Have you fallen into the performance trap
Of not having enough courage
To give the people you lead
What their performance deserves
Here’s one way you’ll know
If you’re treating everybody the same
Or nearly the same
When you hand out rewards
Then you’re not giving people
What their performance deserves
Here’s another way you’ll know
If it’s time to make decisions
About who to reward and how much
And you get anxious
Worrying about what people will say
Like any of your high performers
Or some of your whiney
Poor performers
Your courage has slipped
And you’re not giving people
What their performance deserves
High performers know what they deserve
And when they don’t get it
They get ticked off
They get fed up real quick
And they start looking
For greener pastures
And they will find them
Sooner or later
And they’ll be gone
Poor performers quickly learn
That whining and complaining
Usually gets them more
Than their performance deserves
So they whine and cry
Complain and blame
With persistence
And you give them more
Than their performance deserves
So they will shut up
And leave you alone
And what do they do then
Go right back from where they came
Poor performance
So what are you to do
You have to dig deep
And find the courage
To do what you know
Needs to be done
And how
Tip #1:
Take a close look
At the bottom of your
Leadership heart
And you will find
This undeniable truth
The corporation is not a welfare state
People are to earn what they get
And get what they earn
If they want to be on welfare
They need to be somewhere else
It’s as simple as that
And if you don’t have the courage
To give them what their performance deserves
Some would say you should go with them
Tip #2:
Get out the microscope
Crawl under the lens
And look for your fear
The fear that holds you back
From giving people
What their performance deserves
Is it a fear of conflict
With those who want more
But whose performance
Deserves less
Is it a fear of not being liked
By the whiners and complainers
Who perform poorly
Is it a fear of doing things a different way
A fear of rocking the boat
A fear of being different than your peers
Maybe even of your boss
You’ll never cross the line
To leadership excellence
Until you find the fear
That keeps you
From giving people what their performance deserves
And conquer it
Tip #3:
Take a slow cruise
Down consequences lane
Open your eyes
And take it all in
If you aren’t giving people
What their performance deserves
High performers have little respect for you
Poor performers laugh behind your back
No one takes you seriously
You may not see this
You may not hear it
You don’t want to believe it
But you can feel it
Because it is true
You have given up
The heart and soul
Of what it takes to lead
If you’ve chosen to give it up
You can choose to take it back
It is never too late
There is only one thing
And you have to do it
Give everyone what their performance deserves
Not more
Not less
You are free to choose
Jump start employee motivation
Put the fuel to performance improvement
Stoke the fire of employee job satisfaction
And your own
Martha Forlines and Thad Green
