A Good Solid Fully Satisfactory

Yes, I was still struggling with performance reviews and know enough about myself to know that when I struggle this much with a task or an issue it is either because I simply don’t know how to do it or I am out of integrity. I know how to do performance reviews so why was I having such a difficult time determining final rating for my staff? I was definitely torn and through the internal struggle, came to the realization that my department is a good solid fully satisfactory. When I said that, my internal struggle ceased and was replaced very rapid breathing. My breathing returned to normal (!) and I knew that although I already knew the answer in my heart, I had to confirm this with another. I put two people in a tough spot who confirmed my assessment. I expected nothing less than total honesty and that is what I received. My thanks to them both.

So, why does this assessment seem like a bad thing to me? Why do I keep typing "only fully satisfactory" and then taking the "only" out? A fully satisfactory assessment means that we are doing what we are being paid to do. So why is it an "only" to me? Fully satisfactory is simply not enough. I am not here to just do my job, I am here to make a difference and a fully satisfactory means that I am not. It is my department, my job, my piece of the puzzle and the responsibility starts and end with me. It is my role and my leadership and I need to take a honest, close up look at both. What does excellent look like? I know it when I see it and know that one of my next steps is to define it for others.

A good solid fully satisfactory is simply not good enough.

Update on Friday, November 10, 2006 by Lisa

So, where am I now with my performance reviews? In my heart of hearts I know that my department is Fully Satisfactory and that we are on the path to Excellence. A really smart lady told me that she believes that each person has an intuitive sense of how they are performing.They know where they shine, where they have natural strengths and where they struggle. I am a believer too.

What does Excellence look like to me? Excellence for the coming year will be centered around influence, anticpating needs and team function and I am in the process of defining them how that looks. I have the perfect chance now to communicate my vision to each person and to talk with them about where I see opportunites for them to contribute to us, and them, reaching a level of Excellence.

This a powerful for me and I don't know if you can get that from the words on this page. Having these discussions from the perspective of "here is where we are going and how you can help us get there" is so completely different than coming at it from a position of defending a rating. It is about being present on the field, honoring people, simply laying it out there for all to see.

I have a vision for my department and have no doubt that we can get there and I am looking forward to sharing this with each person. 

Note to self for a future post: Leadership Coach: The Best Thing I Ever Did!