Victoria made a great point yesterday in her comment about sharing the questions with a supervisee before the meeting, so they could have a chance to reflect. And a couple of other comments from a couple of weeks back have struck a chord with me too…Manufreey said that telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth is really important both ways; Angus talked about conversations often being just one way, the the supervisor talking at the supervisee; Margaret built on that, saying “what are the responsibilities of the individual in these conversations? And how can I as the supervisor make sure the “two way street” has trigger points, interactions and content flowing both ways?“
In addition, one of our guiding principles for these conversation starters is that they should be simple, intuitive and a bit like the Personal Engagement List.
So Bob and I discussed yesterday what it is about the PEL that works. We like the idea of giving the individual something to prepare before the conversation, something that can promote a natural sharing, where the individual steps into and owns their full “adult”. It’s much more about the individual than it is about the supervisor.
So I am going to take another hard look at each of the conversations, and work out whether there is some kind of nifty grid or graph or activity that the individual can do before the meeting, to get prepared. Any and all of your ideas are welcome!!
In the meantime, let me share the last 2 conversations. I am certainly not throwing the baby out with the bath water; these will form the basis for the activities that we choose, so it’s all goodness. Iterative thinking.
1. You’re moving on
Mindset
–Having done my job to grow this person, they are ready for a new challenge. I support them fully as they bring innovations to improve the way the world works and lives, inside or outside of Accenture.
Skill-set
–Thank you for your contribution to this role and our business success
–How can I support you to get closure in this role?
Frequency and timing: once at the end of a person’s tenure in the role
2. In the moment touch-points and recognition
Mindset
–People are motivated by their own growth, achievement and relationships; my team is a group of self-starters who have can-do attitudes and a desire to fulfil their own potential. I can support them with multiple touch-points.
Skill-set
These touch-points are short interactions (virtual or live) and could cover any one of the following:
–Thank you for x
–Feedback (see feedback conversation)
–What is bothering you? (see you have an issue conversation)
–On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you? What can you do about that?
–On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you? What can you do about that?
–On a scale of 1-10, how in control of your success do you fell? What can you do about that?
–What do you like outside of work?
–Etc
What is the one touch-point that you need to make with each individual on your team today?
Frequency and timing: in the moment, every day
What do you think?
