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Performance Conversations: How to Use Questions to Coach Employees, Improve Productivity, and Boost Confidence
There are three universal truths about traditional performance management. They are widely used, universally despised, and are known to be ineffective. These reasons are cited in the recent spate of announcements from dozens of major corporations who have abandoned their appraisal systems. As a result, many organizations are grappling with what to do instead. They have adopted many interesting and innovative practices, but most are a random collection of activities that are not bound together by a sound theoretical framework. This new approach is built upon a sound theoretical foundation, uses proven management techniques, and offers a novel framework and tool for managers for regulating and enhancing the performance of their staff. Dozens of ready-to-use templates and accompanying tools help make good management practice more accessible, practical, and effective. Just as important, the new approach is both millennial- and remote worker-friendly as it incorporates features that speak to how they work.
228 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 18, 2020
50 people are currently reading
173 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 21, 2023
This whole book should have been a blog post. I straight up skipped a couple chapters and didn’t feel like I missed anything. A pity star because the appendices are useful.
April 14, 2024
Performance conversations can be daunting for both employees and managers. In all fairness, these conversations should take place throughout the year and not just at the annual performance review. If you are waiting for your boss to bring them up, you will most likely be disappointed. A boss that wants to see you grow and progress will discuss your performance way more. No one gets zero comments throughout the year, to show up at the annual review and get a "We are promoting you."
Hence, why this book is dedicated to the good boss, or to HR on how to better performance conversations. It doesn't discuss annual reviews (this was mentioned in the title to avoid surprises). Although I liked that the author provided annexes in the last part of the book, I found the rest too repetitive. He goes on about why it's important to ask how are you doing in your job. Frankly, if a manager needs to understand the why, they shouldn't have been promoted in the first place.
Let's face it, the only way a company can be certain that performance conversations are taken place is by launching a performance management software, like Lattice.
Hence, why this book is dedicated to the good boss, or to HR on how to better performance conversations. It doesn't discuss annual reviews (this was mentioned in the title to avoid surprises). Although I liked that the author provided annexes in the last part of the book, I found the rest too repetitive. He goes on about why it's important to ask how are you doing in your job. Frankly, if a manager needs to understand the why, they shouldn't have been promoted in the first place.
Let's face it, the only way a company can be certain that performance conversations are taken place is by launching a performance management software, like Lattice.
February 15, 2021
I work for a small school system that currently uses a performance appraisal tool that includes a rating system in which employees are scored from 1-5 in several different categories. The tool is used only once per year, yet many supervisors are uncomfortable using it because of the confrontational and awkward nature of rating an employee. "Performance Conversations" by Christopher D. Lee thoroughly, directly, and practically addresses this issue.
Questions that spur meaningful conversations are the foundation of Dr. Lee's approach to conducting performance reviews. Rating systems are unnecessary and not included. His method is easy to understand and I plan to teach this method to our supervisors to achieve the goal of "empowering individuals to reach their full potential at work."
Dr. Lee's methods provide supervisors with the tools needed to support and encourage employees through meaningful dialogue. Employees who participate in these conversations are commissioned to take ownership through their involvement in the thinking and planning of their own work. When the right questions are asked, employees feel appreciated and understood because open communication is established, positive intent is conveyed, and there is rapport between the supervisor and the employee.
What I liked about this book is that there is both structure and customization available in Dr. Lee's methods. The basic structure is comprised of "the Magnificent 7" questions used during a Performance Conversation:
1. What is going well?
2. What is not going well?
3. What else is going on?
4. What is the status of your goals, action plans, and follow-up items?
5. What can I do for you?
6. How are your professional relationships going?
7. How are you?
These seven questions are to be asked within a 30-minute meeting between the supervisor and employee, and the meeting is to take place multiple times (between 2-8) during the year. Dr. Lee explains the necessity and purpose of each question, and he also provides alternative ways of asking each one so that a supervisor can easily adopt the structure into his/her own style, providing for a more natural two-way communication when the supervisor meets with the employee.
I plan to apply what I have learned in this book in a couple of phases. First, I would like to implement Performance Conversations with the new employees that we will hire during the upcoming summer. I plan to teach Performance Conversations to our supervisors this summer and I would like for them to utilize these methods with only our new employees when school starts back in August. Each supervisor typically has anywhere from 1-3 new employees, and they would be able to implement these new methods with a smaller group of employees. Over the course of the next school year, we can work together to fine tune and become comfortable with Performance Conversations, and then, in the second phase, we would begin to implement these methods for all employees, replacing the current once-a-year rating system that has not traditionally been able to improve the performance of employees.
This method changes the perspective of performance reviews from looking at what has already happened into envisioning what we can do together to make the future as fulfilling as possible for both the employee and the supervisor.
Questions that spur meaningful conversations are the foundation of Dr. Lee's approach to conducting performance reviews. Rating systems are unnecessary and not included. His method is easy to understand and I plan to teach this method to our supervisors to achieve the goal of "empowering individuals to reach their full potential at work."
Dr. Lee's methods provide supervisors with the tools needed to support and encourage employees through meaningful dialogue. Employees who participate in these conversations are commissioned to take ownership through their involvement in the thinking and planning of their own work. When the right questions are asked, employees feel appreciated and understood because open communication is established, positive intent is conveyed, and there is rapport between the supervisor and the employee.
What I liked about this book is that there is both structure and customization available in Dr. Lee's methods. The basic structure is comprised of "the Magnificent 7" questions used during a Performance Conversation:
1. What is going well?
2. What is not going well?
3. What else is going on?
4. What is the status of your goals, action plans, and follow-up items?
5. What can I do for you?
6. How are your professional relationships going?
7. How are you?
These seven questions are to be asked within a 30-minute meeting between the supervisor and employee, and the meeting is to take place multiple times (between 2-8) during the year. Dr. Lee explains the necessity and purpose of each question, and he also provides alternative ways of asking each one so that a supervisor can easily adopt the structure into his/her own style, providing for a more natural two-way communication when the supervisor meets with the employee.
I plan to apply what I have learned in this book in a couple of phases. First, I would like to implement Performance Conversations with the new employees that we will hire during the upcoming summer. I plan to teach Performance Conversations to our supervisors this summer and I would like for them to utilize these methods with only our new employees when school starts back in August. Each supervisor typically has anywhere from 1-3 new employees, and they would be able to implement these new methods with a smaller group of employees. Over the course of the next school year, we can work together to fine tune and become comfortable with Performance Conversations, and then, in the second phase, we would begin to implement these methods for all employees, replacing the current once-a-year rating system that has not traditionally been able to improve the performance of employees.
This method changes the perspective of performance reviews from looking at what has already happened into envisioning what we can do together to make the future as fulfilling as possible for both the employee and the supervisor.
November 23, 2021
Conversations made simple.
The first part of the book is selling g you on the idea,so it helps ingrained the concept as it tells the same information over several times from different perspectives. I was able to read the book once and then apply and reference as needed.
Great book and made a difference in the performance of my team.
The first part of the book is selling g you on the idea,so it helps ingrained the concept as it tells the same information over several times from different perspectives. I was able to read the book once and then apply and reference as needed.
Great book and made a difference in the performance of my team.
May 25, 2024
a necessary read for mid-level management
I have picked up several of the practices through other reads, but a healthy collection in this one book. I suggest it for a new or seasoned manager who wants to mitigate unnecessary conflict.
I have picked up several of the practices through other reads, but a healthy collection in this one book. I suggest it for a new or seasoned manager who wants to mitigate unnecessary conflict.
February 19, 2025
The book contained useful information but it was excessively repetitive and could have been much shorter.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews