I’ve been reviewing 360 degree feedback with senior leaders this week as a starting point to their coaching programmes.

And it made me realise that Behavioural Frameworks are valuable tools but they’re not enough to set performance expectations.

One of the leaders was somewhat dismayed to discover that his manager’s view of his performance was significantly lower than his own – especially in the areas of execution and delivery.

My client is a global organisation.  Like many big companies they have put a lot of work into defining behavioural frameworks.  Their purpose is to make sure employees at all levels know what the organisation expects of them to live according to the company’s values and deliver the long-term vision.

It is those frameworks that form the basis of the 360 degree feedback.

The area that took up much of my discussion with this particular leader was around the behaviour category “Passion for Results”.  And specifically responses to the question “Acts with a sense of urgency”.

The leader felt he acted with a sense of urgency to a very great extent; his manager felt he acted with a sense of urgency to a small extent.

So what’s going on here?

Is it the leader has different standards to his manager?

Is it that his manager values it more than he does?

Is it that he has an unrealistically positive view of himself?

OR is it the leader’s understanding of “Acting with a sense of urgency” differs from his manager?

In reality, it could be a combination of all those things.  But the last point is the one I want to focus on.

No matter how sophisticated and customised a behavioural framework is, it is generic by nature.  It applies to many roles, geographies, levels and functions.

The behavioural descriptions on their own are not enough to set clear expectations of performance.

To be meaningful they need to be brought to life for an individual’s role.  Employees and their managers need to develop a rich picture of what success looks like in specific, detailed, observable activities.

For the leader I was working with he needs the answers to the questions:

“Suppose…in a perfect world…I was acting with a sense of urgency to a very great extent what would I be doing?  What would the manager notice?  What would my direct reports notice?  What would colleagues notice?  What would internal and external customers notice?”

Behavioural frameworks are just a tool.  To be effective in establishing performance expectations, managers and leaders need training to have conversations that allow them to use the tool skilfully and effectively.

How effective are your managers and leaders at setting performance expectations?  I’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences and challenges.

Please comment below and let me know what works for your organisation and what challenges you face and I’ll focus some future blog posts on those.