That simple truth sits at the heart of effective performance management, which we explored in the recent Nestlé Health Science Masterclass with dieticians from hospitals and clinical settings across NSW.

Many leaders make the mistake of focusing on how a person’s behaviour impacts others: the team, patients or the organisation.

However, the key to impact lies in helping the individual understand how their behaviour impacts themselves: their credibility, workload, relationships, opportunities and ultimately their success.

As Jack Lang said in 1939:

“Always back the horse named self-interest, it will be the only one that is trying.”

When people see the connection between their behaviour and their own success, they do not resist feedback, they act on it. A performance management 'pitch' needs to be something they want to 'buy' and that is often very different to what the leader wants to 'sell'.

The image above is of the group completing the worksheets to plan for discussion with a clear objective and strong connection to the recipient's self-interest.

If you wish to improve your people leaders' abilities to drive performance feel free to chat with us anytime.