Page 104 - HBR Leader's Handbook: Make an Impact, Inspire Your Organization, and Get to the Next Level

94 HBR Leader’s Handbook

four-day session where they talk about how well each person and depart-
ment achieved their key performance indicators for the year. Each leader
prepares a brief summary of what they did well, where they fell short, and
what they need to do differently in the next year, after which all the other
team members give their comments and suggestions. They also talk about
how their performances affect each other and how they can support each
other going forward.
Leaders should give performance feedback to entire organizations at
times, particularly about key performance themes or issues. Walker’s
challenge to the Ford Foundation about becoming more digitally savvy is
a great example of this. Often this is the beginning of significant trans-
formation and improvement for your organization, which we’ll talk about
in chapter 5. The point, however, is that feedback is essential not only for
individual change, but for collective change as well.

Feedback throughout the organization
Giving feedback effectively to your own people models the behavior for
others in your division or unit. But you also must build regular processes
into the rhythm of the organization to make sure it happens regularly.
Most large organizations already have a performance management system
setting defined times throughout the year for employee assessment. These
conversations often culminate in decisions about promotions, compensa-
tion, and development needs.
As a leader within that system, you need to meet the requirements of
this enterprise cadence and also put your own stamp on it. That’s the dif-
ference between your team seeing performance management as an oner-
ous corporate process and seeing it as one that drives real business value.
For example, the leader of a sales team within a large technology firm set
up monthly talent talks with each of her direct reports and a quarterly tal-
ent talk with the group as a way of reinforcing the importance of keeping
a focus on performance issues, both good and bad, and doing something
about them. Then, when it was time to fill out the yearly corporate perfor-
mance management forms and participate in the associated meetings, she
and her team were already well prepared.