Before I started writing this article I checked my last update to remind myself of what I’d written and had a little chuckle to myself.  It was all about the return of my writing mojo and the feeling of being refocused and full of energy to embrace 2012’s new challenges.  So what happened?  Why was my last update in January?  As an energised and resilient person, it seemed that the butterfly had returned and I hadn’t achieved what I’d set out to do.  Initially I put it down to the weather!  A part from a short window of beautiful sunshine around the beginning of April, the sky has felt very low, grey and dark.  Combine this with the doom and gloom I hear about the economy every time I turn on the TV and radio, there’s no wonder that my motivation may have slipped.  And I think this is the same for everyone.  So the question is, how can we remain motivated when this is the backdrop in which we find ourselves operating?

Well actually it’s quite plain and simple really … we all need to have some time for reflection to see what we have actually achieved and what is still outstanding!  It’s called performance management – taking a constructive look at where we are on the journey to achieving our goals.

When I look back to January I was all buoyed up with what could be achieved and decided to focus on my own development.  I don’t know about you, but I’m very good at selling everyone else in the room but not so good at selling myself, so I decided to attend a workshop on ‘how to market training’. What a wonderful day I had with Alison Miles-Jenkins.  She shared her incredible story and provided us with hints and tips to get the best out of own training businesses.  And when I started putting her advice into practice, she rang me and provided me with additional coaching.

I then attended a two day workshop to get to know Packtypes.  This is a fabulous profiling tool and so easy to use whilst including one of my key learning ingredients – fun!  It’s based on a set of 64 cards that show you the type of person you are, which sounds scary, but when you’ve only got positive words to choose from, it makes the process so much more enjoyable.  Working with the cards, you first identify your type and then analyse the implications of it to see how you function as an individual, but also how you fit into the bigger picture.  What I really like about it, is that it can be used with any age group so spans across all my work from schools to industry, and with individuals, teams, organisations and communities.  Packtypes enables you to teach, encourage focus and lead people whilst helping them to become more emotionally aware of themselves and others.  From time to time I work for a company called Pearlcatchers.  I spent a day with them on their stand at the HRD conference last month and from the start to the end of the day we had queues of people waiting to be packtyped.  They’d heard all about it from others in the conference and thought it was amazing – so quick, so fun, so visual and above all, easy to understand!  I’m certainly going to be incorporating Packtypes into my workshops, as it helps you to have some really powerful conversations, very quickly.

So that’s my face to face workshop learning, I’ve also attended a number of webinars to learn how to create my own webinars … not quite there yet, but watch this space.  My colleague, Krys Gadd has also been motivating me with her Accelerated Learning techniques and I’m avidly reading material that she’s recommended.

But it’s not just been a time for my personal development, when I look at the diary we’ve done an awful lot to enable others.  Provision of Managing Change workshops as well as Mentoring, CV writing and interviewing skills workshops, communications skills for porters, culture work and consultancy for an insurance broker, a number of performance management skills sessions and a large piece of recruitment.  And as the Lead for the L&D communities of the North London Branch of the CIPD, I’ve organised a number of events, with many more to come, such as Clive Sheppard on Blended Learning in June.

You might ask why am I telling you all of this?  Well, by having a period of reflection, you realise that it’s not all doom and gloom after all.  I’ve achieved much more than I thought and I’m on track to achieve my goals.  But it made me realise, that if I’m positive and focused, and needed to go through this process, how might other people be feeling?  When was the last time you sat down with your manager or with your direct reports to review progress?

If the workshops I’ve run recently are anything to go by, managers and team leaders don’t make ‘giving feedback’ a priority.  It’s the last thing on their list to do and the easiest one to postpone in the diary, yet having sat in a number of appraisals in recent weeks, I’ve also witnessed how motivational they can be.  A well facilitated meeting provides the space for a productive conversation to take place, recognising what went well and what could be done differently.  However, when these meetings are held infrequently and only occur to deliver ‘bad’ news they become sessions that both parties would rather not attend.  Surely, if there is a discussion to be had regarding poor performance, it’s better to have it sooner rather than later?  It’s much more helpful to the person concerned to know where they could improve as it could be something they don’t realise they’re doing.  In my experience, my team has been much tougher on themselves when we have these types of discussions.  Plus, it means that if you pick up the issue in a timely manner, it doesn’t grow into something much bigger as it lives ‘rent free’ in your head!

So if there’s one thing for you to take from my update today, it is to set some time in the diary to get together for a one to one with your manager and direct reports.  Check where you are against expectations and what needs to alter to keep you on course.  Meeting regularly enables you to motivate, develop and enable your people to be the best they can possibly be.  It keeps you both on track and often helps you to achieve much more than you ever thought possible.

The latest Employee Outlook survey carried out by the CIPD states that the capability of the UK’s managers, is undermining attempts to boost economic growth and by recognising just a small increase in capability amongst people managers would make a significant contribution to productivity.  I believe that if you can have the meaningful conversations in the first place, you are well on your journey.

If you need expert help with any part of the performance management process please give me a call on 020 8361 0021 or click here to send me an email. Whether it’s developing the formwork, the process or providing you with tools and techniques to have constructive, not confrontational, conversations, I’m here to help you.  And if it’s a 360º appraisal you’re looking to develop – I have the perfect solution for you.

As I finish this note and reflect on whether people in sunnier climates are more motivated because of the warmth and brightness, the sun has started to break through the clouds.  It must be down to all my positive thinking!