Lee Siemon asked:

One of the things I miss from the past is my family’s debates over current affairs and such. I come from a family of five boys and a couple of intellectual parents (I don’t think that rubbed off).

I remember that we used to sit in my parent’s living room or out on their spacious lawn on a Sunday afternoon and someone would ask an opinion on something — the debate was on. Often there were seven or more different opinions and no consensus when the debate ended. It was a stimulating time.

I had a high school teacher, Mr. Smithers, who really knew how to start the debate with fire. He would come into the classroom and make an inflammatory statement about a current event, and the reaction from the class was instantaneous. I discovered that most of the time he didn’t necessarily believe the stance he took, but he did know what position would inflame his students. This was a high school English class not a debate class, and most of the students would not have had the least bit of interest in debate per se, but they were unknowingly dragged into one on a weekly basis.

The one I remember best was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The morning after President Kennedy announced his intentions on television, Mr. Smithers walked into the room and said something to the effect “What is Kennedy thinking, he has no business telling the Russians what they are allowed to do”. Almost every hand in the class when up and many had already started raising their voice. He would then guide the conversation, all the while pretending to be upset at the president.

I believe that debating is a healthy way to open our minds up to different perspectives on a subject. Sometimes we change the view point of others, sometimes they change the way we see the issue, and often we all just come away with an understanding of how everyone sees an issue. We have to approach any debate, be it an organized one or just a discussion between two people, with the mindset to hear and understand the opposite view point.

If you get fired up about things that are going on around you, put it up for debate and see how many others agree or disagree with you. There are many forums on the Internet where you can spawn lively debates on just about any subject. One such is www.as-i-see-it.com I hope you get into the fun of debating.

debating

Barbara Brown, PhD asked:


It’s time to sit down and talk to your employees about their performance. If your staff is similar to that of most managers, your employees perform at different levels. Some are high performers, some are average performers, and some are low performers. So you will have different discussions with different employees. 

To increase your success at motivating these employees to deliver the kind of performance you want, consider focusing on the “mutual benefits” of performance. That is, tell employees how their performance benefits them and how their performance benefits their organization. Here is what you do:

Before The Performance Discussion:

1. Know at least one professional goal each employee wants to achieve. Consider things like doing different types of work or working with different types of people. Of course, career advancement is something to be considered as well. But don’t overlook things like a desire for personal performance improvement or a desire to see improvements in how work is handled or how employees work together. If your employees continuously talk about things they would like to see improved or changed, these are their professional goals. 

This information allows you to remind employees about the “personal benefits” of good performance.

2. Know how each employee’s performance contributes to the achievement of at least one workplace goal: This goal could be for the team, workgroup, office, or department. Make sure employees are aware of the goal you select. If you have to choose a different goal for different employees, fine. You want employees to clearly understand the impact of their performance. So they have to know what you are talking about. 

This information allows you to make a direct link between individual contributions and something you AND your employees know “must” be achieved-a workplace goal.

3. Know how the one workplace goal of your team, workgroup, office, or department helps your organization fulfill its mission. If you have a specific mission for your staff or component, use that. If not, use the broader company mission. Review the purpose and other aspects. Every phrase, sentence, or paragraph may not have a direct link to the workplace goal you have chosen, but something in that mission statement will. So focus on that particular behavior or item. 

This information allows you to reinforce the value of positive performance by using something you AND your employees can embrace-the workplace mission. 

During The Performance Discussion:

1. For high performers, describe how their “continued outstanding performance” will allow them to successfully achieve their professional goal. Also connect this continued performance to the workplace goal and mission.

2. For average performers, describe how “doing a little more” will allow them to have greater success at achieving their professional goal. Additionally, link their elevated performance to the workplace goal and mission.

3. For low performers, describe how “major improvements” can lead to the achievement of their professional goal. Likewise, make the connection between improved performance and the workplace goal and mission.

Employees Want To Know HOW and WHY

If you only focus on HOW you feel during performance discussions, you limit your chances of encouraging continued or improved performance. To increase your opportunities of getting the performance you want, tell employees WHY their performance matters as well. And when you do, make sure your explanations are meaningful. They will be meaningful if you explain how employees’ performance affects the achievement of a professional goal they feel is important; a workplace goal they know is important; and a part of the workplace mission they can embrace.



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