Good Leaders View Growth as a Part of Performance

Tariffs, taxes, and fees - oh, my!

The global market is fluctuating with bigger swings and at a more rapid rate than ever before. Larger companies can absorb these fluctuations better, yet they are still taking protective measures to ensure their profits stay high.

As a result, articles like this one from Business Insider, recommend documenting your performance. This way, you'll be able to keep your job or more easily transition to a new one in a cooling job market.

While this is sound advice, it also gives your manager a "hall pass" on operating out of fear. When organizations succumb to fear, no one wins: not management, not workers, not customers, and definitely not the bottom line.

This is where authentic, self-aware leadership can begin to have a positive effect on the world at large. If you are a contributor, you can begin to help shape your boss' perspective by how you present your performance. This is called "managing up". While some think it's manipulative, I view it as empowering. After all, you don't want to work in an environment of fear, either, right? "Managing Up" is an opportunity to participate in your own work experience and take ownership of it, whether your boss is directly on board or not.

If you are a manager or supervisor, valuing learning and growth as part of performance helps you to retain great people even when the going is tough. Because, if hiring someone new in good financial times is difficult, think about how much harder it will be in tough financial times. Even if you have an employee who isn't that great, the time it takes to invest in their training and growth as a person/employee is much less expensive than firing them and hiring a new person. At least they can do a percentage of their job while receiving coaching, whereas a new person cannot do any of the job, yet.

Plus, if you've ever mentored someone whether at your workplace or with an organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters, then you may know how satisfying it is. If you've never done it, I highly recommend trying to mentor a person, or even just foster a dog or cat. (I recently fostered a Border Collie puppy for three weeks, and cannot describe to you the feeling in my heart when he acted like a "normal" dog who was willing to trust his adopters after cowering in my home and tearing the place up for the first two weeks.) If you feel like right now you don't have the time to invest in one of your people make the time. Whether through time management, or simply prioritizing mentorship on your calendar, mentally and emotionally put a high value on mentoring/training the people you have. You'll become a valued and well-liked manager whom people can trust, thus influencing your team more to maintain performance expectations within challenging times. And, even as a CEO, there is always someone above you who will view "not having enough time" as the excuse it is and let you go.

In addition, if you are solely focussed on performance metrics, then you might miss out on exceptional candidates like this one. Given how Meta has changed over the years, would this person even get hired today?

The first step to tapping into the benefits of growth-based performance, is to examine whether you have a growth mindset or not.

Start with evaluating your everyday life. Here's one example you can reflect on that's easy.

Let's say you're running late for an event, or anything. You rush out the door and get into your car/get on public transit, and when you're about 2 minutes away from your home, you realize you forgot something important like your wallet, or phone, or the gift you were going to give.

What is the first thought that comes to your mind?

Was it:

1) Aw, heck! I forgot this thing and now I'm going to be even more late! Dang it, you're so stupid! [Expletive, Expletive, Expletive]

Or...

2) Aw, heck! I'm so glad I remembered my thing or else I'd never make it through the evening! Great job _______, I'm so glad you remembered!

If this example doesn't land for you, then think back to a recent crisis, especially one that was not work related, and examine your mindset. I'll give you an example of one from my own life:

Just today (the writing of this blog), I decided to experiment with my new aluminum baking sheet, and cook a package of bacon in the oven. I struggled to find good instructions for this on the manufacturer's website, so I decided to try using parchment paper. Then, I read on the bacon package the option of using a broiler. It seemed like a good idea because the cooking time is much shorter. I set all the dials, and in went the pan.

Baking pan with burnt parchment paper

When the timer went off, I opened the oven to a pan on fire. Yes - actual fire! The parchment paper had caught on fire!

What do you think was the first thing I did? What would have been the first thing you did in this situation?

The first thing I did was not what you might have expected: I took a breath.

Just taking that ONE BREATH helped jar my mind out of the shock of seeing a pan on fire in my oven, and helped me to assess the situation and know what to do next.

And the next thing? I turned off the broiler. I slid the pan only part-way out of the oven, and used the metal tongs in my hand to beat out the fire.

There are more parts to this story, but the gist of the results is that a) my home didn't burn down, b) I realized I needed to buy a fire extinguisher for my kitchen, c) most of the bacon was salvaged and edible (and quite delicious).

Now, on to the mindset part. What was my first thought after the crisis subsided?

"Welp. Next time don't use parchment paper, Marissa. And, great job on getting through this! You stayed so calm!"

I'd like to humbly add that this is a new phenomenon for me. Often, I don't even notice my own self-praise, and many times I still do not view myself or my actions with a growth mindset. I am definitely not perfect at it. Yet, the fact that this was my default first thought was gigantic in my personal growth and leadership. This mindset has shown up recently in my relationships with my team, resulting in pleasant, focussed conversations about process changes that are proving to work better.

Whether using the "forgetting something" example or your own, if you picked response number one, that's ok! It's important to be honest with yourself. Now you are on a pathway to shift your mindset to a growth mindset because you were willing to admit how you talk to yourself. And, you are not alone. I spoke to myself regularly like number one until just a few years ago. We get into a condemning mindset for a lot of reasons, like childhood environment, a school experience, or even a recent toxic workplace experience. The "how" doesn't matter so much as your willingness to see this mindset and desire to change it. You rock for seeing this in yourself today!

If you picked response number two, you also rock! That means you already default to a growth mindset. Now, your work is to enhance this in areas where it might not be as readily accepted as before, due to market uncertainty or other fear-inducing factors, and to do so knowing that there may be more resistance than before. Approaching people or situations with preparation and data-based insights to shore up the growth mindset you are sharing will be essential until global economic conditions improve and companies have breathing room again.

Alright, now that everyone knows their mindset, how do we begin to use growth mindset in how we discuss performance?

For Individual Contributors

When you are documenting your performance, do not shy away from documenting "mistakes" or perceived failures. Instead, reframe them to be about your own education and growth journey. Along with the "not so good" performance metrics, find a way to quantify what you did with the data from that "mistake", how you used it to improve, and then the improved numbers. Managers and supervisors will be impressed with your self-directed way of improving, or "making lemonade out of lemons". The fact that they don't have to take time to coach you through these kinds of solutions is a relief to them because many managers never had formal training to coach people in a healthy and productive way.

Remember "trickle down economics"? If you are young and don't know this concept, that's alright. But, the core idea for businesses is that everything in an organization, whether public or private, "trickles down" to even the lowest people in the organizational chart. Your boss may be experiencing fear (especially unconsciously) that is being put onto them by their boss.

Anything you can do to remove something from your boss' plate, is a win and shows your value, even if the numbers aren't as perfect as you'd like. Although you'll be sharing metrics and data, most likely, with your boss, the key is to remember the story behind the numbers. (For more on storytelling's important role in the workplace and how to tap into it, check out this article.) The most important thing you can do, is craft a story that will make your boss "feel good" or be relieved of additional pressure.

"Even though we had a blip in our call data because Sally has been laid up at home with a broken foot the last week, we were able to fill in her shoes because of the cross-departmental training plan we agreed upon last year. I implemented it, and it worked flawlessly in this case! So, we really saved a lot by using this plan, and Sally will return next week for a full shift. I expect our numbers to return to baseline or slightly above next month."

It's possible in this made-up scenario, that the call center was in total chaos with Sally's unexpected absence. But, your boss doesn't need to know that. They only need to know why your numbers are the way they are, and what you're doing about it. If you were a boss and your team member came in with a report like what was written above, would you feel confident? Or nervous? I would feel confident that the manager under me knew what she was doing.

This is a great place to share growth mindset with phrases like, "Even though that mishap was not ideal, the customer data we gained and the learning we gained about this market are invaluable. This is how we then applied it..." Just like your mindset when you forgot something and had to return home, you are in charge of the story you tell around your performance. Do you want to tell your boss about all the reasons you failed and are a lousy worker? Or do you want to tell your boss about all the reasons you are awesome and why you should be the employee of the month?

Plate and paper towels with burnt bacon and tongs

For Managers

Incorporating growth mindset into your performance evaluations will distinguish you amongst your peers, because you'll be demonstrating a more sophisticated concept of management and how to influence for positive performance. Managers who really understand the dynamics of performance understand that growth and innovation won't occur when everyone gets along. "Healthy" conflict is needed to reach the best outcomes for the problem to be solved or the new thing to be created. Without some conflict, your organization runs the risk of becoming toxic from false positivity. Growth mindset is authentic, not forced, and is based on reality.

A wise woman, whom I met recently, shared with me how she conveys her company's values by praising people for doing the things she values. "Hey,_____, I noticed you show up for our meetings on time and prepared. Thank you! I really value how seriously you are taking our time together."

Do you think the person who received that praise will continue to show up on time and prepared to their meetings with my new friend? Absolutely!

In the old standard How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie describes influencing someone with a positive assumption. "I know your budget was cut a bit from last quarter, but I'm confident you'll find the appropriate way to shift the workload and keep production high because you've been such a great creative problem-solver in the past. I value you in this role because I trust your skill in navigating these kinds of challenges. I'm here to support you if you need help with these adjustments, and I have total confidence you'll find a fair and equitable pathway forward."

Will that person creatively problem-solve a fair and equitable pathway forward? You betcha!

I experienced this in the K-12 classroom. When I expected nothing but the best from my students, 90% of the time I got it! When I expected the worst, I definitely got the worst of the students performance.

Clarity is key - when my classroom expectations were not clear, students became unruly. When they were clear, students performed well and everyone had the chance to learn. The same needs to happen for your employee expectations. Make sure the expectations, as well as the feedback, are specific and clear. The clearer you are, the more people know how to meet those objectives. Here is an example of what you can say at your employee's performance review.

"Well Frank, these numbers aren't ideal. But, what I really want to explore is what you learned from the last quarter's numbers, and how you plan to take that learning into your plan for the next quarter."

Or another scenario might be:

"I appreciate all the data you gathered, Jane, and your thorough explanation. Thing is, I'm wondering about this number here, because I didn't hear you talk about it much. Tell me more about this, what was it about and how does it fit into the overall learning of the data you presented today?"

On the whole, people want to do a good job. Job dissatisfaction occurs when people don't know how to do their jobs well. When you reframe data with questions offering your curiosity and use words like "learning", people will recognize 1) it's safe to be honest with you, and 2) that you are willing to explore their growth because you value it and retain your own growth mindset.

When you value the people you already have, and support them in their growth, acknowledging that they aren't perfect and that imperfection is ok even in a tight financial market, you'll save yourself so much in time and money vs having to fire and hire a bunch of people. Who knows - maybe your organization will even grow!

Plate with delicious (crispy!) bacon salvaged from the pan fire

For Everyone

Every single thing you say and do is an example of your leadership, whether in good or bad times. Presenting yourself as a Negative Nelly or a Pollyanna does not work. Measured, rational, data-informed conversations about reality are valued by managers and contributors alike.

During these uncertain economic times, what kind of a leader do you want to demonstrate yourself to be?

If you include growth mindset in your leadership toolkit, you'll be seen as stable, reliable, good at solving problems, and dependable. People will see you as someone who "has a handle" on things. But take note: this goodwill will only last so long. If you have poor numbers 3, 4, and even 5 quarters in a row with a seemingly pollyanna-ish viewpoint that things will "all work out", you are not using growth mindset, you are seeing the world through rose-colored glasses and not in reality. Admitting when you are struggling and asking for specific help or pointed support will ensure you don't fall into the "pollyanna" trap. The key thing is to remain calm even when talking about performance that was severely bad. Leadership means that no matter the circumstances, you've thought about a potential pathway forward. Even if people don't agree on that pathway, you come prepared with a plan.

Good leaders adapt and flex with changing financial times, yet do not compromise their ethics. Good leaders use growth-focused performance metrics to influence high performance no matter the situation.

Good leaders are safe people.

Safe people create safe spaces.

If you made it to the bottom of this blog, you're doing great! I'm completely confident that with awareness of your mindset and some good practice, you'll be incorporating growth mindset into the presentations about your performance metrics. And, you'll be able to tell some great stories.

I can't wait to hear how things go for you!

Marissa