Providing actionable feedback is a critical component of performance discussions. Anyone can fill out the performance evaluation form, ensure it adheres to organizational guidelines, and submit it in a timely fashion. However, leaders should take these opportunities to develop their people and provide guidance on how to improve. “You are doing fine!” or “Just keep doing what you’re doing!” does not give a service member a true understanding of their performance level and how they can get better.
In addition to providing actionable feedback, leaders should consider asking intrusive questions to better know their people, learn critical information about the organization, and discover ways to become a better leader. Yes, these questions can seem meddlesome. However, they are sometimes necessary to discover the true passions and untapped potential of their people, or even toxic activity that has gone unnoticed. Leaders should ask the following questions during performance evaluations:
How have you defined success for yourself and your family?
Too many performance discussions occur with the supervisor doing all the talking and providing career guidance and recommended future assignments or positions to achieve the rank and success level the supervisor has obtained. Leaders must stop defining success for their people and help service members define success for themselves.
Too many supervisors just assume everyone wants to follow in his or her exact footsteps. I will shamefully admit I was one of them. I worked hard, sacrificed, and reached positions of authority. I wrongfully thought everyone who worked for me, wanted to be me. It was only after a few junior service members had the courage to share their own aspirations that would take them in a different direction that I recognized I needed to do something different. Instead of automatically defining success for my people, I started helping them define success for themselves. I started guiding them toward where they could be at their happiest and what was best for their family.
Is there another position at work that you would enjoy doing more, or a function that would better use your skills?
Right now, there are people filling positions that do not necessary fulfill them. For example, there might be service members doing budgetary roles who have a passion for marketing or communications. Is there someone in your command who wants to help the team in a different capacity? The only way to know is to ask and then see if there is a way to use those untapped skills. Can that person be given a project that will allow them to design marketing material for an upcoming campaign? Is there an opportunity to allow them to be temporarily assigned to another role to diversify their experience? Provide a service member an opportunity and watch them flourish, grow, and work even harder for you.
Do you feel like a valued and included member of this team?
As a supervisor, you do not have visibility on everything that is happening in your department. There are conversations in the breakroom to which you will never be a part. Leaders need to ask people how they truly feel working among their peers and midlevel managers. To create an environment in which everyone feels valued and included, supervisors must be intentional in asking and investigating if that is the reality in their workspaces. Supervisors cannot assume that toxic leadership, sexual harassment, and racial discrimination does not exist because they do not see or experience these things directly. Good leaders must be intentional in creating a safe environment for every employee.
This question is not meant to be ask only of women or minorities—it should be asked of everyone. For example, when white men who do not feel included in the supervisor’s inner circle, that feeling should not be ignored. Similarly, a growing number of white males feel they are at a disadvantage because of organizational diversity and inclusion efforts. This sentiment cannot be addressed if they are not able to voice their concern. Nobody—regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation—should feel they are not valued at work.
How is John/Jane really doing?
Supervisors cannot force everyone to open up; some people are simply closed books. However, supervisors can show they will be there if their people need support outside the office. Over the past year, I have had a few counseling sessions in which a mentee has explained how great things are going at the job. Professionally, things were running like a well-oiled machine. After a bit, I would say, “We have spent the last 15–20 minutes talking about Lieutenant Smith (the service member), but how is John (the person) really doing?” A few times, this question has produced an emotional response. Something was going on in their personal life, and they were perfectly fine doing the counseling session solely focused on their professional life. I made it a point to let them know I cared about the whole person, not just the role he or she performs. There are people facing trials and tribulations in their personal lives and think nobody they have worked with for years will care. Supervisors need to show that is not the case and be intentional in building those trusting relationships that go deeper than surface level. Specifically, ask about how things are going away from the office and support the whole person. However, understand that not everyone will want to open up and those boundaries should be respected.
How can I be a better leader for you?
You might be leading in the perfect way you like to be led. Is that the same way your people like to be led? Everyone has a leadership style that inspires and motivates them. That style differs from person to person. A supervisor needs to know his or her people well enough to understand how they like to be led. Often, supervisors have a leadership style they feel comfortable using and use that leadership style on everyone. That style will work for some but not others. Supervisors need to make a concerted effort to get to know their people individually to know how they like to be led. Learn how you can be the best leader for your people by asking and being open to their feedback.
These questions can enhance professional performance discussions and open the door to fostering interpersonal relationships built on trust. The type of relationship that can enable the supervisor to lead the whole person—not just their jobs. Intrusive leaders ask these questions, intently listen to the responses, and gain insight into how to effectively develop, motivate, and inspire everyone. Ask these questions today and become a better leader tomorrow.
