Organizations live or die on the quality of their managers. Their ability to modify or correct problem behaviour has always been a necessary, if not critical, skill in elevating employee performance. And the post-pandemic workplace has introduced a new dynamic that includes such unanticipated forces as quiet quitting and the great resignation. It’s especially challenging to foster collaboration and cohesion when strong personalities must work side-by-side as well as remotely to deliver on increasingly demanding, creative and complex tasks. Inevitably, mistakes are made and, if substandard performance isn’t quickly and effectively addressed, it’s more likely to compound and become part of a downward sloping “new normal.”
A seismic shift in the employer-employee relationship is currently underway – one that has placed a greater emphasis on manager relatability, particularly for younger knowledge workers who seek a genuine connection to the organization’s mission. Without that, the most talented leave. According to McKinsey and Deloitte, only 14% of FORTUNE 500 CEOs say they now have the high performers they require to compete. And 97% lament: “we don’t develop our people effectively.” This is an indictment of their managers’ ineffectiveness in dealing with problem employee behaviours.
Simply stated, most managers dislike and are therefore uncomfortable, unwilling or incapable of dealing with workplace conflict. So, they tend to overlook minor annoyances and frustrations in the hope that unacceptable behaviours will somehow change on their own. But that never happens – they invariably become chronic, then invasively spread as others see them unaddressed. “Why should I bother if they can get away with it?” is the typical response. Knowing how to initiate timely, constructive conversations, offer candid and beneficial feedback, confront sub-par performance issues and adroitly handle disagreements and pushback is the primary focus of this webinar.
Topics include:
❏ What best predicts productivity, loyalty and tenure
❏ The primary causes of employee problem behaviour
❏ How managers contribute to mediocre performance
❏ Why employees don’t tell you what you need to know
❏ Rules and caveats of giving and getting honest feedback
❏ How to give feedback remotely and cross-culturally
❏ Measuring the reasons why employees don’t speak up
❏ The effect on performance of being tough vs. being nice
❏ The difference between being a boss and being a coach
❏ Conducting helpful check-ins during uncertain times
❏ When feedback fails: How to confront problem behaviour
❏ Conflict management basics and levels of confrontation
❏ How to deliver criticism when serious mistakes are made
❏ Dealing with underperformers who think they aren’t
❏ Addressing the little things before they become big things
❏ The art of disagreeing: A better way to get your point across
❏ How to make conflict a force for good in the workplace
** Includes a Pre-course Workbook of tasks and supplemental readings.