COURSE CONTENTS

LESSON 1: Me? A Performance Problem

• Introduction
• Evaluating the Problem
• A Profile
  • All Colors, Shapes, and Sizes
  • Not a Clearly Identifiable Group
  • Little to Do With Ability

LESSON 2: How Do You Know a Problem When You See One?

• Recognizing the Less Obvious Problems
• When Is a Problem Not a Problem
• Summary

LESSON 3: How Not to Deal With Employee

• Avoiding Confrontation
  • Why Do Managers Avoid Confrontation?
  • Why Avoiding Confrontation Is Bad
• Overreacting
  • Why Do Managers Overreact?
  • Why Overreacting Is Bad
• Complaining
  • Why Do Managers Complain?
  • Why Complaining Is Bad
• Lecturing
  • Why Do Managers Lecture?
  • Why Lecturing Is Bad
• Changing Your Ineffective Tendencies
• Supervisor's Journal
• A Note to Federal Supervisors and Managers

LESSON 4: Analyze Your Employee's Performance

• Mistakes in Preparing for the Performance Improvement Interview
  • Not Seeing a Need to Analyze Performance
  • Not Focusing on the Performance Problem Itself
  • Not Thinking Concretely
  • Focusing Only on What an Employee Is Doing Wrong
• How to Prepare for the Interview
  • Formulate Positive Behavior Change Goals
  • Identify Specific Behavior Changes for Each Goal
  • Identify Areas Where Performance Is Effective and Give Examples

LESSON 5: Ask Your Employee to Meet With You

• How Not to Ask Your Employee to Meet With You
  • Don't Have Your Secretary Do It
  • Don't Send a Note or Memo
  • Don't Say Too Little
  • Don't Say Too Much
  • Don't Make Light of the Performance Improvement Process
  • Don't Ask to Meet When You're Upset With the Employee
• How to Ask Your Employee to Meet With You
  • Approach the Person Privately
  • Explain Why You Want to Meet
  • Suggest How to Prepare for the Meeting
  • Arrange the Time and Place to Meet
  • End on a Positive Note
  • Practice: Asking Your Employee to Meet With You
  • Possible Setbacks

LESSON 6: Begin the Interview

• How Not to Begin the Interview
• How to Get Off to a Good Start
  • Minimize Distractions and Interruptions
  • Make the Person Feel Comfortable and Welcome
  • Orient Your Employee to the Meeting's Purposes and Procedures
  • Walking Through an Example
  • Practice: Beginning the Interview
  • Respond to Your Employee's Questions
  • Neutral Questions
  • Questions Expressing Concern
  • Hostile Questions

LESSON 7: Get Your Employee to Talk: Listening Skillfully

• Why Listening Skills Are So Important
• Attending Behavior
  • Making Eye Contact
  • Using Good Body Language
  • Minimizing Distractions Practice: Using Good Attending Behavior
  • Requests for Information
  • The Invitation to Talk
  • Open-Ended Questions
  • Fact-Seeking Questions
  • The Comprehensive Question
  • Probes for Specifics
  • Encouragers
  • Expressions of Understanding
  • Reflecting Feeling
  • Paraphrasing
  • Summarizing

LESSON 8: Find Out How Things Are Going

• Why It's Important to Find Out How Things Are Going
• Walking Through an Example
• Practice: Finding Out How Things Are Going
• Possible Setbacks
• The Critical Employee
• The Argumentative Employee
• The Talkative Employee

LESSON 9: Get Your Employee to Do a Self-Analysis

• Why Your Employee's Self-Analysis Is Important
• How to Get an Employee to Do a Self-Analysis
• Possible Setbacks
• Disagreements About Areas of Strength
• Disagreements About Areas in Need of Improvement

LESSON 10: Get Your Message Across: Presenting Ideas Effectively

• Why Presentation Skills Are So Important
• Attend to People When You Talk to Them
  • Making Eye Contact
  • Using Good Body Language
  • Minimizing Distractions
  • Avoid the Fuzzies
  • Avoid Emotionally Loaded Expressions
  • Be Prepared to Stop Talking and to Start Listening
  • Pay Attention to Pace and Timing
  • Pause After Your Main Points
  • Vary Your Speaking Style
  • Don't Interrupt the Other Person
  • Tell `em What You're Gonna Tell `em (and Then What You Told `em)

LESSON 11: Present Your Analysis of Your Employee's Performance

• How to Present Your Analysis
• Walking Through an Example
• Possible Setbacks
• Touching a Nerve
• Giving Ground Grudgingly
• Getting Caught in an Argument

LESSON 12: Negotiate the Performance Agreement

• Some Important Points to Keep in Mind
  • Informality
  • Something In It for Both of You
  • Limit Agreement to Just a Few Tasks
  • Be Specific
  • The Negotiating Strategy
  • Walking Through an Example

LESSON 13: Close the Interview

• Ask for Your Employee's Reaction
• Share Your Reaction With Your Employee
• Positive Reactions
• Not-So-Positive Reactions
• Schedule the Follow-up Meeting
• End the Interview on a Positive Note

LESSON 14: Follow Up

• Informal Follow-up
• Follow Up Immediately and Touch Base Periodically
• Ask Your Employee to Follow Up With You
• Reward Employee Effort
• Expect to Get a Little Discouraged
• Use Other Resources to Support Your Efforts
• The Follow-up Interview
• Analyze Your Employee's Performance and Your Own Performance
• Remind Your Employee of the Follow-up
• Interview
• Begin the Interview
• Find Out How Things Are Going
• Review Your Progress
• Review Your Employee's Progress
• Decide "Where Do We Go From Here"
• Close the Interview

LESSON 15: "What Do I Do if None of This Stuff Works?"

• Introduction
• How Do You Conclude That "None of This Stuff Works"?
  • Things Actually Get Worse
  • No Change in Behavior
  • A Little, But Not Enough
  • A Flash in the Pan
• Why Managers Are Reluctant to Take Action
• Positive Aspects of Taking Action
• Important Things to Keep in Mind
• Some Options for Non-Federal Managers and Supervisors
  • Reassignment
  • Restructuring
  • Firing
• Making a Decision
• Options for Federal Managers and Supervisors
• Performance
• Conduct
• Special Considerations
• Dealing With Poor Performance
• Notice of Opportunity to Improve
• Options
• Dealing with Employee Conduct
• Conduct Requiring Lesser Disciplinary Actions
• Conduct Requiring Disciplinary Adverse Action More Severe Than Suspension of 14 Days or Less
• Summary
• A Concluding Note