LearnaBytes

I had the privilege of delivering a Setting Expectations and Managing Performance virtual training session to a set of managers today. The session which was 2-hours long was attended by five participants. I’m sure when you hear 2-hours, you’re probably thinking, “that’s too long!”. The time was not even enough and that was partly due to the rich discussion that ensued during the course.

During the session we focused on:

• Setting performance focused expectations such as SMART objectives
• Agree behavioural expectations as a Team
• A simple managing performance cycle (An image of the cycle is below)
• Giving feedback using the Situation, Behaviour, Impact (SBI) framework

We had the opportunity to practice setting expectations and giving feedback using some scenarios which I put into a workbook I sent to them prior to the session.

So, what did I learn from delivwering the session:

• It was easier for managers to attend since it was just 2-hours since they did not need to travel and that showed in how relaxed they looked.
• Being able to manage discussions is very important as they can take up a lot of time but at the same time discussions are probably the most effective learning tool in a virtual session.
• Prepare, prepare and prepare some more. I had some typos in the workbook which I didn’t like (my bad).
• Listen to the participants, even you as a facilitator will learn a lot from them.
• Have fun, don’t make it too serious.

For me, the most important aspect of the course was something I call, “My Managing Performance MOT”. This is kind of like a self-reflective activity where the delegates answer “Yes“, “No” or “Not Sure” to a set of questions related to aspects of managing performance discussed during the session. The aim of this activity was to challenge them to think about:

• what they should start doing,
• what they should stop doing, and
• what they should continue doing.

I first used the activity for a Managing Wellbeing session I delivered last week to another group of managers and it worked well, so I decided to include it in this session also, but with questions relevant to the topics covered.

Overall, I believe it was a useful session and I am expecting some feedback to make it even better.