Creating a Culture of Ownership through Painless Performance Conversations

1. Creating a Culture of Ownershipthrough Painless Performance Conversations Painless Performance Conversations Webinar Series Presented by: By Marnie Green, IPMA-CP, Principal Consultant

2. A BLM webinar series based on the new book

3. About Me Principal Consultant, Management Education Group, Inc. Supporter of public sector supervisors, managers, and HR leaders who are charged with developing strong workplaces

4. Our Plan for Today Creating a Culture of Ownership What is Accountability? Why Don’t we Hold Employee’s Accountable? The Conversation Hook Starting the Ownership Conversation Accountability vs. Ownership

5. LEAD withBehavior ELIMINATE Judgment INQUIRE with Purpose BE Clear Critical Mindsets for Painless Performance Conversations

7. Next to human connectivity, accountability is the single most powerful, most desired yet least understood characteristic of a successful environment. --Susan Scott

8. Think of a time when an employee needed to be held accountable. • What was the situation? • What did “accountable” meanto you?

10. “Emotion is the moment when steel meets flint and a spark is struck forth, for emotion is the chief source of consciousness. There is no change from darkness to light or from inertia to movement without emotion.-- Carl Jung Emotion

11. Your Role = Catalyst Help others take responsibility, rather than taking it on yourself Help others see the impact of the situation Be the spark that ignites movement in others

12. Five Reasons We Don’t Hold Others Accountable • Fear of offending or jeopardizing the relationship • Feeling we have a lack of time to follow up • Lack of faith that the effort will make a difference • Fear of exposing our own failures • Fear of retaliation

13. What is Accountability? Webster’s definition: “subject to having to report, explain, or justify; being answerable, responsible” Tone:Blame Outcome:Defensiveness, Excuses, Finger pointing

14. The Rub “Accountability is one of the “worst” best practices in business today.”

15. The Cost of Accountability BLAME FAULT LOSS FEAR DEFENSIVENESS

16. Painless Perspective Focus on what you can control: the future. Let go of what you can’t; the past.

17. Ownership Webster’s definition: “A personal choice to rise above one’s circumstances and demonstrate the conviction necessary for achieving desired results.” Tone: Productive Outcome:Commitment, problem-solving, follow-up

18. Painless Perspective Foster ownership, rather than demand accountability.

19. The Alternative: Create a Culture of Ownership From Accountability • Externalizing • Blaming Others • Doing the Job • Working in Silos • Telling Others What to Do To Ownership • Internalizing the Need to Change • Owning Responsibility • Achieving the Result • Collaborating • Engaging Hearts & Minds

20. Begin with Your Own Perspective • The Fallacy – assuming something is wrong with them • The Assumption – people do their very best to fulfill your expectations • The Truth – embracing the idea that you contribute to the problem

21. Tips for Creating a Culture of Ownership • Enlist employee participation in annual goal setting • Share big picture organizational goals • Conduct annual “stay” interviews • Give employees space to do their own projects • Communicate expectations and check in often • Give frequent feedback and feedforward • Give timely input when expectations aren’t being met • Ask employees for recommendations • Share customer feedback with employees

22. Starting Ownership Conversations “Tell me about it.”

23. Tell Me About It Examples “Mia, I’ve noticed you have a number of reports on your desk that should have been finished and turned in at least a week ago. Tell me about it.”

24. Tell Me About It Examples “Mike, I noticed you and your crew seem to be at odds lately. Tell me about it.”

25. Tell Me About It Examples “Marcelo, during the staff meeting I noticed that you seemed unhappy with the direction the work unit is going. You rolled your eyes and seemed to have an opinion that you didn’t share when we talked about the restructuring. Tell me about it.”

27. Beware of Reverse Delegation • “I don’t know what you want. You tell me.” • “You have so much more experience at this than I do.” • “You always do a better job at this than I do.” Don’t Get Hooked!

28. The Conversation Hook Often, we let employees “off the hook” and contribute to an environment that lacks ownership of the work.

29. Off the Hook Manager to Employee: “It sounds like you and John are having conflicts. I will talk with him and tell him that he needs to cooperate with you.” or “If you are having conflicts with John, you should tell him that you need his assistance to get the job completed and that he should tell you if he’s not getting what he needs.”

30. Clear Ownership Manager to Employee: “What steps can you take to resolve the conflict you are having with John?” or “I know you can resolve this issue with John. What options have you considered?”

31. Painless Perspective Employees must own the problem before they can own the solution.

32. Off the Hook Manager to Employee: “You’re right. This is a confusing process. Let me show you how to do the data collection because that’s the hardest part.” or “This can be tough. Ask John to help you with the data collection.”

33. Clear Ownership Manager to Employee: “This is a confusing process to learn. What do you need to better understand it?” or “This is a tough project. What do you need to get it completed on time?”

34. Now You Try Manager to Employee: “It looks like you are busy planning the graduation event. Don’t forget to order the certificates, confirm the room set-up, and check with Dolores on the budget.” Instead say…

35. Clear Ownership Manager to Employee: “I see you are busy planning the graduation event. What help do you need from me?” or “The graduation event is a complicated project. What challenges are you facing?”

36. Now You Try Manager to Employee: “There are so many viewpoints to consider. Based on my experience, I’d call Joan and Ben. They are really the most important people in this case.” or “Let me tell you who you need to contact in this situation.”

37. Clear Ownership Manager to Employee: “Have you considered who else needs to be involved in this project?” or “Whose input will be important to getting this done correctly?”

38. Now You Try Manager to Employee: “Initiating a conversation with Susan on this topic could be touchy. Would you like me to do it for you?” or “Susan can be difficult to work with. Why don’t I take care of talking with her?”

39. Clear Ownership Manager to Employee: “Discussing this with Susan will be challenging. What do you need to do to prepare for that meeting?” or “Tell me a little about how you see your meeting with Susan going.”

40. Painless Perspective You can’t “hold employees accountable” and expect to create an environment of trust and loyalty. Instead, create an accountability culture.

41. Questions and Conversations

42. Next Webinar Opportunity September 4, 2013 Conducting a Painless Performance Conversation

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44. Marnie E. Green www.ManagementEducationGroup.com mgreen@ManagementEducationGroup.com Twitter: @MarnieGreen