3 steps to a painless employee evaluation

I know some of the brightest entrepreneurs in the business.  Some excel at strategy, others at marketing, or innovation. Their boundless enthusiasm gets everyone around them excited.  Their determination and drive draws others in like moths to a flame.  But there's a secret they harbor.  Many of them despise managing other people.  They've raised millions, they've sold millions.  Yet they would rather stride into Pixar's executive offices to make a pitch than give an employee feedback about their performance.  It makes sense, I mean who WANTS to have a difficult conversation? Here's the secret: it doesn't have to be difficult.  If you invest the time and use these tools you can say goodbye to employee performance evaluations as a dreaded workplace ritual. A note of disclaimer here because let's face it, there are some toxic broken people in the workplace so hell bent on destruction that they can make everyone's jobs a living nightmare.  Like these managers whose feud made headlines.  Those people need to be shown the door.  These tools are for the rest of us.  Employee problems are likely to be a direct result of our mismanagement.  Ouch.  Did that feel like a slap in the face?  It isn't - it's a growth opportunity.  How can you get better?  Improve your management skills.  Leading teams is a muscle you are always flexing.  Just when you master one challenge, another presents itself.

Here are 3 secrets to have meaningful, rewarding and successful performance evaluations.

1)  Do weekly one on one's with your direct reports.  Meetings can be as short as 30 minutes.  This time is critical for two reasons; first is is your employees opportunity to check in with you, update you and ask for help if they need it.  Secondly, it's your time to share feedback with them, redirect them if they are of course or praise them if they are on track.  If you are doing one on one's consistently and sharing appropriate feedback then NOTHING in your annual employee evaluation will come as a surprise.  Nothing in the annual review should ever be a surprise (unless it's a big fat raise).

2) Have employees create SMART goals, written goals approved by you, their supervisor that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Framed.  Example:  "Work with sales team to launch monthly open house point of entry events starting in June  attended  by a minimum of 15 prospects monthly".  SMART goals should be organized based on their job description and/or current strategic plan. Employees should create SMART goals and submit them to their supervisor for changes and approval.  This process is time consuming but worth every penny; it gives your employees have a road map to success and 100% ownership in their work.

3) Evaluate employees performance using objective behavioral specifics.  Separate behavior from attitude and judgment from feedback.  In other words: be specific.  Have someone who shirks responsibility?  Tell them how by rating them against the behavior you want.  i.e.  "Accepts responsibility for tasks or projects. Does not blame others when she makes mistakes or goals are not met. Acknowledges her contribution to mistakes when they happen and makes a plan for correcting or preventing them in the future."  You must clearly actively describe each manifestation of the behavior you want.

Here's an area of great complexity: communication.  An employee can be a great writer and a horrible presenter.  They may do well in small groups but horrible in front of large groups.   Get specific in your evaluation criteria.  For example:

Communication: (Internal) Presents information so that it is understood by the listener. Gives information that is useful.  Is able to get to the point in a timely fashion. Summarizes key points in a situation and shares those in a short amount of time. Makes regular, sustained eye contact. Listens actively. Uses both broad and narrow questions to check for understanding and find solutions to problems.  Gives staff the information they need about projects in order to meet deadlines and deliver quality programs and results.   (External) Can speak to both large and small groups and keep the audience engaged.  People respond to her speaking with interest and enthusiasm.  Is well prepared for public speaking opportunities. Creates compelling visual materials and handouts. Tailors her speaking to the needs of her audience; is able to fluctuate the length and depth of a conversation based on the context and the listener’s needs.

Each of these steps will put you on the right path to success.  Do they take time?  Yes, but these are the steps to achieve great success, build successful teams, and groom new leaders.

Go forth and lead!

Stay classy,

Rachel

The Power of Money and Positive Thinking

I love watching the you tube video of Jessica, a happy carefree little girl sing about how much she likes her house, her family and her hair. I found out recently from my friend Vicki Flaugher, the genius behind Smartwoman Guides that this video was actually shot 9 years ago by her dad. Follow Vicki, she's doing an upcoming interview with Jessica! Like everyone, watching this video puts a big fat smile on my face. It makes me want to do a silly dance on my bathroom counter too, why not? The viral success of this video can teach us a lot about creating great content and spreading it but I like it because Jessica's message is a powerful reminder: are we feeding ourselves the good stuff? How many times in a day do you say out loud or too yourself "I can't do that" or "I'd suck at that" or "I don't have time for that" or "God, I look fat." STOP. You are hurting yourself. Take a lesson from Jessica; start feeding yourself the good stuff. When you say negative things to yourself, in your head or out loud it's like giving your self a negative affirmation all day long. Think its just about feeling fat in a dress? Wrong. It spills over into every piece of your life: self-confidence, beauty, health/wellness, relationships and work.

Speaking of work, I've had the pleasure of spending most of my professional life as an entrepreneur raising money. What does thinking positive have to do with that? Everything.

I've raised over 10 million dollars in my career. I love raising money. One of my favorite books about raising money is The Soul Of Money by Lynne Twist. Lynn spent her career in fundraising and in volunteer work for organizations like The Hunger Project. Her book is all about viewing money as a spiritual agent. According to her, there are 3 toxic myths of scarcity. 1) There’s not enough, hence we on on a shaky foundation of insecurity that drives our every decision 2) More is better, so we're voraciously seeking more but never feel satiated. 3) That’s just the way it is.  Hello apathy.

My career in fundraising has allowed me to see infinite interpretations of the power of money. For me, making an ask is being in a scared place with another human being I've successfully engaged in the mission of the work I am doing and the act of the ask is deeply personal conversation about how that individual wants to be significant. Fear about scarcity is like pouring acid on the conversation. It keeps people from being present, from being positive and from being successful.

What is your relationship with money? Are you chasing it, not feeling fulfilled? The most empowering way to change that is stop, take stock, and figure out what’s enough. Find the things that make you fulfilled and then use the overflow from that to make the world a better place.

Pretty soon you may be like Jessica singing about how much you like your cousins, your house and your hair.

Stay classy,

Rachel

Core values: if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything

One of the greatest lessons I have learned as a leader is the importance of core values.  Core values are the foundation of how you and everyone in your company conduct themselves.  They are the enduring things that would remain if you took away everything else.  Core values require no external justification.  They are not trendy; they are primary.  They are not strategies or goals; they do not change every quarter.  They are the filter through which you conduct yourself at work.  They determine how you treat others and guide you through difficult decisions. For some, core values are nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Case in point: Enron.  Enron’s values seem like a cruel joke now:  respect, integrity, communication and excellence.  How about Dell’s?  In a nutshell the ‘Soul of Dell’ is advertised as: customers, teamwork, being direct, global citizenship, and winning.  To me those values translate to hard work, long hours, high expectations, and difficult conversations.  Even though they are called the “soul” they don’t feel soulful.

I’m especially proud of the core values we created at Girlstart, http://www.girlstart.org/values.asp They were the framework through which we treated one another and we made every decision.  One of our core values is "No success at work is worth failure at home."  How many people ignore this lesson?  How many CEO's consistently expect their employees to put work over family?  Another one of our core values that I am especially proud of is “Have fun and enjoy the experience.”

When do you need to start creating core values?  As soon as you are ready to take your company to the next level.  When your company is small and starting out, members' values and behaviors are affected through proximity to the leader. The need for articulating core values becomes increasingly apparent as you grow. Defining core values helps maintain the culture the company holds dear.  Once defined, the values should be prominently displayed for employees and clients and reinforced through both the hiring process and in employee evaluations.

They should be short, enduring and memorable.  More than 5 core values are difficult to memorize.  Companies are wise to stick to 3-5 key values. Every company should reflect on them frequently to make sure they are living by them and check and see if they have changed so much as a company that a revisit is warranted.

The best leaders exhibit their values and ethics everyday in their leadership style and actions. If you don’t identify your values in the workplaces, mistrust follows.  People don't know what they can expect from their leaders.  If leaders have identified and shared their values and are living those values daily that visibility will create trust.

What does your company stand for?  Are core values given lip service as marketing jargon or does your leadership live and breathe them?

Here's to keeping it meaningful-

Rachel