Brief
Managers can help keep their reports on track by redirecting them when they falter, holding frequent one-on-one meetings to discuss challenges and progress and coaching them to become more self-reliant, writes Ken Blanchard. “When you stop doing your people’s work and hand back responsibility to them, you not only free up more time, but you also empower your people,” Blanchard writes.
Insight
No matter what industry they are in, every manager experiences key pain points—those perennial challenges that get in the way of accomplishing organizational objectives and achieving productivity goals. When objectives and goals aren’t met, it’s usually the manager who is held responsible.
Let’s take a look at five of the toughest challenges for managers and how to tackle them.
Challenge #1: Conflicting or unclear priorities
Are your people caught in an activity trap, where they are busy doing tasks, but not the right tasks? If your answer was yes, then it’s time to clarify goals with them. Although most managers agree with the importance of setting goals, most do not take the time to clearly develop goals with their team members and write them down.
Solution: Set clear goals. Effective performance management always begins with clear, observable, measurable goals. Meet with each direct report and establish observable and measurable goals around each of their key areas of responsibility. Then you and they will have clear performance indicators to help determine whether they are making progress or need coaching to improve.
Challenge #2: Disengaged employees
Have you noticed declining engagement in any of your people? Often managers avoid dealing with disengaged employees because they don’t know how. Sometimes when they talk to their people, they make matters worse by criticizing what they perceive as a lack of commitment. Unfortunately, this often turns the not engaged into the actively disengaged!
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