The WAWWA Moment
“But how do we kick-start start the process? What’s the best way to approach someone who is not performing?”
And so was born the ‘WAWWA Moment’. To get this blog on performance going why don’t we just dive head-first into this - how you open up a conversation on poor performance?
For the more audiovisual among you, here's a link to a video:
To quickly put things into some kind of context; picture the scene… A couple split up, one poor soul takes it hard, very hard. Motivation, and standards slip, decline further, then free-fall into oblivion. We’ve all been there right? Eventually there comes the point where the money runs out, the credit cards are all max’d out and retail therapy is off the menu. There’s simply no more room under the bed for empty pizza boxes, and in short, something has to give. That (on a personal level) is what I would call a WAWWA moment! Clear as mud, right? Stay with me…
Before we transfer this to a work scenario, a question. Why do you think so many managers avoid having a conversation about poor performance with team members?
Three good reasons immediately come to mind.
The most obvious is having no structure in place and nothing to back them up if. As it usually does without structure. It all goes wrong and rolls horribly into a tedious, stressful ball of “he said, she said, oh OK? Let’ s just move on shall we?” Ah the world of amateur-hour arbitration…
Also worth considering in this thoroughly litigious modern era, is that no one wants someone to go off sick, perhaps then dragged to an employment tribunal and all the stress that goes with that!
Lastly, interestingly, they just want to stay popular and think that playing the boss card will ruin their reputation within the team. It’s a tough gig being a junior or middle manager, a veritable mind-field in fact.
I always advocate having some form of performance management process (PMP) and an agreed structure in place. I’m bound to, it’s what I do. Aside from letting everyone in the business know where they stand in terms of expectations and process, a PMP rewards good performance just as much as it tackles poor performance. Double win, right?
We can talk performance standards, expectation setting and linking individual and team goals to a higher power in another session, for now let’s get back to those empty pizza boxes.
An individual on your team (let’s call them AJ) is performing to required standard and everything is going great. Until, one day, something happens (eek!) and performance begins to drop, perhaps it is a work outcomes thing, some erratic timekeeping or just a general decline in attitude.
If performance drops below a minimum required standard, you as their manager must be ready to act, to be accountable. That is after all, your job. You may choose to have an informal ‘quiet word’, or drop suitable hints* like “Have you fallen out with your iron AJ?” *Side-note, subtle hints are not generally very helpful.
If nothing improves you reach a WAWWA moment, when it’s time to say enough is enough. At this stage it no longer matters how AJ to this point, and there is a real danger you get bogged down in the detail and drama. If AJ wants to tell you, he will.
What is important is that someone in your team is falling behind, reached, then fell below minimum required standard, and their job may now be at risk*. As a good line manager, you want to help.
*Another side-note, it’s probably best to not jump straight to the ‘job at risk’ scenario, it really puts the willies up people. Just focus on highlighting the issue(s) as you see them, with some credible evidence is always a good move. Be clear on the impact(s) of the issue(s) and seek agreement on the principle of finding a solution, together.
In the spirit of collaboration and participative management it’s useful to explore what, if any, limiting factors exist; what’s going to hold AJ back? It could be something work based that needs your skill and experience, or it could be something outside of work. You should also take a good look at what drivers exist; what AJ does well, and use these to support AJ back up to a level of performance that is acceptable.
From this discussion you should already be gathering ideas and assessing development options before then setting off, hand in hand, down the performance improvement road to recovery.
[insert mega sunset and super cute birds singing here]
And why is all this togetherness so important? You know what AJ has to do, AJ should now know, so what’s the point in stringing it out?
I’m glad you ask, thanks for playing…
Developing ideas, options, possible solutions together helps encourage ownership of issues and creates accountability. More pragmatically it means if there’s no change in performance, AJ can’t just turn around and say, “Well that’s what you told me do, this is all your fault!” Which could get kinda sticky…
Let’s catch up for a minute. Manager-Ninja that you are, you identified an issue, gathered some insight and acted. Nothing changed so you had a WAWWA moment then TOGETHER accepted who’s accountable for what, and are now steadily moving forward.
Training and general support could be offered to ensure performance improvement is forthcoming, whatever it takes to get AJ to that previous level of performance. Maybe even a cheeky SMART objective? Because that’s what good (ninja) managers do.
You may even find your support and guidance inspires a revitalised AJ to bigger and better things such as a high potential employee or succession planning framework. It has been known.
But hold on there SuperBoss! Before you go off buying new boots and choosing capes. When it comes to the soft, fluffy, somewhat elusive subject of people development, with the right decisions in place, yes anything and everything is possible.
However, the thing that makes grand outcomes possible is follow up, and by you. Having deep and meaningful WAWWA moments, then working through participative processes will count for nothing if you then go and act as if what just happened is not important. At the very least you should stick a couple of reminders in your diary to check in on progress. And if the reasons why AJ’s performance went south ever come out, you may wish to check in on that too. Note: check IN, not check up.
Subjects that seem taboo, like health or personal hygiene issues often cause managers to feel out of their depth, it’s all a bit too sensitive and intrusive to tackle. Remember you are responsible TO people, but not responsible FOR them! Serious health issues, the ones that impact on work, need to be addressed, and by the individual.
You can offer some flexibility to allow AJ to go see a doctor, but no one’s asking you to make a diagnosis or deliver treatment, at least no one should be asking. Personal hygiene (or rather the lack of it) affects everyone around a person and so needs to be addressed by the person at the centre of things (to put it politely).
Of course it’s possible nothing actually happened, there was no critical event. It’s just a good old fashioned slide to poor performance. In this situation the same rules apply, a line manager must act, and in doing so demonstrate that performance is important, something everyone has to take seriously.
In the event AJ does not wish to take his performance seriously, you may move to a more formal position, one that could eventually lead to dismissal, via warnings, letters, more offers of training etc. My humble advice is to give WAWWA a go, always allow someone the chance to embrace a change and improve their performance. If someone’s not up for that, what have you lost?
And in the process you show the rest of your team, especially good performers, that standards and performance matter, which in itself is management gold.
Now go get that cape you crazy fool!
Summary:
Nice and short this. Being a people manager means delivering on business outcomes through the actions of others. Therefore every manager has an explicit responsibility to deal with performance, good and bad. WAWWA is a verbal construct and useful way of softening the blow to get the PMP ball rolling. It can help you structure your thinking and approach but ultimately you still need the guts to act, and evidence to show there is an issue. You also need to be organised to ensure you can plan and provide the required follow up activities.
A last few words on the being popular with your team thing. Mainly because it just cracks me up as a management mindset!
In no particular priority order.
It is highly unlikely you will get to work with a group of people that you really like and who really like you, day in, day out. C’mon, even close knit families get tired of each other from time to time.
Next, your company doesn’t pay you to make friends, unless you work in social media, in which case, ok yes it does, but you’re making friends for commercial reasons, it doesn’t count.
Whilst I hate to burst any cultural bubbles, when things go wrong at work (which they will), as the closest link to business leadership or strategy, people always ‘kick the boss’. Sorry it’s just the way of things.
And last but not least, as I once told my six year old son, any friend who needs you to not be doing the right thing for the sake of their friendship, is probably going to be a rubbish friend.
The best way to be popular as a manager is though mutual respect, firm but fair. Be a developer of people in the hard moments, guide them back to the right path by being clear and consistent about what performance is, and how it works in your team.
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