In Terms of Performance, “When Does” Might Be More Important Than “How Well”
Years ago, I worked with a leader whose behavior would completely change during the final three days of every quarter. He would transform from a magnanimous, caring leader with a natural, relaxed demeaner into an anxious, ruthless man. Everyone knew that, for those three days, he was to be feared…unless we were comfortably ahead of our financial plan.
Generally speaking, he led well. He just lost his way during some of the moments that mattered most.
The question wasn’t how well he could lead; it was when does he demonstrate poor leadership.
He reminds me of another leader I have worked with. She is a thoughtful, compassionate person. But when she’s stressed or exhausted, stay away, because she becomes harsh and impatient.
Have you ever been around leaders or colleagues whose behavior deteriorates under certain circumstances like this? It occurs to me that when it comes to performance, sometimes we focus on the how well without giving enough attention to the when does.
We conclude in performance and talent reviews that someone needs to get better at doing something rather than considering more insightful questions, like when does this person demonstrating this skill, when do they not, and why?
The Hogan personality assessment understands this distinction. Its questions seek to uncover a person’s “bright side” and “dark side”. The bright side is when we’re at our best. The dark side happens under suboptimal conditions when we may likely “erode trust, loyalty, and enthusiasm.”
Context and circumstances change performance.
The Benefits of Redirecting from “How Well” to “When Does”
Nobody bats a thousand when it comes to performance. Everyone is at their best sometimes and far from it at others. Perhaps we should change the frame of performance, then, from “how well do I do this or that” to “when does it get hard or matter most for me?”
This isn’t just about challenging behaviors. There are plenty of instances where stressing the how over the when can create problems or hold us back. Consider some of the benefits that could come from shifting that focus:
- More honesty about true performance. If I analyze my performance or the performance of others on a “How Well” scale, I’ll be more likely to think of my own dark-side moments as an aberration. Conversely, I’ll be tempted to over index on the low points I observe in others. When we are disappointed or frustrated by someone’s behavior at times, we conclude that this is just who they are. Psychologists refer to this as fundamental attribution error. To avoid this, look more carefully at the timing and conditions of performance.
- Better mitigation and contingency planning. If we know that we get impatient and anxious when we’re tired, perhaps the primary goal for days when we’re not well-rested should just be to stay calm and relaxed in every interaction and not worry about how much gets done. Or, if certain times of the day, month or year bring out the worst in us or others, let’s come up with a plan to prepare for those periods with more thoughtfulness and commitment.
- Less hesitation and more action. My friend who’s an engineer tells me that he and his colleagues are frequently plagued by analysis paralysis until they are certain that they know how well they are able to perform a task. We don’t have to be an engineer to relate to this. We’ve all been in a meeting where we realized when we should be contributing, but we hesitated because we weren’t sure how well we’d say it. Or we’ve sensed that the timing called for us to take action in a relationship or with an idea, but we rationalized the moment away because we didn’t have enough confidence in the approach. Deciding when does this matter and acting with 80% certainty may be better than waiting until 100% of the how is achieved.
- More emphasis on the moments that matter most. If we don’t ask the question when enough, we can miss essential moments. For example, we might ask, “How well is our company performing?” or “How well do we treat our customers?” and conclude that the answer is “very good” because performance metrics are strong. However, we may not realize that we’re missing opportunities in the moments that matter most. In their book The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath explain that we need to carefully “architect the moments that matter” — moments like the John Deere First Day Experience, where each touchpoint for a new employee is designed to maximize engagement and clarity. How well did John Deere treat employees before they rolled out this experience? Wrong question. The question wasn’t “how well” it was “when does” it matter most.
When it comes to our performance, our organization’s performance, and the performance of others, let’s reduce our focus on how well. Change the frame by asking when does.
When does it matter most for you to improve performance?
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