In a priceless 1988 interview with Fortune Magazine, Ross Perot boldly confronted General Motors’ corporate culture. He said, “At GM, if you see a snake, the first thing you do is go hire a consultant on snakes. Then you get a committee on snakes, and then you discuss it for a couple of years. The most likely course of action is—nothing…We need to build an environment where the first guy who sees the snake kills it.”
This post shares the story of Robert, a manager who let a performance problem slide for too long. What are the best onboarding and performance management practices you have seen that give managers the incentive and support they need to confront damaging behavior in a timely manner?
Theory: all good managers have ready access to two fundamental skill sets—the ability to Relate and the ability to Require. “Relating” encompasses relationship-building behaviors: asking, listening, including, coaching and encouraging. “Requiring” refers to results-oriented activities: creating expectations, focusing on goals, insisting on excellence, setting appropriate controls, asserting your views and confronting problems. Over- or under-utilizing these skills can damage business results and/or relationships.
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