Key Takeaways:

There are two ways to motivate your team: extrinsic motivation (from the outside) and intrinsic motivation (from the inside).

Extrinsic motivation can be achieved by allowing your team to do different jobs or take on different roles, giving them learning opportunities, and by giving them gifts, words of affirmation, or quality time.

Intrinsic motivation can be achieved by giving your team a sense of meaning, choice, competence, relatedness, and progress.

Intrinsic motivation is more powerful than extrinsic motivation because it comes from within each team member and doesn't depend on outside influences or rewards.

Every team member will be motivated by different things. Try to figure out what motivates each team member and incorporate as many intrinsic motivators into every job and role in your organization.

Key Takeaways:

Training and development can come from both outside and inside your organization. Most options from outside your organization will cost money but most options from inside your organization will be at low or no additional cost.

Outside training and development can take the form of seminars, simulations, individual and group assignments, and conferences. Self-study is another form of outside training using educational books, podcasts, blogs, and videos.

Inside training and development can be done through on-the-job training, task or job rotation, coaching and mentoring, and group learning in committees, workshops, and working groups.

Compiling a list of recommended training and development resources can help people in your organization quickly access the outside training they need to improve their skills and knowledge.

Remember to be deliberate about finding opportunities to learn from others in your organization whether one-on-one or in group settings.

Key Takeaways:

Evaluating your team’s behaviours and results at the end of the year or at the end of a program, event, or project is key to finding out where they shine and where they need development.

Using an evaluation scheme that takes into account whether the team member is new, experienced, or at a manager or leadership level, you can use the criteria you’ve set for the behaviours and results you’re expecting from that role to determine whether the person is below, meets, or is above expectations in each area. This type of evaluation scheme is ideal for team members who are on staff. Anyone above expectations is likely ready for a promotion or raise and is able to help others improve. Anyone below expectations needs more training or, if they aren’t improving over time, may need to change roles or be let go from the organization.

360 degree feedback is a great way to get a full view of a team member’s contributions, whether they are on staff or a volunteer. The team member’s manager, peers, direct reports, and “customers” provide an evaluation of the person’s contributions. Agreement on a particular strength or area for improvement is a great indication of where someone can contribute even more or where they could use more training and development.

Remember to make feedback as objective as possible and to ask for feedback soon after the program, event, or project you’re using for the evaluation.

Key Takeaways:

Once you’ve set and discussed the behaviour and results expectations for a team member, you can start giving them ongoing feedback on how they’re being both effective and ineffective in their role.

Praise your team for exceptional performance and help them determine areas where they can improve.

Don’t forget to notice and acknowledge the everyday ways each person helps your team and organization succeed. People like to show off what they’re doing, which gives you an opportunity to praise their know-how and hard work!

Key Takeaways:

Creating a job description for each role in your organization is the first step to evaluating the behaviour and results of your team.

A job description is made up of:

- A job title,

- The person the role reports to,

- A brief overview of the position including a description, what success looks like for the position, and how the position fits into the organization as a whole,

- A list of 5-7 essential duties and responsibilities, and

- A list of 5-7 qualifications for the position.

Evaluating both behaviour (a leading measure) and results (a lagging measure) helps you find people who have the skills to act in positive ways that yield results for the organization. You want someone who is good to work with and gets results!

The behaviours evaluating are the core competencies required for the position (likely listed in the essential duties and responsibilities and the qualification sections of the job description) and the results you’re evaluating have cascaded down your strategy map to become the goals the person in the position is trying to achieve.

Resources:

CEO Pastor Podcast Episode 010: Strategy Map — Learning and Growth Perspective (for links to core competency descriptions and rating scales in the Resources section)

Key Takeaways:

Leaders need to listen to, understand, and act on feedback for that feedback to be effective.

Getting honest, productive feedback from your team can be difficult if you haven’t built a culture of trust and safety around giving feedback to leaders. If you’re still creating a positive feedback culture, use body language to help you gauge how your team is reacting to what you’re saying and doing.

Other leaders can become your mentors and give you feedback on your leadership style and challenges. Remember to consult other leaders in your field and leaders outside your field, both those who are ahead of you and coming up behind you on the leadership journey.

The Lord is the ultimate source for honest, unbiased feedback. All you need to do is ask!

Resources:

Harvard Business Review, “How Leaders Can Get Honest, Productive Feedback”

The Enterprisers Project, “10 Ways to Get and Use More Honest Feedback from Your Team”

The Global Leadership Podcast, “Embracing the ‘Meta Skill of the 21st Century’”

The Behavior Panel on YouTube

Key Takeaways:

Leaders need to take the time to self-assess because they people with whom they’re working aren’t always comfortable providing them with feedback.

Self-assessment does take time but it can help leaders avoid or reduce the impact of issues in the future, saving time in the long run.

Journalling is a great method of self-assessment because it gets things out of your head and onto paper where you can more easily evaluate things from a distance.

Personality and skills assessments are often useful tools to help us see our blind spots or consider ourselves from new angles.

Resources:

Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #671: Begin the New Year by Reflecting on These 3 Life-Changing Questions

Unabridged Leadership, Self-Reflection in Leadership - Part 1: Ambitions, Values and Personality

Unabridged Leadership, Self-Reflection and Action in Leadership - Part 2: Thinking Styles, EI, & Making it Happen

Key Takeaways:

Performance management is a system that helps an organization measure and manage activities and outputs to ensure it meets its goals effectively and efficiently.

An organization’s leaders and individuals working within the organization are evaluated with a performance management system; the organization, in whole or in part, and its processes are also evaluated using a performance management system.

Effective performance management systems:

- Clarify responsibilities and expectations.

- Enhance individual and group productivity.

- Develop individual capabilities through feedback and coaching.

- Align individual and group behaviour with an organization’s values, goals, and strategy.

- Improve communication within the organization.

- Are the basis for deciding how, when, and where to deploy an organization’s staff and volunteers.