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What do Virgin Vie, CAB, The Insurance Partnership and Goodwin DT Have in Common?

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Well on the basis of the first PMN event in Hull – much more than you might expect. Managers fighting against time pressures, resource constraints and the challenges of developing and inspiring staff were certainly common themes across all 25 people who attended the first PMN events in Hull – the vast majority of whom have decided that they are now going to incorporate the practice of 121s into their management routines.

The first piece of feedback in my inbox from one of the managers reads:

‘I found the session very useful. I often run around in circles and work ever increasing hours (hence I’m replying to your mail at 07.30! lol) I really believe these 1-2-1s will help me as I know my weakness is not delegating through getting stuck in the vicious circle of ‘its quicker to do it myself’. Looking forward to the other sessions.’

There are still some free places available for workshops on June 26th in Leeds. Please reserve your place here.

More Great Questions to Improve Performance

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In an earlier post – Great Questions for Improving Performance through 121s I offered some questions that have worked well for me in 121s.

Well, here are some more.

  • What could you do which, done really well, would make a real difference to this organisation?
  • What do you need, from me, in order to help you to make your best contribution to the company?
  • What are the things for which I, and the organisation, should hold you accountable?  What should we expect from you?
  • How can we best use your knowledge, skills, passion and interest to help the company develop?
  • Who uses the outputs of your work?  What can you do to make sure that your outputs are well used?

Of course these questions can also work well outside of 121s.  The real point is that only when you start to explore questions like these with each member of your team will you really start to improve communication, teamwork and performance.

And of course the answers to the questions change continually as the business and its environment change – so this needs to be an ongoing and frequent dialogue.

This is the real work of coaching, development and performance management.

Great Questions for Improving Performance through 121s

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I recommend that you divide your 121s into three sections.
The first 10 minutes are for your team member to share what matters to them – but the second 10 minutes are yours.
The art of using this time well is to have some really well chosen and insightful questions.
Some of the questions that I think have been most effective for me are:

  • What else should I know about your work?
  • What would you like to tell me about this organisation?
  • Where do you see opportunities that we do not exploit?
  • Where do you see problems that we have not yet recognised?
  • What would you like to know from me about the organisation?
  • What do I do that you would like me to do more of?
  • What do I do that wastes your time without contributing to your effectiveness?
  • What would you like me to start doing?

Now some of these questions require that you have a pretty strong relationship already, so they are probably not for the very first 121 meetings. Wait until you have developed some rapport and trust.
It is important that you are prepared to listen to the answers and respond effectively.
If you are not prepared to act on the response to a question, or fully explain your reasons for not acting, then it is best not to ask the question.
Remember – this is a 121. It is not the Spanish Inquisition. You will probably not have time for more than 1 or 2 questions – especially if you are also using the 121 to give feedback and to coach (which you should be!). 121s are about regular, frequent conversations that allow you to cover ground over a prolonged period of time. So don’t rush it.

What questions have worked well for you in 121s?

More great questions here.

Performance Improvement with Brilliant 121s

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One-to-ones are weekly, structured, half hour meetings held individually with each of your team members. They provide the bedrock for an effective trusting relationship that is essential for high performing teams.

The most common excuse that managers give for not using One to Ones is that they will take too much time. In practice, managers who use One to Ones effectively report that they actually save time – lots of time – and improve performance quickly and permanently.

Key Benefits

  • Improve your relationship and communication with all members of your team
  • Find time to coach every member of your team – every week – to improve their performance
  • Save time on line management to invest in thinking more strategically and working on your own projects
  • Shift the emphasis from fire-fighting to creating value
  • Close the gap between practice, values and mission
  • Improve effectiveness, whether in the for profit or third sector

If you would like to learn more about 121s then please click here to find out more about our events.

There are some great 121 questions in this post.

The Fat Cat, Improving Performance, Office Hours and 121s

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Office Hours

One of the bedrock management processes should be documented, 121 meetings, for 30 minutes every week, structured and planned well in advance with each and every direct report.

These save time and massively improve the quality of both the working and personal relationship as well as providing a platform for coaching, feedback, performance management and accountability.

In this article Paige Arnoff-Fenn learns a similar lesson. First she describes the scenario – a senior manager at work.

“He spends his entire day in meetings, walking between conference rooms or driving to his next appointment. He gets stopped in the hallways or gets messages through his Blackberry from his team to answer questions and make real-time decisions that keep their projects moving forward until he returns to his office after 5 p.m.

He eyeballs his e-mail throughout the day, multitasking in meetings, and checks voice mail during bio breaks, but he’s virtually never in his office during “normal business hours” whatever that even means anymore. There’s no “think time” to reflect and process information today, and we’re being inundated with more data and information than ever before.”

This manager decided to start holding ‘office hours’ for three hours each week.

He sent his team an e-mail to announce his plan and he arrived at his office at the scheduled time on the designated day. To his delight and surprise, members of his team stopped by all afternoon. Employees were thrilled to know they were guaranteed to find him sitting at his desk.

I have no doubt that the volume of e-mail from his team declined significantly. Because his team members perceive that he has power over them and their careers they find reasons to remind him that they are there and that they are doing good work – through his e-mail. If they know that they will get face to face time then this need to be ‘heard’ falls away.

Now I would not recommend a manager to implement ‘office hours’ in the way that this manager did it. I can imagine it being like a doctors waiting room when the office hours start. Or like a shoe shop on a busy day – please take a ticket and wait your turn. The lack of structure and purpose too would drive me mad. But with a little adjustment we would have a great system of 121s and a significant step towards becoming a high performing team would be taken.

If you would like to learn how to use 121s to improve performance in your team then please get in touch or attend one of our training sessions.

PS Take another look at the opening hours sign. Did you think that the Fat Cat was a Free House?