This page contains resources and tips that were used to guide both OHR supervisors and staff through the performance management process during FY19.


Collaboration

March 14, 2019

Spring is around the corner which means that we’ll kick off our performance evaluation process soon. Look for a separate email with important information on next steps in the next few weeks. We hope that you and your supervisor take a few minutes to read and talk about our competency for this month.

Looking Back

Our leadership focus last month continued our exploration of engagement with a focus on “Motivates and Inspires Others” and how we can get others excited about work, including colleagues. Did you get a chance to look at the behaviors that support this competency by role?

Looking Ahead

This month we’re on to a new challenge: Collaborates, with a focus on building relationships. As a decentralized organization, relationships can be very important to everyone’s work—whether it’s tapping an expert on a particular issue, building a consensus, or communicating face-to-face to advance a project—for both individual contributors and supervisors. Here are some specific behaviors that foster relationships:

Collaborates title=

Do a quick inventory—which behaviors do you find most challenging? Which one comes most easily to you? Take a few minutes to discuss these with your supervisor, who may be able to provide more feedback to help you identify behaviors that support building relationships. This competency also focuses on the ability to maintain productive relationships even in the face of conflict. You may want to check out a short video on the benefits of conflict and corresponding Quick Guide to Building Trust from the Supervisory Development course content.

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Motivation and Inspiration

February 18, 2019

Welcome to February! While it’s the shortest month, we hope that you and your supervisor take a few minutes to read and talk about our competency for this month. Also, performance evaluation time is approaching fast and you might want to discuss adjusting goals for the year. Now is the time to make any changes so that the rest of the year is focused and productive.

Looking Back

Our leadership focus last month was building and sustaining high-performing teams and departments and retaining top talent, otherwise known as engagement. Did you get a chance to look at the behaviors that support this competency by role?

Looking Ahead

This month, we’re continuing our exploration of engagement with a focus on “Motivates and Inspires Others.” Posting motivational quotes by your desk may help you feel inspired, but getting others excited about work takes some thought about how we relate to colleagues. Here’s what these behaviors look like by role:

Competency title=

Do a quick inventory—which behaviors do you find most challenging? Which one comes most easily to you? Take a few minutes to discuss these with your supervisor, who may be able to provide more feedback to help you identify behaviors that support motivating and inspiring others. If you’re a supervisor, you may want to check out a short video on teams and corresponding Quick Guide to Defining a Clear Purpose for Team Success from the Supervisory Development content.

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Engagement

January 16, 2019

Happy New Year! While it’s the start of the new calendar year, it’s also the halfway point in our fiscal year, which is a perfect time to take stock of where we are and make any needed course corrections on goals.  

Looking Back

Our December leadership focus was "Equity and Diversity," looking at the competency "Demonstrates an Open Mind." We were invited to explore our own values by considering where our preferences fall on the continuum of task and relationship. Have you taken some time to consider your preferences and discuss them with your supervisor? If you need to look at the graphic again, you can look at the December email.

Looking Ahead

For January, our leadership focus is building and sustaining high-performing teams and departments and retaining top talent, otherwise known as Engagement.

People often assume that this competency is only relevant to those who supervise others, but everyone can foster behaviors that help colleagues grow as professionals. Take a look at the behaviors that support this competency by role:

A table showing how the competency of Selecting and Developing Talent may vary depending on whether you are a Supervisor or Individual Contributor

Taking a look at these behaviors, which one do you find most challenging? Which one comes most easily to you? This month, take a few minutes to discuss these with your supervisor, who may be able to provide more feedback to help you identify behaviors that support selecting and developing talent. If you’re a supervisor, you may want to check out a short video on coaching and corresponding quick guide to coaching from the Supervisory Development content.

Remember to review the goals you set for the year—performance evaluation time is approaching fast. Do you need to discuss adjusting goals for the year? Now is the time to make any changes so that the next half of the year is focused and productive.

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Demonstrating an Open Mind

December 21, 2018

Our fiscal year is almost halfway through and it’s the perfect time to step back and reflect on where you have been and where you want to go in your work and goals for the year. 

Looking Back

In November our focus was Equity and Diversity and we asked you think about how to create a strong organizational climate and structure of access and inclusion. Did you talk with your supervisor about your experience as part of a diverse team and how your department can increase access, diversity, and inclusion? If not, you may want to consider adding it to your agenda for this month.

Looking Ahead

The December leadership focus continues to be Equity and Diversity and we are looking at the competency “Demonstrates an Open Mind.” From a leadership perspective, we define this as:

Demonstrates an understanding of how their own values and assumptions about equity, inclusivity, and diversity influence decision-making. Identifies and openly discusses own and others’ social and cultural identities and differences relevant to work; is open to dialogue and conflict resolution around different perspectives.

To help us consider how our own identities can shape the way we approach our work, we will consider our own values. Values can be complex and we may assume that everyone shares our own particular set of values when there is actually a range of preferences that we may see within the workplace.

To make it more concrete, take a moment to look at the graphic below and consider where your preferences fall on the continuum of task and relationship. How do your preferences impact your interactions with your supervisor and colleagues? Where do you fall on the spectrum between direct and indirect communication? 

Values Perference Continuum

Think about your preferences on each continuum and discuss them with your supervisor the next time you meet. How do you think values impact the work of your group and the people you interact with regularly? Can you find areas where you and others that you work with closely are vastly different or more similar?

Resources:

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Building Diverse Teams

November 12, 2018

The fall is one of the busiest times in OHR, and it’s helpful to take a moment to pause, take a breath, and check in on how we’re doing in our own leadership journey as part of OHR.

Looking Back

Last month, our focus was on the competency Drives Efficiency, which aligns with OHR’s strategic imperative Simplify, and includes supporting others in improving processes. Everyone shared ideas for improving efficiency at the All Staff meeting. These ideas were passed along to managers for further discussion last month and we hope that everyone has had a chance to talk more about these ideas individually with their supervisor or as part of a team.

Looking Ahead

For November, our leadership focus is Equity & Diversity--creating a strong organizational climate and structure of access and inclusion as the critical elements and core values in achieving excellence. For this month we are focusing on the competency “Increases Access, Diversity & Inclusion.” The behaviors that support this competency are:

  • Recognizing and communicating the importance of diversity and inclusivity.
  • Advocating for and supporting inclusive practices in the workplace.
  • Engaging in discussions around addressing barriers to accessibility and inclusivity in the workplace.
  • Supporting efforts to recruit, hire, and retain diverse colleagues.

There’s a lot included in this competency, so to start we want to focus on the importance of having diverse teams because diversity provides more perspectives and a wider set of experiences and ideas. In fact, research indicates diverse teams are more effective. While homogenous teams may seem more efficient because they “speak the same language,” these teams can miss opportunities to consider different opinions and perspectives through conflict. Learning to deal with discomfort is a skill which can lead to impressive results such as developing a greater understanding or solving a complex problem.

Reflect on how your experience as part of a diverse team makes work more innovative and efficient each day. Be prepared to talk with your supervisor about ways you and your department can increase access, diversity, and inclusion along with reviewing your progress on your goals during your regular check-ins.

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Thinking Outside the Box with Performance Management

October 15, 2018

Thanks for your participation at the September 25 All Staff meeting! We appreciate that OHR is taking time to come together to focus on performance management.

Looking Back

When we met, we practiced the “2+2” coaching model where you answered:

  • Two things that are going well, and
  • Two things you want to do more or less of.

This would be a great topic to bring up your regular check-ins with your supervisor as you continue to meet.

You also spent some time brainstorming ways to drive and support innovation using a form that was collected and shared with the OHR supervisors to help spark ideas and more conversation about ways to drive efficiency. An outcome of the supervisor meeting is for OHR supervisors to continue these conversations in upcoming team meetings or one-on-one check-ins. Thanks for your input!

Looking Ahead

For October, our focus is on the competency Drives Efficiency, which is everyone’s job in the spirit of simplifying processes in OHR. What this looks like day-to-day is supporting others who advocate for ways to improve existing processes and methods plus coming up with practical ideas for making work more efficient. It’s also challenging ourselves to think outside the box instead of thinking “well, that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

Be prepared to talk with your supervisor about ways you and your department can become more efficient. Don’t forget to also review your goals and the progress of those goals before your next check-in.

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Monthly Performance Management Ideas

September 10, 2018

The fall semester has started and the campus is buzzing with activity. Despite all the busyness, we want you to put some time on your calendar to reflect and plan so you’re engaged in advancing your work as a leader in ways that are meaningful.

Our performance management focus this month shifts from goal setting to thinking about how innovation can support our OHR challenge of delivering results.

Looking back. Last month we talked about vision and asked you to focus on drafting your goals and starting to track your progress against them and we’ve included some goal setting resources at the bottom of this email. Do you have regular time set aside when you meet with your supervisor to review these over the next year?

Looking ahead. For September, we’re focusing on the leadership challenge of Results: finding ways to drive and support innovation while increasing the efficient use of resources. Specifically, we’re looking at how we can put the key competency of innovation into action to advance results. We can each do this by:

  • Supporting others who advocate for ways to improve upon existing processes and methods.
  • Tracking progress toward goals using data, metrics, or other relevant sources of information.
  • Coming up with practical ideas for making work more efficient.

At our September 25 All Staff meeting, we’ll ask everyone to join in a brief activity. To get ready, take a few minutes to ask yourself these questions:

  1. What processes do you use in your work on a regular basis?
  2. Are there internal processes that may be stopping or slowing down innovation for your team?
  3. What could be done differently?  How might these processes be approached differently to promote efficiency?

We look forward to seeing you all in a few weeks at the All Staff and talking more about finding ways to drive and support innovation while increasing the efficient use of resources.

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Kicking off Performance Management

August 15, 2018

Summer is now fully underway, which means we are all at the start of another performance year. We wanted to give you an overview of how we'll approach this year as a unit and are sharing our 12-month plan with you. Like last year, we will send email reminders with ideas and activities that will support everyone in their performance in OHR, just like this one.

Right now, everyone should be putting together goals for this year and having one-on-one check in meetings with their supervisor to help move forward and make progress on plans.

Going forward, our monthly email reminders will also highlight a leadership challenge and provide ideas for applying a specific competency in real life. Our topic for August is Vision and the key competencies and behaviors that support this challenge are:

  • Thinks Strategically: Looks beyond the surface to identify underlying issues and root-causes of problems. Understands how own work is connected to broader goals. Focuses on important issues and projects without getting distracted by unimportant or low priority details.
  • Aligns Resources: Aligns own activities with broader goals and priorities. Organizes and prioritizes work based on most important goals. Creates practical, effective plans and timelines for achieving goals.

Do either of these competencies align with your top three strengths or developmental opportunities from your performance review last year? You can include them in your individual goals to create a vision for your own work as well as share your ideas during team planning sessions.

We'll see you next month (September 2018) at the All Staff meeting and talk more about how you can innovate to meet the leadership challenge of Results.

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