StoryboardPM
“Performance Conversations” in project management are not just an annual thing but should be a regular check in and happen to be an opportunity to follow-up on concerning behavior.
Be prepared. You may find that holding others accountable/responsible for their assignments/commitments may be a difficult reality check for you and your supporting cast, as much as for them. Most will shy away from giving you constructive feedback, but you should create an environment where they can do so without regrets.
Conflict is part of every healthy project team moving from “storming” to “norming” on Tuckman’s Ladder. If people have opinions, it means they care. You just have to come to an understanding and an agreement that everyone gets behind. You can’t avoid disagreements, or it will get much worse before it gets better. Work it out with all involved separately and together.
This book gives a few great examples of three types of performance conversations handled a little differently. I will just quote a summary of the pattern used for each conversation.

Here is my takeaway #29 from one of the most useful practical books in my field, “Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager”:

29) Conversation 1: “He (the manager) explained why he wanted to talk. He reminded (the employee) what was at stake. He listened with empathy to her concerns and feelings. Instead of solving the problem for her, he asked her opinion about what to do. And then he did what a good project leader does–he figured out a way to clear the path for her.”

Conversation 2: “She declares her intent, states the facts and the impact (discouraging comments and actions that are demoralizing to the rest of the team), listens (and hears frustrations that come from reporting back on too many commitments to too many bosses on projects and functional duties), and clarifies expectations.“

Conversation 3: “You will take the power of informal authority to a whole new level when you have the skills to deliver positive feedback in the right way (I would argue that having enough influence informally where others want to follow is a strong indication that you are a better project manager than someone with the formal title who people have to follow.)

“…you give them everything they need to replicate the good work. Reinforcing specific positive actions by your team members is a sure way to get momentum on your projects.”

Note: This comes from Chapter 5 “Executing the Project: Clear the Path or Fall on Your Face?” (pages 148, 151, 155)

It’s best if a manager can have a 1-on-1 meeting with employees each week. You are learning from others on the job, while you are mentoring professional development in others. If you have a lot of time constraints and a number of people on a given team, you may get the answers you need from week to week from a regular “sync/standup” meeting (about what they worked on the week before, any problems [they need help with from the team to clear the path], and what they will work on in the week ahead). But a personal meeting can mean/be so much more.

Let one-on-one meetings be that person’s meeting to talk about whatever they want, unless you also have a concern that you need to address. Ask them how they are doing, if they have any concerns, and how you are doing to help their position succeed. If you are checking in with them each week to see how they are doing and supporting them where they see the project needs help, there won’t be many surprises to you or them as the project moves along. If you are holding brief, but regular sit downs, it won’t be as painful to bring up problems you see with their work and how it affects the team and the project outcomes.

Use the four foundational behaviors (Respect, Listen, Expectations, Accountability). Be understanding, sympathetic, and/or empathic. And realize these performance conversations, if done well, will likely turn up concerns from their point of view you may not have considered. Getting a fuller picture, focusing on what relates to the project (but offering to talk with a functional manager if you notice constraints they are working under, with two or more bosses as projects often go, that is affecting their work on your project), and then coming up with solutions together progresses everyone along with progressing the work.

Like I mentioned, the book gives a few really great examples. I won’t go into those specifically here. But I will share my experience with a few types of managers who made a good impact on me.

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STORY TIME:

I have had more than a few managers through the years who were each good at different aspects of this more personal way of managing and keeping up with their workforce on an individual level. They each helped me grow in different ways. At the center of it, was how I could see they really cared about me as a person, about my well-being as a worker, and my progression as a professional.

One type of manager was great at checking in on you routinely, recognizing when something was slipping and not jumping to conclusions about what was really going on. They kept a pulse on your work and any situations that could jeopardized the team. They took in your perspective and helped clear a path for things that were beyond your problem alone to solve.

One type of manager was great at discreetly pulling you aside when there was a concern with your work or actions and having tough conversations, getting feedback, and resolving conflicts. They exemplified the 4 foundational behaviors. You felt respected and listened to, but they were firm in their expectations of you and your accountabilities/responsibilities going forward.

One type of manager, my favorite type, was great at natural interactions from day-to-day throughout the day working alongside the team, but not micro-managing, where you felt like there was no task greater than another. You were encouraged to soar as the expert in your area of work. This type of manager was aware of your great work and was always providing positive feedback and appreciation.

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Be like these managers–only better. Learn from each manager you work with. Add the good to your repertoire and leave out the bad. Managing others is difficult, but through the challenges come the greatest opportunities. I have been fortunate to work with people and managers who are all very conscientious and want to do their best work. Think the best of others. Give people the benefit of the doubt, if you have doubts. Most everyone deep down wants to do not only what’s best for themselves, but for the team, and company as well.

Help them to know you want the same for them, the team, and the project, respectfully correct anything in opposition to that, and then you will get their best work out of them. Tap into your greatest potential individually and collectively.