As the end of the year draws near, many of us are engaged in the daunting task of creating performance appraisals for our team members. Few people enjoy filling out performance reviews, and even more find the process unproductive. Yet, in most organizations, it is a required management activity and it determines which employees are penalized or rewarded for their work. Raises and promotions are often tied to performance reviews, so it’s important managers are committed to creating an accurate portrayal of their team member’s work.
Don’t Mistake High Performers for High Potentials
One of the most common mistakes made in succession planning is to confuse high performance with high potential. It’s easy to spot a high performer. They are the team members you rely on for last minute sales or to make a difficult deadline. They are your go-to team members. They are the team members you actively work to retain and would even counter-offer if they considered leaving the organization. Because they’re so easy to identify, and we can’t fathom losing them to a competitor, we often push them towards a management route.
Leading a Cohesive Team Past Groupthink
So many examples of poor decisions can be traced back to groupthink. From the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the Bay of Pigs and the Challenger disaster—each of those infamous moments in history could have been avoided if special attention was devoted to preventing groupthink. Much of the research on the topic was developed by Irving Janis, who defined groupthink as “…a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members’ striving for unanimity overrides their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.”
Leadership Lessons from the Shark Tank
Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or just an avid reality TV fan, I would argue there’s no better show on TV for “edutainment” value than the Shark Tank. Each week, entrepreneurs enter the tank in hopes of securing an investment from one or more of the Sharks (Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec). The entrepreneurs start with their well-rehearsed (and often entertaining) pitch and then quickly launch into answering rapid fire questions from the investors. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or a leader in the corporate world, there is so much to learn … Read More
The Secret Benefits of Being a Mentor
Being a mentor to an emerging potential leader is truly an honor. By virtue of being asked to mentor someone, it means you have achieved recognizable success and have gained experience worthy of being passed on to a mentee. However, many people shy away from the responsibility of being a mentor because they assume the time and energy required for the role will be a drain. What those individuals fail to realize is that while mentoring naturally requires you to give your time, energy, and advice, you also get many benefits in return.