Tag: Coaching

Goals 2014: When your manager says your work must improve which 3 steps should you take?

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Is Your Performance Going Up Or Down This Year? (Image under creative common licence from Morguefile.com)

Is Your Performance Going Up Or Down This Year? (Image under creative common licence from Morguefile.com)

This year, like every year, thousands of civil servants made the Government’s presentation of the Budget seem effortless.  Behind the scenes collaborations, across the various departments, over many weeks came together smoothly yesterday.  Meaning that as the Chancellor sat down, a comprehensive suite of Budget publications appeared online .

How will some of those civil servants feel, should they now learn that they ‘must improve’ their performance to meet their work objectives?  It is a knock to one’s self-confidence to be judged in that way by a line manager.  More so if that outcome bucks the trend of years of evidence-based good performance.

Guidance on ranking staff for appraisal purposes

This year a ‘must improve’ judgement will flow from the strict application of guidance in the new Civil Service Appraisal system.  The system is one part of Civil Service Reform (whose goal is delivering better services for less money).

The guidance – available to managers across different Departments, Directorates and teams – is to use the sector-wide appraisal system to determine who has had a successful year.  The system seems to mean that appraisal markings can be distributed along a curve.  On that curve approximately:

  • 20 % of staff in a grade will have exceeded their objectives
  • 70 % will have achieved expected outcomes
  • 10% must improve

One appraisal system but two perspectives on how it works

The dialogue around performance management is led by the Head of the Civil Service, Sir Bob Kerslake.  He has blogged about the new performance management system, which he believes, reflects consistency across the organisation and looks at what civil servants achieve and how they achieve it.

Many Senior Civil Service (SCS) staff and their junior colleagues have replied to the blog (although it seems the distribution curve does not to apply to members of the SCS).  In unusually frank replies staff express their views about the system’s apparent use of quotas and its effect on morale.  They also note that HMRC staff downed tools over this issue in February.  So seemingly there is one appraisal system, but two perspectives on how it works.

It is also worth noting there may be an impact on workplace equality, since the sector employs more women than men below SCS level.  Black and minority ethnic staff, and disabled staff, are also concentrated in the grades where must improve ratings will appear.

3 steps to take when your manager says your work must improve

Are you someone whose performance ‘must improve’ this year?  How about rising to that challenge?  Once that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach subsides, you should focus on moving forward.  Here are 3 actions to help you to move forward beyond your appraisal:

  • Review the evidence of your previous successful, or above successful, reports (to highlight your favourable customer feedback, transferable strengths and as a reminder your present rating may be quite subjective)
  • Record the specifics of your strategy to take an immediate, positive, next step to achieve a short-term win (something constructive you know you can do well, within your present role, or one that allows you to reassert your ability to achieve good quality results)
  • Recruit a skilled ally, ideally a coach who: understands the significance of your work-life goals; recognises the importance of your values; will remain supportive as your performance returns to its former state.

Civil Servant or not, how will you improve the quality of your work this year?  Why not dip into the Archives, to the right of this post, to get some inspiration as you move forward.

Goals 2014: 2 Life Planning Questions For People Over 45

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Were you between 15 years old and your mid 20s in 1975?  If you were around that age in the UK you might remember your first trip to your local – newly opened – McDonalds franchise.  You might have seen the newly released Steven Spielberg film ‘Jaws’ earlier in the year  too.  The impact of the UK economy’s 24% annual inflation rate was pretty new too; so was the trend of nearly a million people out of work.

There is quite a contrast between the UK in the mid 1970s and the country nearly 40 years later.  As this week’s Budget will reveal the economy is showing signs of resurgence after the financial crisis of 2008, which triggered a global recession.  The question is what does that change in the economy mean for your personal circumstances?

How does your age affect your life plan?

Have you reached your mid 60s with the degree of financial security you planned for?  Based on current life expectancy  projections, for British 65 year olds, will you be comfortably off for your final 21 years (if you are a woman) and 18.5 years (if you are a man)?  Put another way, how comfortable are you with the gap between what you expected from your working life and what you have got?

I’m asking as unexpected insecurity has come up as an issue with previous coaching clients.  Those in their 40s are thinking ahead, to put a strategy in place to make their future more secure.  Those in their 50s are taking action to make their next decade more satisfying.

It is unsettling to pursue one career track, or follow a portfolio career, and not arrive at the destination you had planned for.

How has the global recession affected someone in their 60s (and what lessons are there for those in their 40s and 50s?) 

Follow the link in the Tweet below to learn more about actions to help secure your future.  Then give yourself a score for your answers to the two bullet point questions that follow the Tweet (10 out of 10 means you are totally satisfied with your situation, zero means you are totally dissatisfied, 5 means you are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied)

  • How satisfied are you with the way you curate your presence across your online profiles?
  • How content are you with your approach to sharing useful information and contributing to the development of your online connections?

Total up your score adding both answers together.  If your total score is 11, or less, what steps will you take this month to improve the way you present yourself online?  How does your self-marketing strategy fit into your wider financial security goals?

What are your other self-development goals this spring?  Why not dip into the Archives at www.experienceyourlife.me for some inspiration.  There are more ideas On Facebook and Google+ too

Goals 2014: 3 Key Questions To Ask Yourself Before Jobhunting

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Banana Skin

Focus On Your Goals & Avoid Life’s Banana Skins

As The British Chambers of Commerce forecasts  that the economy will be back to its pre Recession peak over the summer it is a good time to ask, how is your goal focused plan for 2014 going?

Are you still action planning to change jobs this year?  Maybe you are unexpectedly between jobs at the moment, and wanting to make the right move into a secure job niche?  If so you are in luck, as this post contains 3 key questions to get you moving in the right direction.

  • What job sector do you want to work in and what kind of employer do you want to work for?
  • Which jobs will you excel at, given your skills and values?
  • What other work will you take if you can’t get what you want?

The answers to those straight forward questions will unlock a wealth of insight for you.  Tuning into your inner wisdom means knowing what is best for you.  That knowledge provides you with a starting point from which to actively look for your ideal next role.  It also establishes the outline of a Plan B in case the ideal isn’t available just yet.

So, when are you going to take the action that moves you one step closer to the job you want?  What support, including coaching input, will you draw on as you move forward?

Good luck and don’t forget there are further ideas relating to your work and life goals on Facebook and Google+ too

Goals 2014: 3 Questions To Help Manage Community First Panel Legacies

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Community First Money

What Community First Funding Meant To One Ward In Year 1 And 2

Are you familiar with the concept of a Community First panel? 

If the answer is, ‘No’, here’s a brief explanation from my perspective, as a former panel chair.

‘Community First’ is the government’s neighbourhood improvement programme, running in England between 2012 and 2015.  The programme’s goal is to make funding available via a residents’ panel to not-for-profit organisations.  Those organisations will improve the quality of life in disadvantaged wards.

I think this approach could actually form the blue print for a future government wanting to devolve additional voluntary funding down to local communities via resident led panels.  That will depend on the panels functioning effectively, like the best project teams do.  The panels will still require thoughtful leadership and the input of skilled and confident volunteers.  Their legacy will involve changing the face of their neighbourhood.  A little work is necessary now to help make that legacy possible.

What are the panels doing at the moment?

As I write this post, residents‘ panels are deciding which local projects should receive a share of the final year of funding starting from April 2014.  The clock is ticking though, as panels need to submit their decisions to the government’s key delivery partner (the Community Development Foundation or CDF) by the end of March.

Local panels are a key part of the community based process, while other bodies have an overview of the bigger picture:  CDF is one of those bodies; Ipsos Mori the market research company is too, having evaluated the programme’s outcomes last year; the Young Foundation  is also an external partner supporting panels’ learning processes.

Which questions can the panel answer to help produce better future results?

Any project can benefit from holding a lessons learned exercise.  This exercise can provide valuable information to be used the next time similar work is commissioned.  I think the Young Foundation should encourage the panels to hold such an exercise and provide the answers to three questions this year.  This action forms a key part of the process of securing Community First’s panel legacy:

  • Which of the panel’s skills produced the bulk of the panel’s results?
  • What skills did the panel lack?
  • How could the panel produce even better results for their community if funding was available after 2015?

Answers to those questions should build up a picture of how panels produced good quality timely results, in a tough financial climate, and with limited volunteer resources.  Knowledge or skills gaps can then be filled by coaching or by mentoring.  Mapping that legacy now will also be invaluable if better results are expected from similar panels, by a future government.

Where can I find more information?

You can see some tweets about the programme from CDF, panels, and funded projects on Twitter if you use he #commfirst hashtag.

Click on the Podcasts tab above to listen to some questions you can answer to help you lead a panel (or a voluntary project) more easily.

Feel free to check out the Archive section for more thoughts on work and life goals.  There are further ideas relating to your work and life goals on Facebook and Google+ too

Goals 2014: Do You Need More Heartfelt Satisfaction In Your Life?

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Cup Of Tea

How Are You Planning To Develop This Spring?

How has your week been so far?  In fact, how would you score your job-satisfaction in 2014 on a scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 is ‘Outstanding’)?  Are your heartfelt goals around personal fulfilment also being met?

If you score your year at 5, or lower, remember there is good news.  The weekend is close by and you can use it – in part – to help plan the improvements you want to make in your life.

If you need to put a smile on your face now perhaps you are ready for a mid-week laugh.  Here then is a short BBC film about comic Jack Stretten concerning his life on the comedy circuit.  He is clear about the relationship between his comic skills and the values he relies on in his work.  He is also clear about his goal focus.  He says “When I’m making someone laugh…that’s the best!”.  How does that clear, heartfelt, vision compare to the relationship between your skills, your values and your understanding of your goals?

It may not be appropriate for you to take an alternative career path right now.  Even so, over a cup of tea this weekend it is worth planning changes which will improve the rest of your year.  Can you invest time on Saturday or Sunday to planning your brighter future?

Why not spend 30 minutes: taking stock of your skills; listing your core values; and using that information to determine the mixture of skills and values you want to use as the spring board to improve your life.

Having that information written down will definitely help establish the blueprint you rely on as you move forward.  If improved job, or personal satisfaction, is the overarching goal you want to tackle in 2014 how will you begin to break that goal down into manageable pieces starting in March?  Coaching support can boost your success in that process, so do use the Contact form to get in touch with me.  I look forward to discussing how I can help you during your journey.

There is also plenty of helpful content here on the site, especially in the Archives.  So check out the Archive section for more inspiration and remember there are further ideas On Facebook and Google+ too.  Enjoy the rest of your week.

Goals 2014: 5 Personal Questions To Improve Your Work & Family Life

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This is the second of two posts about last week’s very first Work & Family Show at Excel, London.

Work & Family Show 2014 - Panel Discussion on the Language of Success

Work & Family Show 2014 – Panel Discussion on the Language of Success

Here’s a question.  Which one of your improvement goals has taken priority this year?  Is it improving some aspect of your work?  How about getting more from your personal or family life?

Whatever your priority you could have gained knowledge in any of these areas had you been at the Show.  The sponsor My Family Care and their partners put on practical, personal, and plenary sessions looking at the advice, inspirations and solutions that contribute to peoples’ ideal life balance.

From what I saw the audience of women on Maternity Leave, or taking a Career Break; people searching for their next job after redundancy and those looking to work flexibly, really engaged with the sessions on offer.

More details of the Work and Family event are set out here .  You can follow the feedback from the show on Twitter using the hashtag #wfshow

Personal Questions For Your Goal Setting Sessions

Meanwhile, here are the five personal insights I noted from the range of ideas offered by speakers last week.  I have added some bullet point questions for you, which you can use with your coach as you set your own goals:

On average Men are likely to apply for a promotion if they meet 60% of the recruitment criteria:

  • What more could you do to add to your skills, so you comfortably reach 70% of the recruitment criteria?

Women are likely to hold off applying for a promotion until they feel they meet 90% of the recruitment criteria:

  • What could you do to add to your skills, so you are confident you have 70% of the recruitment criteria?

You help yourself perform better by making time each day to check out your state of mind and take action, where necessary, to change limiting beliefs:

  • What is your strategy for taking stock of your inner state?

Making time to manage your personal / professional relationships in a considerate way makes your life easier:

  • How empathic are you when you manage your key relationships?

When you need to give feedback make time to pause, and comment on the behaviour rather than the individual’s personality:

  • Thinking about your previous bosses, whose feedback technique would you wish to emulate and why?

Feel free to check out my Archive section for more inspiration.  There are further ideas On Facebook and Google+ too.  Do feedback about your progress, via the Contact page here, or on Twitter @RogerD_said

Goals 2014: 5 Practical Questions To Improve Your Work & Family Life

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Work & Family Show 2014 - Interviews: How To Shine
Work & Family Show 2014 – Interviews: How To Shine

 

This is the first of two posts about last week’s very first Work & Family Show at Excel, London.

Is one of your goals improving some aspect of your work, personal or family life?  Then you would have been in good company at the Show, had you joined the audience of women on Maternity Leave, or taking a Career Break; people searching for their next job after redundancy and those looking to work flexibly.

I thought this was a positive event, at which sponsors My Family Care and their partners put on practical, personal, and plenary sessions looking at the advice, inspirations and solutions that contribute to peoples’ ideal life balance.

More details of the Work and Family event are set out here .  You can follow the feedback from the show on Twitter using the hashtag #wfshow

Practical points for your goal setting sessions

Meanwhile, here are the five practical insights I noted from the range of ideas offered by speakers last Friday.  I have added some bullet point questions for you, which you can use as a starting point when you work on your coaching goals:

In an employers’ market it is important to show in all your self-marketing materials how you will add value to your new employer’s organisation:

  • What else will you do, from now on, to market your unique skill set to prospective employers?

Social media makes it easier than ever to research prospective employers and their values:

  • What is your strategy for finding out which firms you would like to work for?

Using social media, on your own behalf, leaves a footprint which potential employers can follow:

  • How do you go about managing your own social media presence?

In the present jobs climate gaps in a CV are acceptable to enlightened employers, if the gaps can be explained:

  • What more will you do to ensure any gaps in your CV are accounted for, so your CV content presents your best self?

There are some items on your To Do list which can be delegated to others:

  • What criteria do you use to work out which tasks to delegate and to whom?

Remember to watch out for the second post, with personal pointers you can use in your job search.  Feel free to check out my Archive section for more inspiration.  There are further ideas On Facebook and Google+ too

Your Feedback is always welcome, you can reach me via the Contact page here or on Twitter @RogerD_said

Goals 2014: 3 key questions to help you get more from your networks

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How is your job treating you at the moment?

Do you ever feel like your job skills are not being fully engaged?  Perhaps you are stuck in a dead-end post which does not help you meet your career development goals?  Or maybe your manager is not sufficiently interested in allowing your career to flourish?  Stressful isn’t it?

You probably want to do more to have your needs met.  The good news is that there are actions you can take, if the situations I described ring bells with you.

It doesn’t matter if you are in the US, the UK, the EU or further afield.  Your situation will improve if you are able to network effectively with peers, mentors, friends who can support your growth and whose growth you can also nurture.

Your three key questions

My experience suggests the basis of your action plan will flow from the following questions:

  • What precise outcome do you want from the professional people who will help you achieve your career goals?
  • In what way do you want your social network to provide you with more support?
  • As you take action on your own behalf what contribution will you make to the development of the people around you?

Your next step is to write down your responses, refine them, and fix a time to start your programme of action on the most important area on your list.

If you would like to see these principles at work, take a look at the link contained in the tweet below.  It sets out advice to an underemployed jobholder who wants their job satisfaction goal to be fulfilled.   Remember, taking action increases the likelihood your goals will be achieved; coaching support makes that outcome even more likely.

What’s your self-development goal this spring?  Check out the Archive at www.experienceyourlife.me for some inspiration.  There are more ideas On Facebook and Google+ too

Goals 2014: 3 Questions To Help Your Personal Growth

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Cup Of Tea

How Are You Planning To Develop This Spring?

Friday was Valentine’s Day, one of the few days in the year where your goal is simple to define: happiness.  How did it feel to take action to improve the quality of your personal relationship?

Congratulations on starting the ball rolling.  This weekend is the opportunity to take a 30 minute tea / coffee break and do some wider work on your goals.  When will you take further action to make your personal and professional life even better?

When you are doing this work – to help yourself develop in the direction you want to this spring – why not use the three questions below to kick start your thoughts.  Write down the answers and identify the action you are going to take.  Include the exact time in the coming week when you will take the action (and reward yourself when you do).

  • How will you seek more support from the people who will help you achieve your career and personal goals?
  • When will you influence your social network to provide you with more support?
  • As you take action on your own behalf what contribution will you make to the development of the people around you?

Good luck with your actions.  Feel free to feedback on your progress via the Contact page or on Twitter @RogerD_said (you can use On Facebook and Google+ too)

Goals 2014: Three Questions About The Health Of Your Relationship

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morguefile0001542430377

Chocolates Show You Care

Happy Valentine’s Day: It’s the one day you have a good reason to show you value your main relationship.  Have you opted for chocolates, flowers, or wine?

Speaking of your relationship, what’s your goal beyond today?  What else are you doing to keep improving the quality of that relationship, tomorrow and the next day?  In particular how will you:

  • Demonstrate your long-term commitment to the relationship?
  • Share your authentic self within it?
  • Deepen the element of trust the relationship depends upon?

It is worth having a action plan to maintain the health of this key part of your life.  In that way you remind yourself that you value the well-being of your every part of your life: from your main relationship, to your well-being at work, to the health of your finances.