Reflections on 'The Six Counterintuitive Rules' - 4

RULE #4: SPEND MORE TIME THAN YOU THINK YOU NEED TO WITH YOUR HIGH PERFORMERS.

As managers, we often forget that we should be spending most of our time with the highest performers on our team. When you have someone who’s doing really well, the question should be, ‘How can they do even better? How can you make their growth explode?’” , Here are the two tools:

Look back, look forward

Whatever milestone that makes the most sense for that person’s role. I ask them to look back on a project that they just finished and run through these questions:
Look back:

• What did you like about that? What felt good?

• What did you hate about it? What didn’t feel good?

• What’s the most important thing you learned?

• Do you want to do more of that type of work, or less?

• What do you want to do differently next time?

Look forward:

• What’s the next challenge?

• What’s the next big step or career goal you want to reach for?

• What type of work do you want to take on, whether it’s a current project in the company or something that might potentially show up in the future?

In essence, it’s about carving out the time to help an individual reflect on their learning, unpack what didn’t work so that they know what to change next time, and then look toward the next challenge on the horizon.

Use the performance review as an opportunity to push for more.

We don’t want them to be too important because we want you to have these conversations all year long. However, the review was a powerful summary moment to both reflect on the last half and how things had gone, but also to push me on what she wanted to see next.

Inspiration 4: Spend more time & Listen

• In the past, I used to devote a lot of energy to the latter half of team management and neglect the development of high-potential talent. This is certainly a counterproductive approach, as it does not leverage the full potential of the team.

• The way we communicate is essential, and it’s important to be well-prepared before engaging in communication. This involves actively listening to others, engaging in discussions, and then presenting the goals to be achieved.

To Be Continue…