How to Communicate Performance Goals

I've learned one universal truth: everyone has performance ups and downs. The best leaders? They don't wait for a full-blown crisis. They spot the early signs and have those crucial conversations before things spiral. Here's my framework for helping a team member get back on track: 1. The "What's Up?" Chat (Week 1-2)   • Leader: Set up a casual one-on-one. Listen more than you talk.   • Team Member: Be honest about what's not working. It's okay to admit struggles.    Tip: Use open-ended questions like "What's your biggest challenge right now?" Consider having this chat outside your office - grabbing a coffee can change the dynamic. 2. Game Plan (Week 3-4)   • Leader: Work together to set clear, doable goals. Reset expectations as needed. Be specific about what needs to change.   • Team Member: Speak up about what you need to succeed. Own your part in the plan.   Tip: Break larger goals into weekly tasks. Stretch the team member but don't break them. 3. Support and Resources (Ongoing)   • Leader: Connect them with a mentor. Provide the tools they need.   • Team Member: Use these resources. Ask for help when you need it.   Tip: Consider personality assessments to identify strengths and growth areas. 4. Regular Check-Ins   • Leader: Regular catch-ups. Give honest feedback – good and bad.   • Team Member: Come prepared. Be open to feedback and ready to adjust.   Tip: Use the "situation-behavior-impact" model, and ask, "What would you do differently next time?" It promotes problem-solving, not just reflection. 5. One Month In: Quick temperature check • Discuss what is working and what additional resources or support is needed. 6. Three Months In: Bigger picture review • Discuss overall progress and expectations where performance has improved. 7. Six Month Milestone: Decision time   • If performance is better: Celebrate and plan next steps   • If not: Have an honest talk about whether this role is the right fit Remember: 🔸 Keep talking. Silence doesn't help anyone. 🔸 Leaders guide, but team members drive their own improvement. 🔸 Write stuff down – it keeps everyone on the same page. 🔸 We're all human. Patience and fairness go a long way. Watch out for inflated progress reporting. Stay engaged to see real progress. Look for tangible results, not just promises. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But giving someone a fair shot to turn things around? That's good leadership. Leaders – ever helped someone bounce back? What worked? How did you ensure genuine progress? Share below!

Learning how to manage up is a key to success. Here's one template I wish I had earlier in my career to help people manage up (and down) better. Ideally you have an experienced manager who knows how to create clear goals, provide specific detailed feedback and helps you remove blockers. Unfortunately I chat with tons of operators who don't feel like they get clear enough direction. Instead of waiting for things to change, take things into your own hands and drive a clear 1:1 or regular communication with your manager. How? Fill out this document, update it weekly and go over it with your manager. The Keys: 1. Goals this quarter, your current results and projected results - this will help you get alignment on the goals and force your manager to be clear about what success looks like 2. Wins - What went particularly well this week. It's important for both of you to celebrate your successes and to reflect on why certain things worked (this make it a lot easier to get critical feedback when they need to give it) 3. Updates - Last week I completed X -This upcoming week will be successful if: (write out 2-3 priorities) - Throughout my career I've found people throwing more and more things at me. The reality is that we only have so much time and everything has an opportunity cost. Therefore, by writing out your 2-3 priorities, you are explicitly getting alignment on what other things you are putting on the back burner. If your manager doesn't agree with your priorities then at least you can discuss that and get aligned on what should be rearranged. 4. Roadblocks, concerns & items needing input - This is the section or the conversations throughout the week where your manager can help you problem solve based on their previous experiences or knowledge, they can help you think through different solutions to the problem and pressure test your thinking or they can just sign off on whatever it is that you are trying to get across the line. 5. Personal Development (PD) - This is the section where you're going to both reflect and push for specific and clear feedback from your manager. It'll force both of you to reflect regularly and figure out what to focus on to improve. -PD skill I am working on: -PD update from last week: -PD idea for next week:   -Feedback from this week: -What I think I did well: -What I think I could have done better: -What manager thinks I did well or could improve: (Ask!) -What I think my manager did well or could improve: 6. Stretch Question (Your manager will ask you a question. No need to fill anything in.) Now I understand that many companies are opting not to do 1:1s. Each company should do what they believe is right, but even if you don't have 1:1s I do believe you should be having each of these conversations regularly Huge thank you to my partner Rebecca Price for creating this template that has helped me as a manager immensely and put structure around many of the things I did naturally earlier in my career.

I've worked with hundreds of teams, and the #1 request that team members consistently make of their leaders surprises me every time. No, they don't wish their bosses were more warm toward them. No, they don't wish they gave them more compliments. What they actually want is much simpler: “I really wish my manager was more clear.” They want to know where they actually stand in terms of performance, rather than some weird mind voodoo about “growth opportunities.” They want to know exactly what they could be doing better rather than some vague, passive-aggressive notion of “be more collaborative” or “take more ownership.” They want to know if their ideas are actually being considered and would prefer an outright “no, not this time,” rather than some blanket corporate speak of “we're processing everything...” Above all, what teams crave is CLARITY: “I wish I knew where I stood” “I wish I knew what I could exactly do differently” “I wish I knew where we were going with the overall strategy” “I wish I knew what the rest of the team was working on and what is going on” They want to know what you actually mean, rather than what you think they want to hear. How do you create this clarity? One of the best ways to do this is to SET UP A TOPIC MARKER. That is, signal that something important is coming -- so they don't mistake your significant message for “just another thing I should be roughly aware of.” For example, when you want to be clear about a person's performance: 🔴 Don’t just say this: “It'd be great if you could try this next time.” 🟢 Try saying this: “Let’s take a moment to check in and get on the same page about your performance.” Or, when you want to be clear about team direction: 🔴 Don’t just say this: “Here's what we're working on.” 🟢 Try saying this: “I want to emphasize what our overall direction is and why.” You'll notice in the ineffective examples, you're rushing into talking about the topic without first signaling its importance. Set the stage. Flag their attention. Mark the topic. -- I wrote more in-depth about how to create this clarity in last week's newsletter. Link to the piece is in the comments below.