MASA • October 7, 2013 @ MASA • Duluth, MN • 3:30 PM Increasing Performance & Accountability of Principals, District Cabinet Members & Supervisors RESOURCE PACKET Best Practice: Employee Accountability • Employee Accountability in the Workplace • Accountability Can Have Positive Results • Six Keys to Becoming a Trusted Leader Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Best Practices: Employee Engagement • Creating a Culture of Engagement • Non-Monetary Rewards That Motivate Employees • 5 Ways Leaders Rock Employee Recognition Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Best Practice: Differentiated Leadership • Differentiated Leadership: Leader's Window Page 7 Accountability Tools & Strategies • Benchmark Worksheet • SMART Goal Worksheet • My Job, Your Job Worksheet Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Employee Feedback Tools & Strategies • 90-Day Performance Feedback • Transforming Poor Performers ! Page 11 Page 12 Resource(Packet( Employee Accountability in the Workplace http://timewellscheduled.com/employee-accountability-in-the-workplace/ What is Accountability in the Workplace? The employee accountability definition is the responsibility of employees to complete the tasks they are assigned, to perform the duties required by their job, and to be present for their proper shifts in order to fulfill or further the goals of the organization. If tasks are not completed and functions of the job are not performed properly, then that employee will also be responsible for dealing with the repercussions. Examples of Accountability in the Workplace: • • • • • Employees being present for their entire required shift Employees completing any tasks that have been designated to them Employees being responsible for the specific duties that go along with their job Employees being consistent in doing the right thing in all aspects pertaining to their job Employees working together towards a common goal for the business Why is Workplace Accountability Important? Accountability at work is important to a business’s success as a whole. Every employee, no matter what level of seniority is equally responsible for aiding in the success of the company. In order to achieve the goals of the company, long and short term, it is important that all people within the company work together and share accountability. Employees who work together towards the same overall goal help their workplace to become more accountable, in turn make the business more productive and efficient. How to Increase Employee Accountability at Work SMART Goals: A great way to foster accountability in the workplace is to have your employees set SMART goals for themselves. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented and timebound. Having goals that meet these criteria will allow your employees to feel more able in the work they are doing. It is a way for them to measure their own productivity. Team Incentive Programs: Team incentive programs will allow employees to motivate themselves to reach their highest accountability and potential. Your employees will work together towards completing common goals, and will be compensated for going above and beyond the goals set out for them. Prioritization: One reason why employee accountability dwindles, is because employees struggle to balance tasks and goals and eventually become overwhelmed and unable to complete their tasks on time. As a manager of a business, it is important to help your employees prioritize their responsibilities in relation to your company’s overall goals. Helping to prioritize will allow your employees to feel more organized and competent in the tasks they are assigned. Monitor Progress: Monitoring your employees’ progress will help motivate them to be more productive and accountable. It is only natural that when we know someone is watching our progress that we will try to perform to our best abilities. Along with monitoring employee progress, it is equally important to share progress reports with them so they may learn what areas need more attention and what areas they are excelling in. ! ! 1! Accountability Can Have Positive Results https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/performance-management/reference-materials/moretopics/accountability-can-have-positive-results/ Accountability means being held answerable for accomplishing a goal or assignment. Unfortunately, the word "accountability" often connotes punishment or negative consequences. When organizations use accountability only as a big stick for punishing employees, fear and anxiety permeate the work environment. Employees are afraid to try new methods or propose new ideas for fear of failure. On the other hand, if approached correctly, accountability can produce positive, valuable results. Positive results of accountability include… • • • • • • increased feelings of competency increased employee commitment to the work more creativity and innovation higher employee morale and satisfaction with the work improved performance more employee participation & involvement These positive results occur when employees view accountability programs as helpful and progressive methods of assigning and completing work. For example, managers who involve employees in setting goals and expectations find that employees understand expectations better, are more confident that they can achieve those expectations, and perform at a higher level. Positive results also occur when employees don't associate accountability only with negative consequences. If employees do not fear failure, if managers recognize employees for their accomplishments, and if managers support their employees when goals become difficult, employees are more likely to be creative, innovative, and committed to their work. Implementing accountability for positive results: Managers can practice accountability for positive results by following good performance management principles. They can use their agencies' performance appraisal programs to establish expectations in employee performance plans and use formal awards programs to recognize employees. However, merely following the minimum requirements of formal programs is not enough to create the positive environment necessary for constructive accountability. Managers need to: • • • • • involve employees in setting clear, challenging yet attainable goals and objectives, and give them the authority to accomplish those goals coach employees when they request help, and support employees in all aspects of the job monitor progress towards goals, and provide feed-back that includes credible, useful performance measures provide the training and resources employees need to do the work recognize employees for good performance, both formally and informally. Unfortunately, a recent study indicates that some agencies are not building the types of cultures where constructive accountability thrives. The General Accounting Office (GAO) recently surveyed 3,816 full-time mid- and upper-level managers on their perceptions about performance and management issues. In their report, Managing for Results: Federal Managers' Views Show Need for Ensuring Top Leadership Skills (October, 2000), GAO found that while 63 percent of managers said they were held accountable for the results of their programs, only 36 percent of them said they had the authority they needed to accomplish strategic goals. GAO observes that "such an imbalance can inhibit the development of an environment conducive to achieving results." Also, GAO reports that only 31 percent of managers said that employees received positive recognition for helping to achieve organizational goals. If managers are going to hold employees accountable for results, they also need to recognize employees for their efforts. ! 2! 6 Keys to Becoming a Trusted Leader • Henry Browning http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccl/2012/03/27/6-keys-to-becoming-a-trusted-leader/ Accountability comes from the presence of trust and the absence of fear. When a manager – or better yet, the leadership team – is both trusted and trusting, others in the organization know where they stand. They have greater confidence in their ability to do the work and in the people they work with. It’s not frightening to take ownership and initiative. But when you and your fellow managers undermine trust, fear finds a foothold. Being accountable becomes risky. And overall performance suffers. As a boss and leader, you need to do everything you can to create an atmosphere of accountability. There are also specific steps you can take to earn a personal reputation for being a trusted, accountable leader: 1. Define and clarify roles, goals and expectations. Remove as many unknowns as possible. Be clear about what you know and what you need. Work with your team to define and clarify their roles, communicate them and manage any confusion or conflict. If you are sending confusing or mixed messages, you fuel uncertainty, doubt and fear. 2. Don’t accept denial, blaming, excuses and scapegoating. When things don’t go right, beware the “victim mindset.” First, set a good example and avoid denial, blaming, excuses and scapegoating. Second, help others to see that these are not useful responses to mistakes or missteps. Third, listen carefully. Work to understand the system’s role before over-reacting to one person’s behavior. 3. Don’t let department heads and team or project leaders off the hook. When results fall short, team managers often claim that their hands were tied. An inherited staff, a lack of staff, remote team members, and matrix management resulting in conflicting priorities are common woes. But you need to ask, were these limiting elements really a surprise? For team leaders to be accountable, they have to understand their context, think ahead and inform senior management of potential shortcomings in advance. Waiting until trouble hits or targets are missed is a career-limiting behavior in accountable organizations. 4. Take initiative to figure out where the barriers to success lie. This is the flip side of the previous point. You need to seek out and understand the barriers and potential problems in your own group and work to minimize their impact. Bring in your senior management or peers or work groups to share ideas, pre-empt problems or solve issues sooner than later. An accountable leader is willing to admit if he or she is struggling to find the best answer and wants additional knowledge, advice or wisdom. Be open to your own learning opportunities. 5. Set milestones and metrics. To be accountable people need to know if they are on track. They want to see the links between what they do and overall team or business performance. To be an accountable leader, you’ll want to communicate important data and targets and work with team members to identify additional deadlines or metrics. Waiting until the end of a quarter or after the fact to be declared a winner or loser will breed frustration and prevent buy-in. 6. Find balance between process and results. Are your people held accountable for the standards and processes they use to make decisions and run the group? Or do you hold them accountable for just for the outcomes? If your leadership style consistently falls in the middle of that continuum, you’re encouraging accountability along both the how and what dimensions of the work – and people will notice. ! 3! ! Creating a Culture of Employee Engagement http://www.boston.com/jobs/nehra/062308.shtml 06/23/2008 By Katharine Esty and Mindy Gewirtz The employee engagement model 1) Two-way feedback Most organizations do well in terms of communication down from management to employees. What are often missing are mechanisms for employees to communicate up on a regular basis. Relying on a suggestion box and an annual employee survey just doesn't do the job. Two helpful ways to ensure the upward flow of feedback are employee town meetings and quarterly, brief, online surveys the capture the changing concerns of employees. 2) Trust in leadership. Executives build trust by developing a clear vision of the organizations' future and communicating this to all employees. 3) Career development. Engagement levels rise when there is a formal career development system that includes components such as formal career tracks, mobility systems to help employees move about in the organization, and annual career conversations. 4) Employees understand their role in success. Employees need to understand how their job fits into the big picture and what they must do more of and do differently to help the business succeed. 5) Shared decision making When employees participate in making decisions, they take feel more engaged in the organization. Decision-making needs to be pushed down to the lowest possible level. Three tools 1) Coaching program for new hires 2) Career conversations 3) Large group meetings ! 4! 6 Non-monetary Rewards that Motivate Employees http://www.vitaver.com/blog/2010/07/6-non-monetary-rewards-that-motivate-employees/ By: Michael Gabriel 1. Flexibility It is a mandate for employees to follow their bosses, but if supervisors get all the say, they will immediately feel limited. Workers still require a room where they can voice out their opinion and ideas, as well as the liberty to be versatile on their approaches to conflicts and problems. You can also emphasize flexibility in terms of work hours. To be able to work at their own pace will permit them to take care of all their obligations (both at home and at the office). 2. Recognition Who doesn’t want to be recognized? Yet many employees are not given even a pat on the back or a handshake by their bosses. If they give employers the privilege to criticize, it is only right for the managers to give away praises. 3. Training When you train your employees, it means there is plenty of room for them to grow. They don’t have to feel stuck to a routine job. They can look forward to much bigger challenges. Trainings give good types of stress, something that motivates employees to push themselves to the limit. Personally, it gives them a good idea of their own strengths and weaknesses. Trainings, however, should be in line with the career path the employee wants to take. Otherwise, they cannot use the learning to the fullest. 4. Belongingness Sickness is just one of the least causes of absenteeism. It is actually conflict and politics in the workplace that makes workers hate coming to the office. Though most employees understand the employee-manager relationship, it is also important to them that they can sense a feeling of friendship and belongingness. Take time to come up with team-building activities. It does not have to be very long or tedious. Your team simply has to strengthen trust, respect, and accountability with each other. 5. Chance to Contribute You can greatly motivate your employees if you can make them feel that the success of your organization also depends on them. You can do this by allowing them to head projects as well as getting their consensus on major decisions that can affect your business and organization. 6. Fringe Benefits Fringe benefits include additional allowances, leaves, health insurance plans, and other perks that they can enjoy alone or with their loved ones. ! 5! 5 Ways Leaders Rock Employee Recognition By: Meghan Biro http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2013/01/13/5-ways-leaders-rock-employee-recognition/ An effective approach to employee recognition encompasses these key points: 1) In the moment – as much as possible, be timely. Catch people doing exemplary work and acknowledge their efforts. Don’t be knee-jerk – showing up for work on time does not count in most cases. Be specific, descriptive, and measured. 2) In context – recognition is most effective when it’s given in the context of a larger goal or business-results-focused activity. Random affirmations are much less meaningful than those tied to a business goal. An employee who lands a big contract by putting in the extra effort needs to know you noticed, and understand the employee’s effort to ensure business success. 3) Appropriate in volume/scale – randomness is not your ally. Recognition should match effort and results, or it loses meaning. This is where the complexity lives. 4) Authentic, not automatic – you have to mean it when you give employees recognition. This is my chief worry about automated recognition systems – they remove the human touch so important to effective recognition. Can we find a smart balance? 5) Tied to the employee’s perception of value – people know when they’re valued, and they should have a good idea of their value to the organization. Monetary rewards can skew this notion of value, linking it to cash when it should be linked to appreciation of extra effort and smarts. Money is appropriate much of the time, but it’s not the only – or even the most effective – motivator. Treat employees as valued team members, not as numbers. Most of the time it’s the best way to really recognize a valued player. ! 6! The Leader’s Window John D.W. Beck & Neil M. Yeager © 2001 - Davies-Black Publishing Window 3 Window 2 Developing Problem-Solving “Coach” “Director” Window 4 Window 1 Delegating Directing “LaissezFaire” “Authoritarian” 7 © Chainsaw Planning Worksheet 4B © Worksheet 4B: Goal Workplan ChainsawGoal Planning Actions & Benchmarks 1) What do we want to accomplish? (New Goal) 2) What should be done to begin? (Data Needed or Action Steps) 3) What should we see happening w/in 30-60 days? ©2013 Big River Consulting Group, LLC (Benchmarks) 8 ©© Worksheet4A: 4B: Goal Goal Workplan Workplan Chainsaw Planning Chainsaw Planning Worksheet Admiration of the Problem (ID all sub-issues & hurdles; 5 minutes), or What Do We Want To Accomplish? (ID desired & valuable outcomes) (5 minutes) SMART Goal (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) (in 20 words or less; 5 minutes) Action Steps (Objectives) (≤4; 10 minutes) 1) 2) 3) 4) Deadlines: Action Steps Resources: Action Steps Responsible: Action Steps (desired per Action Step) (needed per Action Step) (single name per Action Step) 1) 2) 3) 4) 1) 2) 3) 4) 1) 2) 3) 4) Evaluation Plan (Quantitative and/or Qualitative; 5 minutes) Quantitative: Qualitative: ©2012 Big River Group, LLC 9 Chainsaw Planning© Pleasant Valley Public Schools 10/1/13 to 12/1/13 1) My Job, Your Job Worksheet Specific Departments, Leaders, or Buildings 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) Other Priority 1: Goal 1: Priority 2: Goal 2: Priority 3: Goal 3: Priority 4: Goal 4: Priority 5: Goal 5: Priority 6: Goal 6: Project Notes: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) ©2008 Big River Group, LLC 10 Employee: __________________________ Employee Feedback Form Company Goals Priority #1 Manager: ___________________________ Date: _______________________________ Personal Goals Other Performance " Goal: 1 Goal: + o - o - o - o - o - Grade: Priority #2 Goal: o + - # Goal: 2 + Grade: 3 Priority #3 Goal: Grade: o + + ! Goal: Priority #4 4 Goal: Grade: o + - Priority #5 Goal: Grade: 5 Next Feedback Session __________ (Day) + __________ __________ ( Month) (Year) + From: Transforming Poor Performers The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance By: Brian E. Becker, Mark A. Huselid, and Dave Ulrich http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bnet/Transforming_Poor_Performance.pdf GETTING&STARTED& Poor$performance$can$result$from$many$causes,$such$as:$ • inability$to$manage$perception$or$pressure;$ • failure$to$prioritize;$ • lack$of$skill,$knowledge,$or$motivation;$ • conflict$of$personalities$or$styles;$ • overpromotion$(“the$Peter$Principle”),$where$the$person$is$actually$out$of$his$or$her$depth$ • lack$of$resources,$support,$or$cooperation$from$others;$ • change$in$performance$management$systems$or$processes.$ Given$the$cost$of$recruiting$and$training$new$personnel,$helping$underachievers$move$from$poor$to$ acceptable$performance$is$almost$always$worthwhile.$$ & COMMON&MISTAKES& You&Overreact&to&Poor&Performance&and&Ignore&Contributing&Factors& No$matter$how$frustrated$you$feel$by$poor$performance,$you$need$to$be$completely$unbiased,$fair,$and$ consistent$in$dealing$with$it.$Always$seek$out$the$underlying$factors.$Are$they$part$of$a$pattern,$or$is$this$a$ unique$case$with$a$straightforward$solution?$A$rational$approach$is$best:$overreacting$won’t$help.$ & Objectives&Aren’t&Achievable&or&Aren’t&Explicit& Goals$should$always$be$achievable$and$clearly$defined.$Make$sure$your$expectations$are$consistent$with$ (and$will$be$supported$by)$the$culture$of$the$organization.$Tailor$goals$to$individual$employees’$ capacities.$Establish$shortLterm$milestones$that$enable$you$to$monitor$progress$regularly$and$intervene$ before$slippage$becomes$critical.$Most$important,$communicate,$communicate,$communicate.$ & You&Don’t&Address&Poor&Performance&Issues&Early&Enough& Performance$needs$to$be$measurable.$The$easier$it$is$to$measure,$the$easier$it$is$to$manage.$Check$ individuals’$performance$against$their$targets.$Schedule$regular$reviews$and$encourage$employees$to$ monitor$their$own$performance.$Ask$them$for$feedback$on$their$progress.$Good$performance$managers$ constantly$assess$risk$and$identify$and$address$potential$failures$early.$ $ You&Fail&to&Distinguish&Between&Poor&Performance&and&Personality$Clashes$ Personality$clashes$are$difficult$to$deal$with$and,$if$coupled$with$poor$performance,$often$become$highly$ charged.$Where$issues$are$personalityLdriven,$bring$in$an$impartial$third$party$to$mediate.$Be$flexible$and$ open$to$different$approaches$to$deal$with$different$aspects$of$the$problem,$and$recognize$that$resolving$ one$issue$is$likely$to$affect$others.$In$some$cases$poor$performance$may$be$a$perceived$rather$than$a$real$ problem.$$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 12$ MASA • October 7, 2013 @ MASA • Duluth, MN • 3:30 PM Increasing Performance & Accountability of Principals, District Cabinet Members & Supervisors Orientation 3:30 • Introductions - MASA Colleagues & Bruce Miles, Ed.D. • Goals for this session 1) Briefly review Best Practice re: Employee Accountability 2) Review applied leadership research for strategies 3) Consider a new leadership model to differentiate leadership 4) Review tools to be used to increase accountability 5) Review techniques for feedback & underperformance Best Practice: Employee Accountability • Employee Accountability in the Workplace • Accountability Can Have Positive Results • Six Keys to Becoming a Trusted Leader 3:35 (Page 1) (Page 2) (Page 3) Best Practices: Employee Engagement • Creating a Culture of Engagement • Non-Monetary Rewards That Motivate Employees • 5 Ways Leaders Rock Employee Recognition 3:45 (Page 4) (Page 5) (Page 6) Best Practice: Differentiated Leadership • Differentiated Leadership: Leader's Window 3:55 (Page 7) Accountability Tools & Strategies • Benchmark Worksheet • SMART Goal Worksheet • My Job, Your Job Worksheet ! 4:00 (Page 8) (Page 9) (Page 10) 1! Employee Feedback Tools & Strategies • 90-Day Performance Feedback • Transforming Poor Performers Closure 4:15 (Page 11) (Page 12) 4:25 • Thank you for the opportunity to work with you • Please fill out the attached evaluation ! 2!