My manager direct feedback
In a previous blog, I described the Direct Report Feedback process - a process for getting feedback from direct reports about their manager’s skills.
Before running this for all the managers in NITAS, I asked all of my direct reports to go through the process and to provide information back about me. I did this to debug the form and the process – and also to learn from the data and find out what it felt like to be on the receiving end of the assessment. Consistent with the process, I took the results, analyzed them, and discussed them with my manager, the COO of NIBR.
I thought those of you who filled that form in, or who have recently done so for your own managers, might find it interesting to hear what I learned from having been the guinea-pig for the process.
Regarding the process itself: The input form worked ok, but some of the mechanics need work. We fixed some of those for the larger release and have more to do. The summary form needed a bit of tweaking to provide useful analysis. Anonymity is indeed essential. Going through HR to provide that effectively. People do provide useful comments in the comment field.
I’m not going to publicize the exact numbers or comments that I got back; I don’t feel that would be appropriate for this audience or respectful of those who provided input. I will summarize, however:
- The numbers overall were very positive, which, honestly, was nice to see.
- The areas where I was rated the strongest are:
- Is action oriented.
- Speaks effectively, holding peoples’ attention.
- Is good at developing relationships.
- Challenges the status quo.
- The areas I was rated the weakest are:
- Keeps people well-informed.
- Makes him/herself available and accessible for the needs of associates.
- Spends sufficient time managing priorities, processes and people.
The comments were very helpful. The most positive were about my being accessible, resolving issues, enjoying the work atmosphere in NITAS. The most critical raised concerns about my not spending enough time with direct reports and not delegating enough.
As I worked my way through the form, I kept track of my own responses to the numbers and comments. This was quite interesting.
Some gut-reactions: “Do I really want to look at this? Ok…. hmmm. Ok, overall, not bad, agree with that… hey, ouch!“
I felt a strong compulsion to find out who said what so that I could put the comments in context. Because of the way the process was done, I was not able to do that. This reinforces both that anonymity is important and that the process is working to provide it. The numbers vary considerably. It’s better to draw conclusions from the aggregate than from any single collection of responses. Some of the comments and numbers are in direct opposition.
Clearly there are very different perceptions out there. It’s helpful to see where there are huge variations. It’s nice to read the positive numbers, and I see those align with my areas of emphasis. Initially when reading some of the lower numbers, I was disappointed, and then I came around to being inspired to put more effort in those areas. I found myself agreeing with most of the comments. Some have been addressed already, but on others I’ve got work to do.
So, what does this mean?
First, the dry-run on me was sufficiently useful to affirm the process and debug the form.
Second, with regards to my own action plan as a result of the assessment: None of the results indicated a problem. I am treating this as input into where to focus rather than as a fire to put out. I agree completely that I don’t make enough time available to my direct reports and associates and that I need to increase delegation. This is, in large part, due to having way too many direct reports.
I started to address this in part this year by creating the role of Global Head of Operations. Brent started in late March and is already helping to make a difference in this area. I’m also looking at other areas to improve organizational bandwidth. In addition, since carrying out the survey, I’ve modified my standing calendar to increase the frequency of one-to-one meetings with all of my directs. I feel like I put a lot of work into keeping people well-informed, but clearly I can improve. I’m going to try to increase the frequency of blogs and email, will continue to have site meetings when I’m visiting various sites. I also suspect this is not just about me, but about NITAS in general.
I will encourage all of the rest of the managers and groups in NITAS to share important information more widely. (That should help with the delegation score as well. :-) This will improve as we begin to straighten out our web site strategy, which is being led by Omega (for the future) and Training & Communications (for the present).
My take-home from this:
- Focus on organizational & process changes that improve the speed of the organization.
- Increase delegation and coaching.
- Keep communicating. More.
Thanks to all who contributed their input and to Jonathan Singer in HR for coping with all the forms.
Finally, to those of you who we have asked to fill out this form about your manager – please answer with your best assessment. Your honest input is important so that we can work to improve the organization.
- Cheers,
- -r’m