Month: December 2024

Contrarian thoughts on PIPs

Lauren Webber and Chip Cutter of the Wall Street Journal wrote about performance improvement plans (PIPs) the other day — click here for the article. What they found is striking: today, nearly 44 out of every 1,000 workers face formal performance procedures. That’s up significantly from just a few years ago. In their article, they trace how PIPs got their start, how managers respond, and how employees respond. No surprises, nobody likes them — except lawyers protecting their clients.

I don’t believe PIPs effectively manage performance. If a manager must resort to a formal measure of performance management, then what has that manager been doing during the lifetime of the employee? The data backs this up – at Cisco, they found that 90% of employees who received a PIP left within a year, whether they survived the process or not. That’s not performance improvement – that’s a slow-motion exit.

Great leaders actively share feedback that helps employees grow and perform better — in real time if possible. Take Michael Pizzorno’s approach at Salient Medical Solutions: address issues through daily conversations that escalate in intensity when needed. No formal documentation, no bureaucratic process – just direct, honest communication.

I don’t believe PIPs are effective for employee experience. Even as a child, I knew of incident reports, academic success reports, JUG (justice under God – a Jesuit thing), I’ve heard of pink slips, and more. These images are symbols that represent danger. A PIP is no different – it’s a symbol that something is wrong; and your employees know it. The numbers tell the story – only 10-25% of employees survive PIPs. That’s not a development tool; that’s a exit ramp.

The alternative is simple — mutually agree on an end date and give a generous severance. This agreement gives employees the dignity to walk out with their head held high and an opportunity to close work relationships. All around, a much more pleasant and supportive experience. As HR veteran Steve Cadigan puts it, when given the choice between a PIP and a generous severance package, 75% of employees choose to leave – proof that even they know PIPs are usually just window dressing.

Some jobs work out, some don’t. It’s a traumatic experience to lose a job. Why make it worse with a device like a PIP? Remove the bureaucracy, and treat your team with dignity. In today’s world of AI pressures and post-COVID workplace adjustments, we need more humanity in our management approaches, not less.

Unlocking Team Potential: Insights from Conducting

The conductor steps onto the podium, raises their arms, and the orchestra snaps to attention. The role of the conductor is to be a communicator — to use language, gesture, and presence to drive performance from a team in order to bring an experience to life.

To learn how to be this type of communicator, you study and practice. The study of conducting includes:

  • Instrument study: how instruments are played, their constraints, where they sound best, and how to speak to the performers of those instruments.
  • Music study: how music is written, elements of music, the function of harmony and form, and the history of music.
  • Communication: gestures, hand waving patterns, baton technique, how to hold one’s self, and how to run rehearsal.

I want to write you about presence. The conductor’s must project confidence and competence while projecting a certain kind of humility. Simultaneously saying to their orchestra “trust me, I know what I’m doing, and I am here to serve you, our music, and our patrons.” The conductor may stand tall, shoulders back, and with a puffed out chest. They may speak firmly but with a tone that leads with respect. Conductors that project such confidence and yet project so much humility and respect get amazing performances.

People are community animals and we love to follow the leaders we admire. And the same way that musicians perform better for effective conductors, so do teams outside of music.

You, the savvy leader, can practice the skills of great conductors.

  1. Study how your teams work. Understand the constraints of their work, the conditions required for great work to occur, and know how to speak to people about their work.
  2. Study your product. Who does your product serve? What are the mechanisms of action that product value for your customers? How do your teams contribute to the top and bottom lines?
  3. Study communication. What type of communicator are you? How well do you simultaneously project confidence and humility? How likely is it that your team admires you?

Remember — you’re not just managing talent — you’re creating the conditions for talent to flourish. Just like a conductor.