Employee evaluations are due again at the University of Florida. I’ve always enjoyed talking to my staff. I enjoy seeing them move ahead in their careers. I even enjoy watching them move on to bigger and better things. When I cannot provide them with the opportunities they deserve I can’t be anything but happy when they find those opportunities elsewhere.
But, there is something judgmental in a formal evaluation that I do not enjoy. Giving advice as a friend carries completely different connotations than advice as a manager. A manager’s advice always seems to carry a bit more menace. Not only can I discuss the consequences of improper behavior but I can bring them to bear as well.
I am not a naturally cheerful person but I am a bit of pushover sometimes. I truly believe that proper behavior rewards itself.
This brings me to the point of this blog post. I’m finding that a number of my evaluation and workflow discussions revolve around a simple idea: responsibility.
Most people address responsibility by enumerating the tasks that a person can be held culpable for not fulfilling. Current legal systems and HR systems seem to support this notion and the idea filters into almost any conversation about a new task. Yesterday, I enjoyed watching a conversation between our networking and facilities managers. One of our buildings had a plumbing problem and they were debating who should be responsible for following up on the work order with our physical plant departments. No one wanted to be responsible for following up. Our facilities rep kept dodging the question until finally our networking manager asked if anyone thought networking should be following up on plumbing problems in our main building. The issue was tabled.
I tend to think of responsibility as empowering. I think any project manager worth their salt believes the same.
A project manager for a new construction project will never lift a hammer. They will never lay drywall. But, they know that they are responsible for every facet of that project. While that responsibility carries culpability, it also carries status. That project manager can intrude on any tradesman, any inspection, and any schedule associated with the project. That responsibility justifies almost any action that may be necessary to complete the project. Except for regulatory restrictions, almost any process can be set aside if it interferes with the progress of the project.
We have all dealt with staff that like to say “That’s not my job” or “I can’t do my job because John won’t do his.” In a situation like mine, we’ve dealt with them for years. If you accept responsibility for a task, people like this are not the roadblock they appear to be. It is your job to find a way over, around, or through them.
There’s a speech I often give my staff. I’ve asked them to repeat it back to me when I need it.
Whenever they begin to claim that they can’t continue a task because of someone else I ask a simple question.
Was this person a responsive in the past?
No.
Did you expect them to be a better employee today?
No.
Is the sky blue?
Yes.
Is water wet?
Yes.
Then tell me, who is the smart guy for expecting things to be different today? Did you expect the rain to not get you wet because it’s not fair? No, you carry an umbrella. Be the smart guy in this exchange and adapt. We all have our responsibilities and roadblocks. Responsibility means finding a way past them, not finding a way that absolves us of blame. Get it done. Move forward.
I can’t count the number of times I have done things that were not my job in order to move a project forward. Sometimes others don’t approve but the project keeps moving. No one complains when the project is a success.
The good employee, the good manager, is the one who finds a way to get it done. Keep moving things forward. And that is what I mean by taking responsibility. Those that take responsibility don’t just accept culpability; they take that power that comes with it. They take that culpability and transform into an empowering force to get things done.
They don’t accept responsibility, they take it.
Showing posts with label evaluations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evaluations. Show all posts
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Fallacy of Numbers
In 1988 I was sitting in calculus class when I learned something that has stayed with me ever since. I’ll paraphrase Mr. Massey without his permission.
“It is a pity,” my teacher began, “that we use numbers for so much but few people understand what they mean.” He proceeded to draw out on the chalkboard how our grades for his class would be calculated. He drew boxes representing four exams and a final box to represent the average of those exams.
“We like to use numbers to communicate. Numbers have power. If you put a number on something, we like to think we have a better understanding of what’s happening. The entire field of statistics is based on this premise, but consider the following.”
He drew in the grades of two students. Both students received grades of A, B, C, and D. One received them in ascending order while the other received them in descending order.
“Which one has a better understanding of the subject matter?”
Obviously, the student that started slow and finished the semester with an A had a better understanding of calculus. His point wasn’t lost on any of us. Both would end up with the same average grade. He then went on to explain how we would be graded on a different scale where later exams would have heavier weight. He reserved the right to nudge our grades upward if he believed we deserved it.
I was thinking of this a few years ago when the University of Florida’s Human Resources department redesigned their method for performing annual performance appraisals. Each year managers across UF are expected to file performance appraisals for their staff members. There would now be a greater emphasis on not only expecting those appraisals to be done but there were now more criteria on which a staff member could be evaluated. Each criterion would be based on a number of 1-5 and then summed to a final score of 5-25.
We were guided by numerous presentations and exhortations to treat performance evaluations as a chance to discuss performance with our staff. The assignment of numbers was less important than the chance to truly communicate with our subordinates.
I carried out the evaluation of my staff and moved on with my work. It wasn’t very shocking that six months later I was asked to defend my request for a raise for one of my subordinates. Apparently, his performance numbers were lower than a number of other candidates. As an explanation, I offered up that I am a critical supervisor and expect a great deal from my staff.
Comparison of performance numbers assigned by different managers is problematic at best. Some supervisors are best friends with their staff. Some managers have difficulty criticizing staff and some subordinates do not respond well to any criticism. Communication is key, but reducing that interaction to a number implies an impartiality that simply does not exist.
Both examples serve to illustrate the dangers of relying upon numbers to reflect and evaluation of performance. Unfortunately, in any significantly large institution there comes a point where we must rely upon numbers to record performance. People need to remember what assumptions lie behind all of those numbers. When we forget those assumptions, we put ourselves in a position where we are relying on “fuzzy Washington math.”
Organizations are constantly looking for metrics in order to evaluate their own performance. Managers look for appropriate metrics in order to justify budgets, request new staff, defend their policies, and for any number of other reasons. Managers need information in order to make decisions and there need to be metrics in order to inform those decisions.
When organizations spend so much time concerned with litigation, metrics can be used to not only inform but defend decision making. Efforts to remove someone from an organization are usually greeted with calls for documentation. Has the employee been counseled? Have they been informed of their sub-par performance? Is there record of their sub-par performance? And, the power of numbers here cannot be understated. A steady record of low appraisal numbers recorded over time has as much impact as a record high performance numbers.
But, as time has passed, the metrics used for evaluation have evolved. More and more, recorded opinions of management are giving way to more objective criteria: how many tickets resolved, average ticket lifespan, customer survey based information. I believe this trend has serious power and great potential to help management make informed decisions about the organizations they run.
As long as we understand the assumptions behind those numbers, all is good. Without true understanding though, numbers can lead us more astray than forward.
“It is a pity,” my teacher began, “that we use numbers for so much but few people understand what they mean.” He proceeded to draw out on the chalkboard how our grades for his class would be calculated. He drew boxes representing four exams and a final box to represent the average of those exams.
“We like to use numbers to communicate. Numbers have power. If you put a number on something, we like to think we have a better understanding of what’s happening. The entire field of statistics is based on this premise, but consider the following.”
He drew in the grades of two students. Both students received grades of A, B, C, and D. One received them in ascending order while the other received them in descending order.
“Which one has a better understanding of the subject matter?”
Obviously, the student that started slow and finished the semester with an A had a better understanding of calculus. His point wasn’t lost on any of us. Both would end up with the same average grade. He then went on to explain how we would be graded on a different scale where later exams would have heavier weight. He reserved the right to nudge our grades upward if he believed we deserved it.
I was thinking of this a few years ago when the University of Florida’s Human Resources department redesigned their method for performing annual performance appraisals. Each year managers across UF are expected to file performance appraisals for their staff members. There would now be a greater emphasis on not only expecting those appraisals to be done but there were now more criteria on which a staff member could be evaluated. Each criterion would be based on a number of 1-5 and then summed to a final score of 5-25.
We were guided by numerous presentations and exhortations to treat performance evaluations as a chance to discuss performance with our staff. The assignment of numbers was less important than the chance to truly communicate with our subordinates.
I carried out the evaluation of my staff and moved on with my work. It wasn’t very shocking that six months later I was asked to defend my request for a raise for one of my subordinates. Apparently, his performance numbers were lower than a number of other candidates. As an explanation, I offered up that I am a critical supervisor and expect a great deal from my staff.
Comparison of performance numbers assigned by different managers is problematic at best. Some supervisors are best friends with their staff. Some managers have difficulty criticizing staff and some subordinates do not respond well to any criticism. Communication is key, but reducing that interaction to a number implies an impartiality that simply does not exist.
Both examples serve to illustrate the dangers of relying upon numbers to reflect and evaluation of performance. Unfortunately, in any significantly large institution there comes a point where we must rely upon numbers to record performance. People need to remember what assumptions lie behind all of those numbers. When we forget those assumptions, we put ourselves in a position where we are relying on “fuzzy Washington math.”
Organizations are constantly looking for metrics in order to evaluate their own performance. Managers look for appropriate metrics in order to justify budgets, request new staff, defend their policies, and for any number of other reasons. Managers need information in order to make decisions and there need to be metrics in order to inform those decisions.
When organizations spend so much time concerned with litigation, metrics can be used to not only inform but defend decision making. Efforts to remove someone from an organization are usually greeted with calls for documentation. Has the employee been counseled? Have they been informed of their sub-par performance? Is there record of their sub-par performance? And, the power of numbers here cannot be understated. A steady record of low appraisal numbers recorded over time has as much impact as a record high performance numbers.
But, as time has passed, the metrics used for evaluation have evolved. More and more, recorded opinions of management are giving way to more objective criteria: how many tickets resolved, average ticket lifespan, customer survey based information. I believe this trend has serious power and great potential to help management make informed decisions about the organizations they run.
As long as we understand the assumptions behind those numbers, all is good. Without true understanding though, numbers can lead us more astray than forward.
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