"Why me? Why not do it yourselves?" I asked my prospective client. This might seem strange coming from a consultant, but I always think companies are better off doing things themselves if they can.
"We tried!" she responded, with exasperation. "We identified the standards we expect from people. We created the technology system to write the reviews. We sent out lots of communication. We practically wrote the reviews for them. But they're not doing it. After two years of training people, we still have only a 50% rate of completion. Now we're looking into whether we can give people a bonus for doing reviews . . ."
"Wait," I interrupted her, "you're going to pay managers extra to talk to their employees?"
She looked a little embarrassed.
"Give me six months," I said.
When I reviewed the materials I was impressed, even intimidated. They had paid meticulous attention to detail. Not only in what they gave their employees (the materials looked beautiful) but also in how they tried to get people to use the system.
They followed all the rules of traditional change management. They had Sponsors (senior level people who spoke about the importance of performance management). They had Change Agents (people whose job it was to make sure that everyone was committed to the change). They had timelines, communication plans, and training programs.
Still, only half the managers were doing reviews.
I quickly assembled my team: 50 people spread out across three continents. I redesigned the materials, the training, the messages. Then I began the roll-out, right on schedule.
It was a complete and utter failure. People resisted. They complained. My own team dissented.
So I pushed harder. After all, I'd designed this myself. It was perfect.
And that's when it hit me. Of course I thought the performance review process was perfect. I'd created it. I would be more than happy to use it. But I wasn't the person who needed to use it. Here's what I realized:
- My perfect is not their perfect.
- They don't have a perfect. In fact, there is no they. There are 2000 individuals, each of whom wants something a little different.
- The more perfect I think it is, the less willing I'll be to let anyone change it.
- The only way to make it useful to everyone is to allow each person to change it to suit him or herself.
- The only way people will use it is if they do change it in some way.
- The only way I will encourage them to change it and make it their own is if I make it imperfect.
So I stopped the roll-out immediately. And I changed everything to make it half right, half finished. It wasn't pretty, but it was usable.
Even the trainings were half-designed. Halfway through each training, after describing the process, I always asked the same question:
Why won't this work for you?
There are too many standards on this form. I don't have that much to say about my employees and it will take too much time.
I responded to every answer with the same response:
That's a good point. So how can you change it to make it work?
I guess I could just fill out the standards that apply to that employee. Great.
These three people are asking me to review them but they don't report to me and I have nothing to say about them.
That's a good point. So how can you change it to make it work?
I can redirect the review to the appropriate manager. Great.
There's no standard here that relates directly to the issue my employee is having.
That's a good point. So how can you change it to make it work?
I'll just write in the standard I think is appropriate. Great.
One by one we dealt with all the issues people saw as obstacles. One by one they made their own changes. One by one they took ownership for the system and became accountable for using it.
Is this only a large-scale change effort idea? Not at all. It's useful whenever you need someone else to take ownership for something. Just get it half right.
Hiring someone new? Get the job description half right and then ask her: Why won't this work for you? Then, when she answers, you respond: That's a good point. So how can you change it to make it work? She'll look at you a little funny because, after all, you're the boss and you should be telling her what to do. Then you'll just smile and wait for her to answer and the two of you will redesign the job right there right then. No better time or place to send the message that she is accountable for her own success.
Delegating work to someone? Give him the task and then ask: Why won't this work for you? Then, when he answers, you respond: That's a good point. So how can you change it to make it work?
Here's the hard part: When someone changes your plan, you might think the new approach will be less effective. Resist the temptation to explain why your way is better. Just smile and say Great. The drive, motivation, and accountability that person will gain from running with her own idea will be well worth it.
This doesn't just work internally. It's also a great way to make a sale. Get the pitch half right and then say . . . you guessed it . . . Why won't this work for you? Then, go ahead and redesign the offer in collaboration with your potential client. You'll turn a potential client into a collaborative partner who ends up buying his own idea and then working with you to make it successful.
During economic downturns, when it is critical to get more done with fewer resources, getting things half right will take you half as long and give you better results.
How did this work in the performance review roll-out? One year later, the numbers came in. Ninety-five percent of managers had done their reviews.
Imperfectly, I expect.
Peter Bregman is CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc., a global leadership development and change management firm. He advises leaders in many of the world's premier organizations throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is the author of Point B: A Short Guide To Leading a Big Change.
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