taking performance management to a new level
Our third video has now been uploaded to the site.
This time the conversation is about one of the key aspects that allows leaders and managers to develop high performing teams. It also covers some of the theories that back this approach up such as positive regard, genuineness and expectations theory. Go to the video now to see what this concept is all about and let us know what you think.
“….unconditional positive regard, empathy and support, these are a given for good leadership coaching ….
… but the other thing we need to do is provide challenge …”
I was so excited when I heard Dr Jonathan Passmore say this in his fabulously entertaining speech on Thursday. He was speaking at the Association for Coaching’s ‘Going Global 2010’ International Conference in London – what a brilliant 2-day event!
Jonathan Passmore was telling us about the research which underpins their latest book ‘Leadership Coaching’, and how vital it is for these two elements, support and challenge, to be held in balance, and for the tension between the two to be effectively managed.
For anyone who has read Leading & Developing High Performance or attended the accreditation programme, they will know this is the critical underlying mindset of high performing leaders. Leading with High Challenge and High Support in powerful and equal combination is key to building high performing teams and getting consistent high achievement from your people. It holds true for parents bringing up their children, and it stands to reason that if you want to coach leaders to deliver high performance, you need to do the same .. and better!
‘Leadership Coaching’ is available from the Association for Coaching and Amazon.
Here with Leading & Developing High Performance we have a fantastic diagnostic tool to see how you measure up. Most of us tend to favour either challenge or support, very few of us have them in absolutely perfect balance. Through awareness and conscious effort you build the skill to get the balance right.
Leave us a comment on the content … or if you would like to try the tool.
Part of the visioning for this blog was to provide information on Leading & Developing High Performance (L&DHP) in a multi media format. I had done this for my partner’s site www.workfromhomewisdom.com and thought that it would work well here. So we are in the process of shooting various video interviews and discussions between myself and Ali Stewart to capture her thoughts and ideas about her management development programme.
The first video in is now live on the site. Please take a look and let us know what you think.
We talk about how Ali became involved in L&DHP, how she captured Derek Biddle’s ideas about what he thought made managers effective, what the benefits of this approach are for managers and leaders and how the training programme has been received so far.
We will be posting further videos which will discuss the 4 step process involved in Leading and Developing High Performance, the concepts of High Support and High Challenge and the key ideas which underpin this approach to management development.
At a conference I attended a while ago, one of the main speakers quoted a survey which showed that 65% of employees say that the most stressful thing about their job is their boss, and 50% of people looking for another job are doing so because they don’t like their boss.
So what is the cause of this situation? In my experience people are placed in a management position with no training or support usually because they were good at doing the job that the people they will manage are doing. However, they never get a manual on how to manage or exposed to the mindset you need to lead and manage high performance.
There are often three responses to being a new manager:
1. Be tough and drive the team = ‘High Challenge’
2. Try and be friendly with everyone = ‘High Support’
3. Be tough on those you don’t like and friendly with your mates = ‘High Challenge’ or ‘High Support’
So how do these approaches cause stress?
1. If the manager gives no quarter and drives the team too hard without support they ‘burn out’. The manager uses up his ‘emotional overdraft’ and loses respect and cooperation.
2. Being too friendly means that people will not develop and grow. Anyone with talent will look elsewhere to be fulfilled.
3. The manager will be seen to be incongruent and have favourites. The inconsistency of approach will be unsettling for both those who are favourites and those who are not.
The key to successfully leading and developing high performance is to use High Challenge and also High Support. Further posts will talk about the appropriate mindset and process to follow in order to ensure this is a consistent approach used by managers. The book ‘Leading & Developing High Performance’ acts as a manual and a useful resource. And if you want to integrate this approach with your managers we offer specialist training.
