A Leadership Screw Driver: The 90 Day Improvement Plan

Written by Brent Filson


PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided torepparttar author, and it appears withrepparttar 135849 included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

Word count: 648

Summary: All leaders must eventually deal with poor performers. The author describes a method to help poor performers become good performers. It is based on developing and executing a 90-Day Improvement Plan.

A Leadership Screw Driver: The 90 Day Improvement Plan by Brent Filson

I was talking with first-line supervisors in a utility company about how to deal with poor performing employees.

"You've gotta putrepparttar 135850 screws to him!" suggested one supervisor to his colleague who was having trouble managing one particular poor performer.

"I've put so many screws to him he's dead weight!"repparttar 135851 supervisor replied.

We all knew what "puttingrepparttar 135852 screws to him" meant -- using rewards and punishments to force change in behavior.

The trouble is, rewards and punishments arerepparttar 135853 least effective ways of dealing with poor performers. That's because poor performers are usually smart, motivated, and tenacious -- when it comes to poor performing.

To changerepparttar 135854 behavior of poor performers, avoidrepparttar 135855 outside-in approach of rewards and punishments and cultivate an inside-out approach.

Aesop understood that. There isrepparttar 135856 Aesop's fable ofrepparttar 135857 wind and sun competing to see who can remove a coat from a man. The wind tries to blowrepparttar 135858 coat off, butrepparttar 135859 man clutches it tightly to his body. Thenrepparttar 135860 sun grows hotter, andrepparttar 135861 man, perspiring heavily and getting hotter and hotter, gladly ripsrepparttar 135862 coat off.

The leadership lesson is clear: You can bluster and blow to get somebody to accomplish a task, but that's not as effective as setting up a situation in whichrepparttar 135863 person gladly does it.

Here is a way to deal with poor performers using Aesop's lesson:repparttar 135864 90-Day Improvement Plan. A business leader tells me that he uses such plans as tools for change. Each plan is comprised of two pages:repparttar 135865 first page pointing out thatrepparttar 135866 individual must improve andrepparttar 135867 second page detailingrepparttar 135868 precise ways that improvement must take place.

Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 3, Drifting From the Topic

Written by Steve Kaye


Although new ideas lead to creative solutions, they can be a challenge when they interrupt or distractrepparttar work on an issue.

Approach 1: Questionrepparttar 135553 relationship to topic

When new ideas seem inappropriate, say:

"That's an interesting point (or question). And how does it relate to our topic?"

"Excuse me. We started talking about our budget and now we seem to be discussing payroll administration. Is this what we want to work on?"

"We seem to be working on a new issue. I'm sure this is important, and I wonder what you want to work on withrepparttar 135554 time we have left?"

These statements greetrepparttar 135555 ideas with compliments and requests for clarification. This recognizes thatrepparttar 135556 other person could believerepparttar 135557 idea relates torepparttar 135558 topic, which it may.

Approach 2: Place inrepparttar 135559 Idea Bin

Use an Idea Bin to manage unrelated ideas. This powerful tool is a blank chart page posted onrepparttar 135560 wall withrepparttar 135561 title: Idea Bin. Some groups call it an Issue Bin or Parking Lot. The scribe writes new ideas on this chart page orrepparttar 135562 participants write their ideas on Post-it(™) Notes that they place onrepparttar 135563 page.

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