Conversations for Creating Star Performers: Go Beyond the Performance Review to Inspire Excellence Every Day (BUSINESS BOOKS) - Softcover

Hayashi, Shawn Kent

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0071779949 ISBN 13: 9780071779944

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education, 2012

Synopsis

Inspire Star Performance through Meaningful Conversations with Your Team

“If you want more top performers on your team, read this book!”
―Jill Konrath, author of SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies

The performance review is an important part of your job as a manager or coach. But it is only a part. In order to develop team members effectively, you have to be proactive on a daily basis. This means having conversations―and not just about the weather or the game last night. Create ongoing conversations throughout the year that focus on:

• Developing team members to a higher level of ability
• Triggering the insight and inspiration within your team members to grow in new ways
• Building the skills that will enable others to accomplish their established goals
• Preparing yourself and others for the performance review discussion
• Keeping people motivated and moving forward toward the goals

Conversations for Creating Star Performers is a vital tool for keeping team members motivated, engaged, and moving ahead every day―not just the days before an annual review.

About this title

About the Author

Shawn Kent Hayashi is an executive coach whose clients include Fortune 500 giants, such as American Express, Aqua, Cigna, The Federal Reserve Bank, and Merck as well as small entrepreneurial companies.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Conversations for Creating STAR Performers

Go Beyond the Performance Review to Inspire Excellence Every Day

By SHAWN KENT HAYASHI

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Shawn Kent Hayashi
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-07-177994-4

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 Engaging Star Performers
Chapter 2 Conversations for Building Awareness
Chapter 3 Conversations for Identifying Motivators
Chapter 4 Conversations for Identifying What Your Team Members Do Well
Chapter 5 Conversations for Creating Development Plans
Chapter 6 Conversations for Developing New Skills
Chapter 7 Conversations for Getting Back on Track
Chapter 8 Conversations for Accountability
Chapter 9 Conversations for Performance Reviews
Chapter 10 Conversations for Recognition
Chapter 11 Conversations for Succession Planning
Chapter 12 Inspiring Excellence
Appendix Creating Star Performers with a Focus on 24 Vital Skills for 
Success
Index

Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Engaging Star Performers

Imagine yourself having fun—what comes to mind?

Now, consider what causes you to want to perform well at work. Does work triggerthe same emotions that playing does for you?

I've asked these questions of hundreds of people. One conversation jumps out atme as I reflect on all the ways people have answered these questions. A bit ofbackground before I share the conversation I had with John as I was volunteeringat an Odyssey of the Mind (OM) state competition. I am a passionate volunteerfor Odyssey of the Mind. OM is a national creativity building competition forteams that are focused on solving long-term and spontaneous problems. On thisparticular day, I was matched with a partner whom I had never metbefore—this was John. He was 20-something and a recent college graduate.In our volunteer role, we were responsible for checking in teams for events andgiving them the details about what they would need next. John had a very casualstyle of communicating, and he often appeared uninterested in whatever he wasdoing. However, after observing him for a while, I realized he really was on topof every detail and knew where each team was in the lineup and what informationthe team needed next. Despite the opposite appearance, he did feel a sense ofaccomplishment in what he was doing. John had the process and pace down pat eventhough he was not projecting himself confidently. His communication and bodylanguage with people did not match the results he was producing. He was a starat the tactical work we were doing, but no one would have thought that during anindividual conversation with him.

Sometimes John and I were very busy. Other times there was nothing to do. Thatis when I asked the question, "John, in your work, what causes you to want toperform well?" I could tell from the flash of his smile that he knew his answerimmediately: "When my boss is watching, or when the girl I have a crush on iswatching. The girl I want to date works in the same place I do." I asked, "Ifthey were here today, what would have been different?" He replied, "Oh, ... um,I would have shown that I knew what I was doing, and I would have been morefriendly to everyone who came up to our table for information." Then I asked,"John, when you are working, do you feel the same feelings that you do when youare playing?" He immediately said, "No! Work is work. I am glad when it is timeto go so I can then relax and have fun."

In these conversations in which I've asked people what causes them to want toperform well, I've received two types of responses. Some people, like John, havesaid they wanted to please or perform for others. John paid attention to hisimpact only on those he wanted to impress, to people outside himself.

Other people have said they wanted to perform well because they had their owninternal standard to live up to. When I asked Olivia the question, "What causesyou to want to perform well?" she pulled out a personal statement about what sheis committed to in everything she does. Her statement included these points:"Deliver outstanding service in everything I do, remember that I have choicesand I can make my own decisions, and be aware of my own feelings and allow themto inform my actions rather than create reactions." Her statement has been areminder to her of the person she aspires to be every day. She has beeninternally motivated by this commitment she made to herself. Keeping thecommitment has been like a game she plays with herself. For Olivia, it has beenfun. She knows she is capable of being a star for her own enjoyment of thefeeling that comes from having lived up to her own standards. Olivia has had aconversation with herself about the person she wants to be and how she wants toperform. She has used this personal commitment to meet her own standard for herown performance, while John has been using someone else's views of him todetermine his star-ability.

Olivia is playing, and John is working.

John was not focused on or aware of challenging or impressing himself, whileOlivia wanted to challenge and impress herself every day. In the long term,Olivia's consistent commitment will cause her to surpass John's level ofproductivity. As a manager, coach, or leader, what can you do to help your teammembers internalize the desire to perform well? Ask them! Ask, "What causes youto want to perform well?" After you have heard everything they have to say, ask,"When was the last time you had fun at work? What were you doing?"

Can you get a picture in your mind of your favorite coach?

If you are a manager or a leader who is responsible for developing people,imagine yourself as a coach. Why? Coaches are focused on the following:

• Building effective teams

• Engaging people in their own growth and learning

• Building new skills

• Developing high-potential performers

• Helping performers who want to achieve higher levels of success

Coaches ask questions like the ones I've been asking so that reflective learningoccurs. They also explain and demonstrate how to accomplish desired goals. Beinga great coach and manager requires knowing how to focus your team members on theright things to produce the desired results.

An Emotional Wake

When I was 20-something, I had a boss who asked me and the other members of theteam to write our own individual statement for what each of us wanted toaccomplish in the upcoming year. He asked us to think about what we wanted to beoutstanding at doing and to write a personal statement of commitment. Then heasked us to use the Be, Do, Then Have formula. Who would we need to be,what would we need to do, so that we could have the desiredresults? A week later, the boss videotaped each team member sharing his or herown Be, Do, Then Have statement. We watched the videos together, and he gave usour own copy. This activity enabled each person to internalize his or her ownmotivation to be the kind of performer who would produce the desired results nomatter who was watching. It made our work seem like playing a game that was fun.Our emotions were engaged in achieving our goals at work.

Richard Boyatzis, PhD, a distinguished professor from the Department ofOrganizational Behavior at Case Western Reserve University, walked on stage todeliver the keynote address to an audience of executive coaches (including me)with Aretha Franklin's voice blasting in the background:

What you want, I got it. What you need, you know I got it ... All I'm asking isfor a little ... R-E-S-P-E-C-T ... Find out what it means to me ...R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Take care, ohhhh, Sock it to me ... A little respect, oh yeah.

As he danced wildly, clapping his hands above his head on stage, he shouted thatgreat leaders move us through our emotions. Learning retention is higher when weengage the brain with music and humor. As a manager and leader, you may oftenwonder how to inspire people to work on what would be beneficial to them. Greatleaders understand that emotions are the connectors that engage people.Employees are not persuaded by your logic and data. Instead, they take actionbased on their emotions, and then they use the research to justify theiractions. Emotion is what causes change.

For over 30 years, Dr. Boyatzis has been researching what causes sustaineddesired change. He says that arousing, invoking, stimulating, and provoking thedesires to develop and change require openness, adaptability, and tolerance forambiguity. To get to the place in ourselves where we are open like this, we aretriggering what he calls the "parasympathetic nervous system, or the PositiveEmotional Attractor."

Whom do you most enjoy coaching and developing? Who is drawn to your inspiringwords of wisdom? When you reflect on your own expertise and content, what is itspecifically that you help others to achieve in an excellent way? Beinginspiring and sharing new skills are foundational to being a world-class coachbecause that is what triggers the Positive Emotional Attractor.

You know how to solve problems. The people you are developing have a problem orchallenge that they want assistance in moving through. Your perspective, yourpast experience, your know-how are valuable to giving clarity and direction insolving challenges, right? People do not believe the message or the learning ifthey do not believe the messenger. Have you made the connection yourself aboutthe ways in which you can confidently add value by sharing your research orexperience? I'll show you how to do this and how to be an outstanding coach!

Change is at the heart of all development because in order to develop newabilities, we take new actions. In my coaching and seminar Talent@Work, I askparticipants to identify someone who changed them by bringing out the best inthem. Who created a climate that changed your desire so that you wanted to bethe best version of you that is possible? Do you notice that when this happened,you were focused not on merely getting by, but rather on being a shining star?Think about managers or leaders who have brought out the best in you. Then thinkabout people who did the opposite, people you went out of your way to avoid:

• Who brought out the best in me?

• Why were they able to do so? What did they do?

• How did I feel when I was with them? Or after I left them?

• Which leaders have brought out the worst in me?

• Why were they able to do so? What did they do?

• How did I feel when I was with them?

On the list of descriptions of people who have brought out the best in you, youprobably said something like the following statements:

1. She was growing and sharing what she was learning with the team.

2. He was collaborative and listened to my ideas.

3. I felt valued by him.

4. She was passionate about the work.

5. She was confident.

6. He was future oriented, and he focused on solutions and how to implementthem.

7. He asked great questions that encouraged me to think in new ways.

8. She was thoughtful and showed interest in what I was doing.

9. Trust built up in our relationship over time.

10. I felt hope and a sense of possibility.

On the other list, the people who have brought out the worst in you, we wouldlikely see some of these comments:

1. He was very critical and judgmental—I always felt like I was doingsomething wrong.

2. She was distant and aloof, and she seemed cold or unwilling to engage.

3. He was too rules focused.

4. She seemed exasperated, frustrated, and annoyed much of the time.

5. He was self-absorbed.

6. I felt controlled by needing to please her.

7. He seemed angry and constrained, often complaining.

8. She focused only on problems and risks and what was being done wrong.

9. I did not feel like he cared about what I was doing.

10. She compared me to others and explained how great they were, but she did notshare with me how or why this was relevant to me.

Notice how these reflect an emotional wake? When people inspire and lead us,they usually have a positive emotional wake. Emotions are contagious, and wecatch the other person's emotional marinade as it spills over onto us. On theother hand, when someone shuts us down and squashes our growth, we experience anegative emotional wake. Leaders who know how to be effective coaches inspire usto new, higher levels of performance (see the box "Are You Inspiring?").

The Promise of Coaching

Are you curious about the changing landscape of business and how coaching hasbecome an integral part of helping leaders to develop new competencies needed toadapt and meet today and tomorrow's business challenges? John Kotter in TheLeadership Factor said that 53 percent of executives do not have the skillsto do their job adequately. Most need to be coached to master how to buildrelationships that engage, develop, and inspire their employees.

It is not the analysis, auditing, or metrics that cause a company to be great.Consider this: the company Enron was audited monthly, yet it failed painfully.We want to add value and to make a difference. We want to feel like we are doingwhat we were born to do. Effective leaders create a relationship throughconversations that engage their followers. The quality of the relationship wehave with our employees and teams is based on the intentional, developmentalconversations we create with them over time. If you are someone who loves tolook at and track measurement results, numbers, and analyses, it is vital thatyou also learn how to connect with people on an emotional level, not just on anumbers level, if you aspire to develop a high-performing team or organization.

Asking, "What can I do to be helpful?" is a nice gesture, but to make adifference, that sentiment needs to be part of an ongoing conversation. Justoffering to help a person does not make a difference or produce positive change.Studies of drug and alcohol abusers show they can get detoxed in a matter ofweeks, but if the relationships and the conversations going on around them donot change dramatically, they will be back at the same behaviors that causedthem to land in rehab within six months. For their behaviors to change, therehas to be a system of support around them. A one-time or one-week effort willnot help them. The same is true in turning mediocrity into greatness or poorteam performance into high team performance.

What does make a difference?

1. Creating and maintaining ongoing conversations that communicate the purposeof the organization

2. Having conversations that describe the key accountabilities and expectationsof each role

3. Asking questions that cause people to explore and find the connectionsbetween their own motivation and the organization's purpose

4. Inspiring hope and vision for a new possibility

5. Having conversations that demonstrate compassion, understanding, and empathy

6. Paying attention to health and wellness in the body, mind, and spirit

7. Maintaining ongoing conversations for learning—that is, conversationsthat help employees increase their knowledge of their present roles and theirpossible future roles

8. Having conversations that trigger feelings connected to why people are doingwhat they are doing

Creating Positive Change

As a manager, you want everyone on your team to be experiencing a positivechange and momentum. Moments of starts and stops—a few steps forward, thena sense that nothing is happening, and then moving forward again—aretypical during the beginnings of positive change. When we develop, we arecreating change. We need to be patient with ourselves during this scrambledtime, which will have many steps forward accompanied by a step backward here andthere.

Times of personal change are rather similar to cooking, say, scrambled eggs. Westart with the yolks and the whites in the shells—not where we want them,so time for a change. We crack the eggs open, and runny liquid spills out intothe pan. With a fork we mix the eggs together to create a new consistency andcolor in the liquid mixture—still not where we want it. We have to bepatient and confident, knowing that the desired results are on the way. As theeggs begin to cook, lumps form, but the runny mess is still all over the pan andnot where we want it. After waiting and stirring for a few minutes, the eggstake the desired shape and consistency as yummy scrambled eggs. When we gothrough a change in our abilities, the same process occurs. Discovering who youwant to be—what kind of coach, leader, or manager you want tobe—occurs in fits and starts as we go through, as I describe them to mycoaching clients, the "scrambled egg phases." This is development.

You can help this process along by creating your own learning agenda and findinga caring person to nurture you in your journey. Finding a role model to inspirea vision for your ideal self is useful. A role model can help you to see who youare or who you can be. A role model can help you consider new possibilities foryour development and growth. Find someone who is able to believe in you and helpyou grow, someone who knows how to develop and coach you based on your strengthsand natural talents.

People don't want to be fixed! When we slip into trying to fix other people, itdoes not work because people don't want to feel as if they are broken and mustbe fixed. People do want to grow and learn. There is a subtle shift in themindset behind these two stances.

How can you tell when you are in a positive state of development and growthversus a negative state of development and growth—that is, a fix-it state?

Here's a list of traits that go along with a Positive Focus on Development andGrowth:

1. I have a vision of my ideal self.

2. I know what triggers my hopes and joys.

3. I am playing to my strengths and the ways I contribute best.

4. My development plan is based on my own goals to grow into the level ofperformance I desire for myself.

5. I am focused on creative solutions.

Here's a list of traits that go along with a Negative Focus on Broken and MustBe Fixed:

1. I am focused on what triggers my fears and anger.

2. My focus is pessimistic and criticism based.

3. I am working with a Performance Improvement Plan because I am not meetingothers' expectations.

4. I am focused on problems.

To be receptive to new ideas and to develop and grow, we have to be in the firststate—open and positive focused.

This is why I provide 360-degree assessment data AFTER the people I am coachinghave created their own vision of the people they want to be. Then I encouragethem to review the feedback from others after they know what they want forthemselves. After I see what they have written in their own learning journal, Iask them questions like these:

1. What do you want your life to be like?

2. What is your ideal view of yourself?

3. What is on your That's for Me! list?

4. What are the values that are most important to you?

(Continues...)

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Conversations for Creating STAR Performers by SHAWN KENT HAYASHI. Copyright © 2012 by Shawn Kent Hayashi. Excerpted by permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0071779949
• ISBN 13: 9780071779944
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256