a history of performance appraisals, letting go - reveln
DESCRIPTION
This presentation provides a context for performance appraisals, ratings and reviews as very old ideas compared to organizational leadership pioneers and what's next. Performance management, defined in the 1970s, is rooted in scientific management. It is possible to acknowledge history, realize its impact on our business systems, and let go to embrace new strategies. This presentation is additional context for my MISHRM 2013 presentation on "From Chaos to Creative: Performance Development in a VUCA World" in Grand Rapids, Michigan, October 8th, 2013 | 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Tweets: @RevelnConsults The full context is in this article on the www.REVELN.com blog: A History of Performance Appraisals: Letting Go to Power New Culture * http://reveln.com/a-history-of-performance-appraisals-letting-go-to-power-new-culture/ As well as: * Choices for High Performance Teams, Groups and Psuedo-Teams: Achievement Is How You Say It! * 3 Success Factors for High Performance Teams, and What Gets In the Way * Beyond Resilience: Givers, Takers, Matchers and Anti-Fragile Systems http://reveln.com/blog/TRANSCRIPT
A History of Performance Appraisal & Letting Go
Deborah NystromREVELN.com
Performance Appraisal, 3rd Century
“The Imperial Rater
of Nine Grade seldom rates men
according totheir merits,
but always according to his
likes and dislikes. ~ Chinese philosopher
Sin Yu, 3rd century”
Performance & Society, 19th Century
“Of course quality is important, but is it not the quality of an individual's originality that is most important?”
~ Robert Owen
1771-1858Robert Owen from the Samuels Collection, Duke University
Robert OwenPerspective Implemented a "silent
monitor," a small cube of wood above each work station used to grade each day's behavior and effort
Seen as a manufacturing and educational reformer, as well as a labor movement leader
Influential in the modern human relations school of management and systems thinking, as well as the worldwide consumers’ cooperative movement
Counterpoint Built as a solution to
contemporary evils, his community in New Lanark, Scotland, was viewed by some as masked capitalism with a conscience
Through Americans embraced him in spite of his differing religious views, ultimately his New Harmony, Indiana planned community did not succeed
Deb Nystrom, REVELN.com
Selections from the Infographic by WorkSimple.com
Roots of the Performance Contract“Each employee should receive every day clear-
cut, definite instructions to just what he is to do and how he is to do it, and these instructions
should be exactly carried out, whether they are
right or wrong.”
~ Frederick W. Taylor
1856 – 1915
Federick W. Taylor
Perspective
Credited for inventing the management profession and industrial efficiency
Searched for "one best way" around poor methods rather than worker problems
Spoke with passion about labor-management cooperation
Counterpoint
His command and control methods (monitor and assess for efficiency) continue to influence mechanistic aspects of performance management today
Taylor’s concept of “thinkers” and “doers” for the division of work did not support the labor and management partnerships he favored, creating battles over jobs that continues today
Deb Nystrom, REVELN.com
Humans as Capital => Human Relations
Selections from the Infographic by WorkSimple.com
Community & ”Reciprocal Relationships”
“Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim. We attain unity only through variety. Differences must be integrated, not annihilated, not
absorbed.”
~ Mary Parker Follett
1868-1933
Mary Parker Follett
Perspective
Admonished over-managing employees,or “bossism,” now known as micromanaging
Pioneered the idea of the "authority of expertise"
Offered insights into the nature of leadership, conflict and the spiritual possibilities of corporate life still relevant today
Succeeded as a management consultant in spite of great obstacles
Counterpoint
Has been seen as overly optimistic about overcoming the limitations of management power
Her human relations contributions were advanced, and greatly limited by her gender and time period
Deb Nystrom, REVELN.com
Ratings, Performance Measurement
Selections from the Infographic by WorkSimple.com
Teams and Systems Thinking
“94% of problems in business are systems driven and only 6% are people driven.”
~ W. Edwards Deming 1900 – 1993
Deb Nystrom, REVELN.com
W. Edwards DemingPerspective
Listed "evaluation of performance, merit rating and annual review" as one of the“seven deadly diseases affecting management”
Credited as major leader of the quality movement internationally
His teachings were primary drivers of the 2000 book, Abolishing Appraisals advocating team and whole system performance approaches
Counterpoint
Had a utopian tendency to deny conflict and the role of management power in developing cooperative social systems
Did not speak to worker involvement existing with Japan's rigid, powerful management hierarchy, similar to Taylor's scientific management
‘70 &
80’s
Behavior
s
Goals
Timelines
Results
“Performance Management” Process
Selections from the Infographic by WorkSimple.com
Compensation & Rewards
“I am arguing against…confusing compensation with reward, the latter
being unnecessary and counterproductive.”
~ Alfie Kohn, Social scientist and
author of Punished by Rewards
15Photo by 401(K), Flickr cc
Behaviorists & Management Power
“Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.”
~ Peter Drucker 1909 – 2005
Peter F. DruckerPerspectiveExposed workplace human
relations artificiality and paternalism, refocusing on "what the job demands" through his collaborative "Management by Objectives" (MBOs) process.
Served as a reknown social critic of corporations and a practical teacher of management, informed by his in-depth studies at General Motors
Shared management teaching for six decades including concepts of empowerment and the knowledge worker
CounterpointHis long-running
performance tool, MBOs, was widely adopted and criticized
Became disillusioned with the power & greed of the management “caste” later in life (his philanthropic support of non-profits as management pioneers was toward a vision of morally legitimate post-business society)
Digital performance review forms clarify persistent problems
Digital Data & Performance
Selections from the Infographic by WorkSimple.com
Talent & Performance Changes“I predict that by the end of this decade, the performance appraisal system as we know it will no longer exist.
Beat the competition to the punch. Change yours now.”
~ Aubrey Daniels,July 2013
Performance Management & Behavior Specialist
19
“Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” ~ Hermann Hesse
Photo by Mr. T in DC , Flickr cc
What’s Next?End Individual Performance Appraisal If there is little benefit,
and it’s legally not required, why continue?
Reinforcement, rewards, behaviorism, doesn’t work, is counterproductive
Most serious scholars have rejected behaviorism
Use gain & profit sharing and team / person-based compensation approaches
Increase Focus on Teams Provide easy access to data, team
results, at all levels, to inspire Establish shared accountability to
managers AND to all team members Encourage agility, creativity,
innovation, and adaptation to market forces
Grow a giving - receiving, learning culture
Share authority among team members, with an achievement focus
Use positive peer pressure, rather than individual, manager-led performance appraisals
Increase fun, frequent, informal communication at w orkRef: Beta Codex Performance Management, White Paper 10 Deb Nystrom, REVELN.com
Achievement
“Whatever there be of progress in life comes not through adaptation but through daring.”
~ Henry Miller1891 – 1980
Photo by dirkjanranzijn, Flickr cc
History infographic clips by WorkSimple.com http://getworksimple.com/blog/2011/11/04/the-history-of-
performance-reviews
Book references includeFalse Prophets: The Gurus Who Created Modern Management And Why Their Ideas Are Bad For Business Today, by James Hoopes (2003)
Slide 1 emperor photo by hslo, Flickr cc, other photos
from WikiCommons, Flickr Creative Commons, Duke University and other public domain websites
References & Credits
Visit Deb at www.REVELN.com