Do you know people who got up this morning and made it their objective to fail in their assignments or job? Probably not. Yet every day, regardless of industry or role, talented people struggle to make their best contribution to the organizations where they work or volunteer.

A better understanding and application of the principles of holistic performance management likely contains the keys to more fulfilling careers everywhere.

Many people think of performance management as the process of addressing someone's poor performance or behavior. That's akin to saying that an automobile is just an engine attached to wheels. Both descriptions leave out many of the most important parts.

The holistic performance management model below shows how related activities can be used to equip and develop self-directed performers, and to correct performance when it gets off track. It's a progressive model that is divided into two zones:

• The Equipping Zone, where individuals learn and master skills and knowledge, and
• The Correcting Zone, where individuals who have mastered skills and knowledge correct occasional shortfalls.

The Equipping Zone

This is the area where managers and supervisors should spend 80 percent or more of their time. It assumes that the right people have been hired and placed into the right roles.

A building is only as sound as its foundation. Likewise, the foundation for sustained high performance must be made sound. These five activities associated with the "Establish" quadrant are typical foundational activities (but not the only ones):

1. Job descriptions not only help guide an effective hiring process; they also serve to outline key job duties and responsibilities.
2. Goals and objectives serve as destination points for the job's duties and responsibilities, against which performance will be measured, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
3. Setting expectations requires clear and concise definition, in order to align someone's efforts with his or her goals.
4. Teaching new skills and knowledge is essential training to elevate someone's capability to perform his or her duties at a higher level. The "teacher" is responsible for assuring the "student" understands what has been taught, and for observing the correct application of the new skill or knowledge.
5. Assigning work includes what is to be accomplished (quantity and quality), when it is due, why it is important to be done well, what resources are available, and how and when progress will be measured.

Once the appropriate "Establish" activities have taken place, the "Coach" quadrant helps people master what they have learned:

1. Observing performance is the first step to making sure that people are performing what is expected. It’s the way to catch them doing things right.
2. Coaching and feedback are essential to guide people in perfecting what they’ve learned. The best managers spend nearly half their time in coaching and providing feedback when interacting with staff members.
3. Working in an ideal motivational climate is vital for people to want to do their very best. Since each person is driven by their own set of motivators, it is essential for supervisors to leverage staff members’ personal motivators when assigning work or projects.
4. Evaluations let people know how they are doing against a set of standards and expectations. They should be done informally along the way, not just as an annual event.
5. Solving problems is a way that people master an area. The most effective managers lead staff to solve their own problems instead of doing the problem solving for them.

Equipping wrong hires

Question: What happens when you hire the wrong person and invest in equipping them? Answer: You have an equipped wrong staff member.

Whether you have hired a new employee or moved an existing good performer into a wrong role, you are likely faced with needing to make a change. You have an obligation to the employee, his or her coworkers, customers and shareholders (or stakeholders) to remedy the situation.

Best advice: Hire (or promote) the right people into right the roles for them and the organization.

If you have placed the right person in the right role and equipped him or her for success, then he or she can master the optimal use of knowledge, skills, talents and abilities, along with the appropriate workplace behaviors.

There really are no shortcuts to the equipping process. If you invest your time in equipping properly, you'll spend so much less of your time correcting.

The Correcting Zone

Sometimes problems arise that cause a previously equipped employee to perform or behave below expectations and below the levels previously observed. This is the time to enter the Correcting Zone, with the objective of restoring the employee to optimal performance and behavior.

Perhaps up to 20 percent of an effective manager's time needs to be spent in the Correcting Zone. There may be long periods of time that no time needs to be spent here because of the effectiveness of the manager's day-to-day Equipping Zone activities.

Unlike fine wine, substandard performance and behavior rarely get better with age, so wise managers speedily address deficiencies rather than hope they go away on their own. These five activities associated with the "Correct" quadrant are typical of corrective activities to restore optimal performance (but not the only ones that could be used here):

1. Gap analysis is crucial for qualifying and quantifying the difference between the standard and what is being observed.
2. Counseling is a process that contains these seven essential steps, all of which are needed in order to counsel effectively:
   • Stating the standard for performance or behavior.
   • Stating what the observed performance or behavior has been.
   • Stating the specific gap between the two.
   • Describing the impact the substandard performance or behavior is having on the organization, its customers, co-workers, the department and you.
   • The requirement to meet or exceed the standard, reminding them they previously did so.
   • A commitment from the employee to do so.
   • Continuous follow-up to assure the employee's behavior or performance is restored to standard.
3. Correcting behavior may require a determination if the individual is capable of behaving correctly.
4. Performance warnings express what happens if performance or behavior is not restored to acceptable levels. Warnings are needed when repeated counseling has not resolved the same issue.
5. Performance improvement plans are the formal documents that outline the restorative process, incorporating the issue history and the activities above.

Most of the time Correct quadrant activities will restore the employee to optimal performance. For the times where performance or behavior continues to fall below standards, it is necessary to move to the "Discipline" quadrant, which is correction with consequences. These are typical Discipline activities:

1. Corrective action is the establishment of performance milestones, which if not met will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
2. Investigate complaints are a disciplinary activity undertaken whenever coworkers, customers, vendors or others lodge a formal complaint against an employee or volunteer. A speedy but thorough investigation is required to determine the merits of the complaint.
3. Violation resolution includes situations where code of conduct violations have occurred, possibly involving unlawful activities, and may involve others (such as coworkers or customers).
4. Disciplinary action is the punitive consequence associated with continued unacceptable performance or behavior (or violations of policy or prevailing law) and generally the last stage in which an employee or volunteer can seek restoration.
5. Terminate employment is the only recourse for uncorrectable performance or behavior, including certain violations of company policy and law.

Correcting unacceptable behavior and performance should be undertaken with the objective of restoring the employee or volunteer to optimal levels. If handled appropriately, consistently and in accordance with your organization's policies, most of the time it will achieve that objective.