The Joyful Performance Model: Celebrate & Enhance
Feel good, get better, and know where you're going
In my last post, I told you about the second step to joyful performance management: Observation. Now it's time to share what we learned by giving feedback and action planning.
Celebrate
Recognition at work is one of the most critical tools for engagement that a leader possesses. Unfortunately, it's often overlooked. I know firsthand that leaders don't intend to forget about praise and celebration. When things get busy and deadlines loom, the appreciation we want to give often gets overridden by the work coming next.
Add to that, most employees want to be celebrated in different ways. Some people really love the public recognition that comes in meetings and big groups. Others just want to know that someone noticed their effort, quietly. Some people see bonuses or group events as recognition. Leaders need to know how their people like to be recognized, so that they can help their team feel supported and appreciated.
But recognition doesn't have to be big. Often, acknowledging work that was done is enough. We are all incredibly busy. Think about the last time someone took the time to say to you, "I know you've been working hard lately, and I appreciate it. You are really making a difference with your work on XYZ." Think about how that felt. When I hear this, it feels great. In the center of my chest, there's a little burst of energy, and usually I smile. That's all those feel-good chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin flooding my system. Those chemicals also help connect me further to the person sharing the recognition and to the work I'm doing.
If you could do the same for someone else, even a peer or your boss, how great would THAT feel?
I think about recognition the same way I think about gratitude. It's about practice, not perfection. I recommend adding recognition (and gratitude, if you don't already) to your morning routine. If you like to sit at your desk and check your email with your first cup of coffee, take five minutes and think about what happened yesterday. Did someone turn in a report or make a presentation? Did someone close a sale or move a customer further down the funnel toward close? All of these are opportunities for celebration. If you begin your day reflecting on what you appreciate, you'll naturally start to do that throughout the day.
An easy time to add recognition to your interactions is when you've observed and it's time to give feedback. If you've observed and everything goes according to plan, don't just walk away! SHARE. Just because there's no opportunity to fix doesn't mean you shouldn't give feedback. It's an easy, fast way to earn trust and engagement, just by saying, "That customer opted into the reward program because you asked. Nice work. I know you were concerned about bothering people with another question, but the way you presented that was natural and the customer was excited about it. Keep it up; we're almost at our goal for the day."
Let's talk about when there is opportunity feedback to be given. Should you also celebrate? I believe you should, as long as there is something to recognize. Here's the thing: often we expect people to meet a lot of expectations within the same activity. In our checkout example above, that cashier also had to ask the customer to sign up for a company credit card, ring everything in correctly, possibly navigate a coupon, take payment securely, put everything neatly in a bag, and leave a lasting impression at the end. Are you tired after reading that? I am, and that's just one customer.
When there are so many expectations, it's important to recognize something they did well so that you don't deplete their energy. Stephen Covey uses the analogy of an emotional bank account. If you know that you've got something difficult to tell someone, make sure you've deposited enough so that your withdrawal doesn't break the bank. Here's how that might look as we get ready to step into the Enhance section of our model, using that same cashier from above.
"I loved the way you talked to the customer about their purchase in a personal way. I saw their eyes light up when they were telling you about the wedding they bought that dress for. Way to make a great customer connection."
Enhance
This step is designed to carry a lot of weight in your process. It's where you identify gaps, determine what kind, and address them. It is also an opportunity to engage your employee more fully in the business. This is not a you vs. them conversation. It's a collaborative, caring one that draws out root-cause barriers and helps break them down together.
When you enhance, you'll do a few things.
Determine the gap. Is the behavior that needs to change caused by a lack of skill, or simply by the person not wanting to do it? These have very different solutions, and it's important to get this right. Sometimes it will take a conversation with the employee to truly understand who you're working with. This is a great opportunity to lead through questions. "I noticed you didn't offer that customer a credit card. Why did you make that choice?" When delivered with a tone of curiosity and care, this question could lead you to understand that the employee simply doesn't like being told "no" so often. Rejection can be hard, but that's a problem you can solve and work on together. If they say, "I don't want to talk about that over and over; I feel like I'm repeating myself," you've gotten a signal that they don't want to do the job they were hired for. You can try to show them the value, but they have to want to meet the expectations of the job, or there's no amount of training that will improve performance.
Deliver feedback. Delivering feedback is a topic in and of itself. It's a skill worth that weight and time, so I won't try to cover it all here. As an overview, I find the Center for Creative Leadership's Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) model to be easy and effective. SBI gets right to the point, clearly identifying the opportunity behavior and its impact. Let's pair it with the credit card example from above. "I can understand your reluctance to hear no from a customer. We don't expect everyone to sign up; you will hear no, and that's not a failure. It's important that you offer the credit card to each customer so that you can capture the percentage of customers who will apply. If you don't ask, you'll miss those folks too. You're taking that opportunity away from those customers when you don't ask. You're also taking that $5 SPIF out of your pocket, and the company needs the revenue from the card to meet our goals."
Plan to enhance. This is a critical step. You've given the feedback, which in and of itself does nothing. They know you're disappointed and that they missed the mark. That likely doesn't feel great, so it's time to collaborate on what to do about it. Planning to enhance includes the employee in the conversation; in fact, it puts them in the driver's seat. Leading this part of the conversation with questions will empower your employee to create a plan they believe in and can achieve. Leading with questions is another topic worthy of its own discussion, but if you want to learn more, check out Leading with Questions and The Coaching Habit. Great books written by great leaders. Here's what this might sound like: "I've heard you do an awesome job offering the card before. What do you think you need to do so that every customer who checks out with you hears about the credit card?" This statement puts the ball in their court. Wait. Let them think; don't rescue them from silence too quickly. Most people come to work wanting to do a good job and will find something. If they are newer, they might need you to present some options for learning or practice, but let them try, and always ask if they think it'll help them achieve the expectation. Often a situation like this requires a little dedicated practice time or shadowing with an expert.
Once you agree (both of you) on a plan of action, write it down! If they're supposed to practice with the leader on duty tomorrow at 2 p.m., email both parties an outline of the expectations for that practice session. Add a note of confidence, too: let them know you believe the employee can do this well, and that you can't wait to see them offering the card with confidence to every customer from now on.
Then what?
Repeat the cycle.
You've just aligned on a new expectation (the practice session) and reinforced the old one (offer to every customer). You will need to observe them in action and celebrate (and enhance if needed). Note that "observe" for the practice session can be a follow-up conversation with the leader on duty to see how it went. Your next observation of the employee sharing, or not sharing, the credit card with every customer is also you showing up for your employee. If you don't observe, you send the message that it isn't important, and never was. Their engagement will drop, they'll lose trust in you, and you won't be getting them at their best. There's also such a thing as too much oversight. There's no need to stand there all day watching. Trust that they are acting in accordance with your expectations, and watch a few interactions to be sure. In fact, observing right after the practice session is the best time to do it. You can reinforce their effort and learning immediately. That will build trust and engagement and give them confidence.
A few notes.
Don't coach on everything at once. What are the business priorities right now, and what are the most impactful opportunities to address? If you try to do it all, you'll overwhelm your employee, and they'll disengage quickly, maybe even quit. Pick what's most important and focus there first. You will always be coaching, so you'll move on to the less impactful stuff later.
Be human. It can be easy to be black and white in this process. They did or didn't offer; they do or do not want to do something. While that starts the conversation, there are always layers of gray. If an employee is usually great, and today they didn't offer the credit card while you were watching, the question is not "Why didn't you?" The question is "Are you okay?"
Ease in. This is a complex process with nuanced skills involved. If you're anything like I used to be as a leader learning new things, you'll want to charge off and implement your new theory. Unfortunately, you can do more damage than good in those situations. Take some time and study, learn more about what grabs you, practice on a peer, pick one piece and try it alone, and talk to your leader before you start. I applaud your enthusiasm; just make sure to keep your people at the center of everything you do.
I'll cover these bullets and more in my next blog about Trust. The foundation of the model.
If you're interested in learning more about Celebrate & Enhance and the rest of the Joyful Performance Model, check it out here. All you have to do is join the site as a member, which is totally free.
If you'd like to learn more about implementing the Joyful Performance Model in your organization, schedule time with me below.
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