My New Gig

I don't know if you noticed, but I haven't written much lately. I was already fairly busy, but I'm now also the Acting Chief of a Branch here. This is a really tough task because I didn't offload any of my current work and now I have additional duties that I'm performing. So I'm managing 9 different projects that are in various stage of development and operations and managing a team of 6 people.

The good part of this detail is the timing. I asked for a very specific set of experience. I asked to manage the end of year performance reviews. Gasp all you want, but I asked for that specific set of work.

Performance evaluation is uncomfortable for many people because of what you don't know. Its like being afraid of the dark. People who claim they are afraid of the dark aren't typically afraid of darkness, but rather the monsters that can't be seen because it is dark. You turn the light on and people can see that there are no monsters and thus, no fears.

Well, performance evaluation is similar. People are anxious about what they can't see. This is heightened for for the 6 people I'm managing through this process. I'm new to them (at least in this role). They don't know me and haven't had an opportunity to build rapport with me. So the opportunity for fear is much greater than it would have been otherwise.

My approach has been very deliberate. I can't turn the lights on, but I can help them to understand the process and what they should expect. On the 30th I sent the team an email outlining the performance evaluation process. I sent each person a copy of his or her mid-year performance so that he or she could see the performance elements and any feedback from that event. I then asked each person to consider identifying the activities and accomplishments that I should review while preparing the Performance Evaluation Report. I have received that feedback and am currently writing those evaluations.

I also asked each person to consider writing an IDP. I wrote about those last week. But I want each person to really think about development in ways that are more than just training.

Finally, because of the realignment, (which created the new branch and the reason for me to be the Acting Chief), peoples' performance elements are not necessarily aligned to what they are actually doing. This caused some consternation with them when they were identifying their accomplishments. Thus I have the additional task of baselining the performance elements for everyone in the new branch.

All of this is to tell you that I'm quite busy. Sorry, I can't write more.

IDPs

People don't understand why I'm such a big proponent of Individual Development Plans. The reason isn't because it is some magic bullet that makes people more effective or efficient. No, the reason I have been such a strong supporter of IDPs is because it forces two people to have a conversation.

I don't know why this is a problem but Supervisors and Employees do not generally have good conversations. Here is the typical scenario:

Employee - I would like to take training class abc.

Supervisor - Sure, submit form 123 to me and I'll sign it.

Employee - Thanks.

In this scenario the employee got exactly what he was looking for and the Supervisor was helpful in making it happen. The problem is what didn't happen. The Supervisor didn't ask how the training experience would fit into the Employee's short and long-term goals. Further, the Supervisor didn't ask how the training experience would benefit the organization and whether it is even consistent with the needs of the office.

That is why IDPs are so important. An IDP forces the Employee and the Supervisor to have the conversation about the trajectory of the Employee's career. Where does he want to be in 2 years, and 5 years? What are the types of experiences that will help him to get there? This may include training classes, but take the blinders off and look at more than just traditional classes. What the Employee needs is specialized experience. That is what the Supervisor should be looking to create an opportunity for. When it is a knowledge gap, sure, program training. But if the employee wants to go somewhere, professionally, and it aligns with the needs of the organization, it is the Supervisor's job to help him achieve it.

So, an IDP is important because it forces a conversation that doesn't happen nearly enough.