Coaching to performance reviews

Read time: 3 minutes

Keywords: Performance, Performance management, communication, expectations, leaders, skills

Surprises are best for birthdays, discounts, and canceled meetings. Your performance review isn’t one of those things. Prepare your team for success through regular communication and realistic expectations.

Communication and connection

In Gallup’s Global Indicators: Leadership and Management, only 20% of those surveyed find they are motivated to perform well. That same survey reported 21% of respondents receiving meaningful feedback in the last week. To increase employee engagement and performance, Gallup proposed that leaders take a coaching approach compared to the traditional boss approach. 

The coaching approach is one that centers the player and the team. It analyzes skills and puts players in the roles or assignments that best align to their strengths. There is a greater focus on relationship building to better understand the goals for each player. To do this, the coach must spend regular time engaging with the player and seeking feedback on what works. 

The boss approach expects employees to be at the same skill level. Assignments are one-size fits all and assumptions are made about how work is progressing. In some cases, more work is distributed based on output levels to hit quota. The focus is not necessarily on analyzing strengths or providing learning opportunities to those who might benefit from them. 

The coaching approach lends itself more to collaboration and connection where the boss approach leans more toward deadlines and results. 

Realistic expectations

In Gartner’s article 9 Ways to Manage Hybrid Employees for Better Productivity, one of their suggestions is to increase visibility and transparency by setting clear expectations. Employees can feel more confident when they understand the direction to work toward. 

Proactive communication makes it easier for employees to start in the right direction. This also enables them to more easily pivot as project requirements and deadlines shift because the end goal is clear. Communication throughout the employee experience is necessary to ensure alignment for both projects and teams. 

Realistic expectations are built using the coaching approach. Leaders who spend more time with their employees can better prioritize projects, align projects to strengths, and set clear expectations moving forward. 

Coaching to win

This constant communication loop makes it so that performance reviews don’t come as a surprise. As a coach, you can improve your employee’s playing time and help them achieve success for themselves and the team at large. 

Performance reviews are easier when you run plays alongside your team each step of the way. Use the coaching approach to provide guidance in real time and help them learn. With regular communication and realistic expectations, you can create moments that matter.