#5. Too many policies.

Policies provide guidelines, but it can be easy to let policies run the company at the expense of creativity, people, and even common sense. They fall in the same category as warning labels and directions on products – they can be helpful but are often overdone. I remember a comedian talking about the warning label on Preparation H, and his line was, “You realize, this means that at some point, somebody turned to his friend and said, ‘I wonder how this would taste on a cracker!’” Managers are often the culprits of too many policies because it is much easier to say, “the policy says that you can’t have personal things on your desk,” than to talk specifically to George about the questionable memento of his Las Vegas trip on his shelf.

#4. Too few policies.

Most leaders relate to feeling ‘hamstrung’ by a particular rule in a prior organization and, as a result, many let the pendulum swing too far to the other side and give up policies all together. When that happens, employees can become confused about exactly how to operate on very basic things (like vacation, working from home, taking an outside job) and productivity is lost to guessing. Additionally, federal and state governments require businesses to address some issues, and businesses that fail to do so become non-compliant.

The answer?

The solution to both #5 and #4 is to work with the team (or a subset of the team) to create some general operating guidelines. Be sure to define and communicate the overarching principle or belief behind the policy, rather than simply stating the ‘rule.’ Then, when situations come up in the future that are unclear, the principle can help management make decisions about when to bend and when to hold fast.

#3. Improperly evaluating risk.

One of the primary jobs of HR is to manage risk, but not all risks are equal, and the real issue lies in the costs and complexities of mitigation. Big or little, if the risk is easy to mitigate, then, by all means, mitigate! But sometimes, mitigation of the risk comes at a cost to the culture of the organization or the business goals. For example, there is a risk to providing different levels of pay to people doing the same job; however, especially in a small organization, it may be critical to retain people who perform at varied levels in the job while being inadvisable to give them separate titles. In this case, it may make very good business sense to pay the same position differently.

The answer?

1. Be crystal clear on the potential for the risk to occur. People typically do not sue us because they were treated illegally – they sue because they perceive that they were treated unfairly. Are we treating people unfairly? Or fairly but differently?

2. Be certain there is a business reason to undertake the risk. It’s a good idea to bounce that business reason off of a confidential, objective third party. Do they see the situation in the same way?

3. Understand the consequences if the risk does occur. For example, many companies take risks in the area of exempt vs. non-exempt classification either because they do not understand the issue or they think none of their employees would ever “do” anything. My advice to these companies is uniformly that the potential of the risk to occur might be small, but the consequences are huge. Wage and hour issues can eliminate profits and even shut companies down. In this case, however small the likelihood, the consequence is simply too great to take the chance.

#2. Separating “HR” from the business.

Some business leaders I talk with view HR tasks almost as a stand-alone island and don’t consider how the HR practices support or hinder the business model. Even something as simple as a payroll cycle can be considered within the context of the business. For example, how will our chosen cycle impact our cash flow? What kinds of skills do we need for the business we do, and how do those people prefer to be paid? What is our likely turnover rate? If we have a high-burnout position, do we need specific pay practices to mitigate the administrative issues? As we move from payroll cycle questions into more strategic issues, it is critical to integrate HR questions into the mix. What kinds of bonus plans will help reward the behavior we seek? How will employees know they are succeeding…or not?

The answer?

When small to mid-sized businesses do not have an HR executive on the leadership team, the responsibilities typically fall to someone who already is wearing many hats. It is critical for that individual to take the HR component of his or her job seriously and seek out assistance to make sure he or she is asking the right questions and helping align the people initiatives with the business plan. Organizations like www.shrm.org can provide helpful insight.

#1. Refusing to treat employees as adults.

To paraphrase Col. Jessup in A Few Good Men, most of us can handle the truth, but we’re afraid to talk about it. We know when we’re not performing or when business is down but actually telling someone that he is not performing or that she is going to lose her position if we don’t see an increase in business is very painful. Often, we “ostrich” and attempt to ignore the problem in the hope that it will go away. Maybe business will pick up? Maybe George will improve his performance? Maybe aliens will kidnap us so we won’t have to have the conversation?

The answer?

Life is not for the faint of heart. There are tough messages to deliver and sometimes situations don’t work out the way we’d like, but ignoring or sugar coating the situation never works. Instead, share as many of the facts as you can and encourage employees to participate in the solution. Sure, some of them may dissolve into puddles like the Wizard of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West, but most of them won’t… and you may find they have answers to questions you didn’t even know to ask.

“Inconceivable!”says Vizzini (for the third or forth time).

Without pause, his companion observes, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

Words are to leadership what a paintbrush is to an artist – they help create the picture you want your team transform into reality. Used well, they are one of the most powerful tools in your toolbox, so it is worth asking, “Do the words I say mean what I think they mean?” Consider these old favorites.

Integrity.

This word is one of my personal pet peeves, and its cousin, honesty, is not far behind. Who isn’t (at least publicly) for integrity or honesty? Yet, so many companies and leaders use these words in value statements while making decisions that seem to be less than honest that it has become one of the biggest corporate clichés. I wonder if they mean, “don’t do anything that will get us in trouble – or at least make sure we don’t get caught!” What do you mean by integrity? The definition I use for our company is to imagine every decision and practice publicized on the jumbotron in Times Square in foot-high letters for all to see. Will we shudder or smile?

Initiative.

In leadership workshops and coaching sessions, we are frequently asked, “how do I get people to take initiative?” Initiative means, “go ahead and act or at least take the first step without waiting for permission.”¹ Man, is it great when someone takes the initiative and gets it right; but what happens when someone takes initiative and gets it wrong? Yes, it’s important to hold each other accountable for commitments and essential to help identify weak spots in a product or process, but we rarely do these things in a spirit of helpfulness and collegiality. Rather, we say things like, “that won’t work,” “you’re overstepping,” “why would you do it that way?” or “you’ve completely missed the point here.” It only takes one excessive reprimand or sarcastic comment to shut down initiative in an entire culture. Do you really mean “initiative” when you use it? If so, be prepared to praise the attempt and go gentle on the criticism. One helpful hint — when someone brings point out the positives in a process, theory, project and ask the individual to be a devil’s advocate for his or her own approach. It’s amazing what people will find under their own initiative.

Feedback.

Suppose I come up to you in the break room and ask, “John, can I give you some feedback?” I’ll bet you set down your coffee cup in anticipation of the complimentary words I’m about to bestow! NOT! Since when did, “feedback,” become a synonym for, “criticism that I’m going to pretend is helpful and will make you feel inspired to change and improve?” Here’s a challenge for you – for one week make it a point to provide genuine but purely positive “feedback” to your team. In addition to surprising them (and potentially freaking them out a bit) you may find that performance improves as a result of your feedback. Can you say, “virtuous cycle?”

Integrity. Initiative. Feedback. Leadership improves in direct proportion to the ability to make these words mean, in your organization, what you think they should mean. I won’t lie to you – it takes work, patience and a little courage, but it’s just possible that it will be worth it.

Inconceivable?

¹ Source: Adapted from Encarta Dictionary (2017).

In the last century, the United States workforce experienced times of truly horrible conditions, blatant mistreatment and rampant overt and subtle abuse and exploitation. These events led to a series of reforms and laws that now make the American work environment (while not perfect) among the best in the world. But, in the words of writer Oscar Wilde, “No good deed goes unpunished.”

To comply with increasingly complicated and litigated rules, many companies have resorted to lengthy and multipart performance systems that attempt to grade objectively work that, often, does not fit easily into “good” and “bad” categories. At the same time many small businesses have decided to forego appraisals entirely as useless bureaucracy. The result is a workforce complaining that feedback is poor, inaccurate or completely lacking; which results in floundering, unmotivated employees and frustrated managers.

Enter the Generation Y, Facebook, Pinterest and email world of instant commentary (read “feedback”) — plentiful, often uncensored and available at the “like” of a mouse click. Who wants to wait for the annual (or at best quarterly) performance appraisal ritual? Indeed, with shortening product cycles and instant world-wide communication, how realistic is it to confine feedback to an annual conversation? Most managers and HR professionals would say in an effective performance review, nothing is a surprise. Rather, feedback has been given all year and the review is simply a designated time to talk through specific issues and set goals for the next period. That is a perfect ideal and works well…when it works well. The problem is that, most of the time, it does not work well.

People need feedback. Laws are real and companies need to have sufficient documentation for personnel actions – good or bad. Yet the majority of performance management systems are infuriatingly inadequate at best and dangerous demotivating at worst! What’s an enlightened employer to do? Based on two decades of work inside large and small companies across multiple industries, I offer the following:

1. Have a plan for feedback conversations. Whether or not your company uses an official form or appraisal system, establish a time for frank, individual conversations with your team members about their successes, mistakes, lessons learned and future goals. Put these conversations on your calendar at a minimum every four to six weeks, and keep the appointments.
2. Write something down. Once every week or two, take ten minutes per team member to reflect. What have they done well? What needs improvement? Where do they seem to want to learn more? Record these thoughts in a notebook or electronic journal along with the date, and you will be ready with concrete examples of work you’d like to see repeated and judgment calls that need adjusting for your next conversation.
3. Use electronics to your advantage. Did someone do a great job? Send a quick email letting them know it, or post a recommendation on their Linked In account regarding the terrific project they just managed. A few honest words delivered in a timely way have remarkable impact.
4. Consider using shared work platforms where team members can post work, feedback, suggestions and praise in real time. There are many platforms out there, but to get your creative juices flowing, take a look at Sharepoint or Getworksimple.com for ideas.
5. Don’t give up! You will miss a scheduled meeting, forget to reflect on your team, recognize one team member and somehow completely miss something another team member did. When this happens, take a deep breath, apologize if appropriate and start again. The momentum you will build with honest, consistent, frequent performance feedback is worth it –and you don’t have to wait until it is “The Season.”