11-08

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Susan Fee

Susan Fee: Communication Tip Sheet
November 2008 Edition

In This Issue

News & Notes: Meet TED

Manager's Tip Sheet: Replace Performance Reviews

Personal Tip Sheet: Sixty Seconds and You're Hired!

Difficult Conversations: Embarrassed Over No Degree

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News & Notes: Meet TED

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out, in 1984, as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives in just 18 minutes.

TED has made these speeches available online and they are well worth your viewing time. Whenever I visit this site, I’m inspired to think more creatively and take action. Isn’t that the result we want for every speech we give or listen to?

Until next month,

Susan Fee

Manager's Tip Sheet: Replace Performance Reviews

Performance reviews destroy morale, kill teamwork and hurt the bottom line. These are the opinions of Samuel Culbert, professor of management at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Making his case in the Wall Street Journal (10/20/08), Culbert suggests that most performance reviews are subjective and political and the link between pay and performance is tenuous at best.

What’s needed instead he says, is to replace performance reviews with previews. These discussions would be mutually accountable rather than one-sided. Boss and employee would both have something at stake from the beginning leading to greater success. Here are some of Culbert’s ideas on what a performance preview should entail:

Focus on the future. The preview structure is focused on what needs each person has to accomplish the established goals. This involves descriptive conversations about how each person tends to operate, using past events for illustrative purposes to examine what did or did not work well.

Use of active questioning. According to Culbert, “Bosses should be asking all the questions that occur to them in inquiring about how a subordinate thinks he or she can best perform the job.” At the very minimum bosses need to know how an employee plans on getting the job done, and what specific help the employee needs in order to reach a level of excellence.

Meet frequently. Rather than annual reviews held after the fact, previews require meeting whenever either the boss or employee has the feeling that they aren’t working well together.

Establish mutual accountability. According to Culbert, a boss’ job is to guide, coach, tutor, and provide oversight. To that end, he suggests that both boss and subordinate be held jointly accountable for the quality of work the subordinate performs. Just imagine how this would change the quality of guidance up front!

Personal Tip Sheet: Sixty Seconds and You're Hired!

Years ago, when I lived in Seattle, I met Robin Ryan. She’s a career coach and author of 60 Seconds & You’re Hired! Her book was first published in 1994 and has been updated several times since with the latest version published this year. If you’re considering a job change, or the current market has forced you to make one, I highly recommend Ryan’s book.

The point of the title is that job candidates need to be able to sum up and present their strong points to any interview question within sixty seconds. Long, lengthy answers are boring and tend to wander from the main question. To be able to answer concisely, Ryan suggests you prepare a five point agenda of your most marketable skills and repeatedly weave these points throughout the interview process. Here is her formula for creating your five point agenda.

Examine previous experience. Write out the major responsibilities for each job you’ve held. Note any special accomplishments. Focus on your most important work strengths in which you are most productive.

Conduct research. Check with contacts and gather as much background information as possible on the employer and the specific needs of the position. Ryan notes that many times your contacts will point out the very aspects that must make up your five point agenda.

Match needs and abilities. After reviewing the employer and position needs, determine which parts of your abilities and experience will be most important to the employer.

Build a picture. Create your five point agenda with solid examples that clearly demonstrate your abilities. The five points are your basic building blocks to answer the interviewer’s questions. Re-stress each of the points whenever the opportunity presents itself, which Ryan says, will make you a memorable candidate.

Listen to Susan's Audio Coaching Tips on Personal Power

Difficult Conversations: Embarrassed Over No Degree

Q: When someone asks me where I went to school, I feel embarrassed to admit that I never went past high school. How can I answer this question without making people view me as uneducated?

A: Education is a life-long process and comes in many forms. I’ve met a lot of people with tons of degrees who had difficulty carrying on a conversation! If you view yourself as uneducated, then you will convey that no matter what you say. But, if you believe you are just as smart and capable of learning as the next person, that confidence will shine through no matter what letters follow your name.

You can’t control what other people think of you, but you do control what you share about yourself. Answer the question honestly without over-explaining. You might say, “I graduated from high school and never went to college. I discovered I’m really interested in (topic). I read everything I can about it.”

Submit your difficult questions to Susan_Fee@msn.com. If your question is chosen for publication, you’ll receive a complimentary copy of Dealing With Difficult People.

Interested in booking training or coaching? Let me know how I can help, Susan_Fee@msn.com.

Susan Fee is a licensed counselor, personal coach, and national speaker. She is the author of Positive First Impressions, Dealing with Difficult People, Building Resiliency, Secrets of Successful Presentations, and the college survival guide, My Roommate Is Driving Me Crazy! She can be reached through her Web site at www.susanfee.com or by email at Susan_Fee@msn.com.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 2008