mean that the ‘call to action’ is also stronger and more specific for a coachee than for a participant on a leadership programme. The ability for an individual leaders to talk and act honestly, naturally and spontaneously is generally easier in a 1 to 1 coaching session. Any displays of frustration, anger or emotion can sometimes be regarded as disruptive on a leadership or management training course and is often not encouraged. Finally, the timing of coaching sessions can be based around the individual’s needs and the speed at which they develop, with sessions planned more closely together, or further part as appropriate. However, I am certainly not suggesting that conventional group workshop leadership or management development programmes don’t have advantages over coaching, because they do. For example, a group programme provides opportunities and stimulus for knowledge sharing, networking and team development, as well as a mechanism for delivering development in a consistent way. Clearly each approach to development has its own merits and if I reflect on the most successful leadership development programmes that I have been involved in they have been a blend of coaching, conventional ‘training’ as well as other approaches. In this way the participants gain the benefits from coaching as it provides a focus for their specific learning needs as well as the benefits of consistency, networking and sharing learning from a group development programme.

Managing Performance Effectively

Performance management has always been a key part of a manager’s responsibility. However, in the current tough economic climate I believe it is now even more important to manage the performance and development of staff effectively to counter the effects of tough trading conditions. In my view the overall purpose of performance management is to maximise the contribution of individuals and teams to enable a business or organisation to achieve its goals and objectives. I also believe that performance management is applicable to all levels within an organisation from front line operatives to the board. As a manager I have always tried to use a number of principles when managing the performance of my staff. Set clear expectations. I believe that it is vital that everyone in the business knows what’s expected of them if they are to maximise their own and the business’s performance. As a manager I set expectations in the following two ways:  By describing what needs to be achieved through the setting of personal targets (that are ultimately linked to the business strategy).  By describing how managers and staff are expected to behave and deliver their personal targets. Manage performance continually. I do not let my managers and staff ‘just get on with it’ in the hope that they will deliver the expectations that I have set. Instead I continually review their performance by meeting with them on a regular basis (e.g. every 6 weeks) to discuss progress against targets and resolve any issues that might have arisen in the previous period. The outcomes of the meeting are usually a set of actions that need to be taken by both the individual and myself. Review performance annually. I conduct a formal review of performance once per year (using set procedures and documentation). I review performance both in terms of What has been achieved as well as How it has been achieved.  What has been achieved is a review of the job holder’s tasks and responsibilities which I measure by achievement/delivery of the targets set.  How the targets have been delivered. I determine this by reviewing an individual’s behaviour against the business’ competence standards and values. Generally, I have already collated the majority of the evidence for the annual review from the regular meetings I have had with staff. Performance management outcomes. Clearly for performance management to be effective something needs to happen as a result of it. The outcomes from the process typically range from recognition of efforts and achievements, and sanctioning of bonuses and other incentives for those who have delivered on the expectations I set them. For those that do not, there may be consequential action. In addition, I agree learning actions and plans as well as new targets for the coming year. Ultimately, the measure of whether or not performance management is effective is if all managers, teams and ultimately the business achieves its goals and objectives. While performance management is never easy and can often require having difficult or tough conversations, my own experience has been that using the principles above has enabled me to deal with the majority of performance issues before they become a serious problem for either me or the business. Good performance management can provide essential support and guidance to inexperienced staff who if badly managed will continue to perform below their potential.

Making Meetings More Effective

Many years ago I watched a great Video Arts production called ‘Meetings Bloody Meetings’. It starred John Cleese who took a satirical look at the creation of meetings and how to get the most out of them. It was fun to watch and it prompted me to think of not just how much time I wasted in meetings and also and more importantly how much of others people’s time I had wasted by not planning, preparing and chairing the meetings I was responsible for. In my view the key to a successful meeting is in its preparation, and over the years I have used the following checklist to help me prepare. 1) Is the purpose of the meeting clear? For example is it to gain consensus on an issue, to make a decision or is for information sharing? This is an important point because I use it as a challenge, do I really need a meeting or can the purpose be achieved in another way. For example if it is for information sharing can the information be disseminated via email? 2) Related to the first point what are the specific outcomes of the meeting? In other words what do you want the meeting to achieve? 3) Who needs to attend and do any of the participants need to have specific roles during the meeting? 4) What decision making processes are needed? For example, will it be the group leader who makes the decision, via a majority vote, consensus or some other process? 5) Where will the meeting be held and has the availability of the space/venue been confirmed as well as the availability of any equipment needed? 6) Does everyone know when and where the meeting will be held? 7) Has a preliminary agenda with purpose and outcomes clearly stated been prepared and sent out to key participants and other stakeholders to sound them out in advance? 8) Following 7) above has the agenda been finalised and distributed it to all participants? 9) What information (e.g. reports) need to be sent out to the participants in advance to allow them to prepare and has this been done? 10) Have you prepared yourself and all necessary materials? Clearly the above doesn’t address all aspects of making a meeting effective as it doesn’t cover actually chairing and facilitating the meeting. However, my personal experience is that the better prepared you are the more likely you are to have a successful meeting – or as the Army’s mantra states, follow the 4 P’s, Preparation and Planning Prevents Poor Performance!