Monday 18 March 2019
‘See it and say it’ (SISI) is one of the most powerful management techniques that I have practiced when it comes to managing staff performance.
From my experience, there are 3 things that stop leaders from seeing it, saying it, and giving employees informal feedback when required.
The key to this management technique is to see the unacceptable behaviour and say something to the employee the first time you see it. When leaders fail to ‘say’ something when they see unacceptable behaviour or performance, it sends the wrong message to all employees, conveying that the manager is accepting or condoning the behaviour.
The longer a leader holds back and avoids ‘saying it’, the more difficult the conversation with the employee ultimately becomes.
This is for several reasons:
Some managers find it difficult to discipline or raise issues with long-serving valuable employees, as there is an inherent fear of upsetting, or even losing valuable employees. It’s a little bit like having a go at your husband for leaving the toilet seat up after 5 years or not saying anything… The feedback will come as a surprise to the employee, and nobody likes surprises.
Understandably, most people do not enjoy delivering unpopular or difficult messages to employees. Therefore, there is a tendency to avoid giving feedback to employees, particularly if the manager has a close working relationship or ‘friendship’ with the employee. This also applies tenfold if you must deliver such feedback to a friend or relative who works for you! Blood will always be thicker than an employment contract.
Many first time or new managers, particularly those who have been promoted from within an organisation, often lack the confidence and the experience with knowing what they can and can’t say. So, there is a tendency to delay or avoid seeing it and saying it altogether.
Some managers avoid giving feedback to high performing employees due to the fear of losing or upsetting them. By not addressing instances of unacceptable behaviour amongst the top performers, a manager is inadvertently sending the message that results are more important than relationships or appropriate behaviour. Some managers also avoid seeing it and saying it to employees they feel are a high risk or untouchable, such as pregnant employees or employees with some form of illness. Additional care needs to be taken, but feedback should always be provided in a timely fashion.
The key to effectively implementing the “see it and say it” strategy is to ensure that managers hold all staff accountable for unacceptable behaviour or standards of performance all the time. Being inconsistent as a manager sends mixed messages to staff regarding your performance expectations. This can lead to the perception of favouritism or small issues which can fester into more significant performance management problems, that may have been avoided, if the manager had been a ‘SISI’ from the beginning.
