If you were the boss and 40% of your employees said they were more interested in non-monetary rewards and felt that evaluating them on a single factor for jobs that required multiple skills were unfair would you proceed anyway with merit pay based on a single factor and expect it to be a good motivator?
That is the basic question in the drive for merit performance for teachers.
Teachers don’t want to see their students judged on the results of one test and they also want their own performances graded on multiple measures.
Most value non-monetary rewards, such as time to collaborate with other teachers and a supportive school leadership, over higher salaries. Only 28 percent felt performance pay would have a strong impact and 30 percent felt performance pay would have no impact at all.
The biggest problems with merit pay is defining and applying valid measurement of success.
For example, only 6 percent of teachers surveyed said graduating all students with a high school diploma was one of the most important goals of schools and teaching, while 71 percent said one of the most important goals was to prepare all students for careers in the 21st century.
Whereas standardized test are the holy grail of school administrators.
Merit pay has a checkered background whether you are looking for proof that it works or proof that it doesn’t.
The problem isn’t the money, it’s the structure put together to award it.
Keeping it fair means keeping it free from political pull and other forms of favoritism. It means acknowledging that teachers can’t control what is happening to the kids in their classes and finding a way to account for that.
“Your mother and father just got a divorce, your grandfather died, your boyfriend broke up with you: those kinds of life-altering events have an effect on how you do in class that day, through no fault of the teacher whatsoever.” –Debra Gunter, middle school math teacher in Cobb County, Ga.
One survey result was surprising because it actually creates more work for teachers, but it was held by the majority.
A majority of teachers surveyed said they would like to see tougher academic standards and have them be the same in every state, despite the extra work common academic standards could create for them.
This definitely makes sense, especially given the mobility of the US population, but it’s unlikely to ever pass muster with state and local school administrators. It would also be interesting to see how it flies helicopter parents, considering it’s their complaining that has fostered termination of “tough” teachers.
Money has always been the quick fix, used by managers and parents alike, to achieve their desired ends, even though there is no proof that it is effective or sustainable. And there is no reason to think that teachers are any different.
I think that if the structure and standards aren’t improved along with embracing merit pay then success is unlikely.
Office politics has many definitions, but one characteristic remains constant—your ‘voice’ is positional. In other words, your ability to be heard is based on your position in the pecking order. Ideas below X level are ignored, between X and Y are acknowledged, Y to Z are heard and sometimes implemented.
But to have a full voice you either need to be part of the C suite or a “star” (stars below the Y level are scarce as hen’s teeth). Some argue that star systems are merit-based, but that argument falls flat if only those at a certain level are heard.
Few people like office politics and its presence has always been responsible for a large percentage of turnover.
One way to substantially reduce office politics in your organization by making sure that everyone has a voice.
Even in highly political corporations individual managers can improve their team’s performance and retention by making sure ideas receive a fair hearing no matter who thinks of them.
It’s easier when you are a first line manager, because you have only yourself to blame if a pecking order establishes itself in your group. If it does happen have a candid talk with the mirror and decide what’s important to you and what you want your ‘management brand’ to be known for.
As you move up, with one or more layers of management below you, it becomes more difficult because you are working to propagate an attitude that may not be wholly shared by those who report to you.
Your success depends partly on how consistent your own actions are and partly on what procedures you create to reinforce the desired behavior.
One of the most successful approaches is to tie bonus compensation to measurable results for soliciting suggestions from all levels and let VSI do the rest.
Of course, as with health, it is better route to prevent office politics than it is to cure it once it gets a toe-hold.
Simply put, that means not hiring managers at any level whose past behavior reflects the wrong attitude. You have two methods to accomplishing this. Obviously, it is something to discuss when doing reference checks.
But more importantly, if you make it clear during interviews that part of the candidate’s compensation depends upon it. It’s amazing how quickly a candidate will withdraw when her pay depends on a behavior with which she doesn’t agree.
The first Monday of the month is the signal for another Leadership Development Carnival, but don’t be fooled, it covers management and other associated topics. It is hosted this month by Sharlyn Lauby at HR Bartender and written by some of the most talented folks in the blogsphere.
It’s an extensive selection, enough to keep you going all month.
In putting together today’s carnival, I thought it might be fun to ask how long people have been blogging – their blogging “anniversary” if you will. It was interesting to hear their answers. On one hand, blogging has been around for a long time. Dave Winer, author of Scripting News, has one of the oldest weblogs and it was established in 1997. But notice the number of posts from bloggers who have been writing two years or less. It’s very cool to see engagement from people who have been blogging for years along with the excitement of people who have been blogging for months.
10+ YearsEven if you’re not a woman or managing a non-profit, there are some classic management tips in Wild Woman Fundraising’s post Advanced Fundraising: Managing Others.
Over at Ep!c Living blog, Eric Pennington says It’s Almost Never About You and describes the dangers of making clients second and the importance of leaving “self” behind.
Miki Saxon at MAPping Company Success explains in her post, Leadership’s Future: To Hire and Hold (Millennials), that if you want a happy workforce, you need to provide the same things that make for a happy family.
At Joe and Wanda on Management, we learn the three most important words in business and how to create and environment of mutual support in the post, Checking Six.
Persistence pays! is the message by Leader Business blog. Author Karl Marlantes endeavored for 32 years to get his book published. Blogger Tom Magness asks us how hard we are willing to work toward achieving our goals.
Instead of squeezing more stuff into the day, the Monevator shares with us a new killer method for better time management in the post, Personal Time Management for Fun and Profit.
Music plays a critical role in jumping folk’s spirits. Check out EzineArticles.com’s Coping with Colleague’s Stress at Work to find out how background music can increase workplace productivity.
The very dapper host of HR Happy Hour, Steve Boese, shares with us how the best leaders are not afraid to coach and mentor their top performers in The Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy – Part II. If you didn’t catch Part I of this post, you can check it out here.
The i4cp blog suggests succession planning is not just a flawed term but a flawed paradigm. They recommend to organizations Don’t Plan Succession, Manage It.
Michael Lee Stallard at E Pluribus Partners explains that task excellence along isn’t enough. The answer lies in The Science of Employee Engagement.
Forbes said good leaders recognize when patterns change. Anne Perschel over at Germane Insights Blog writes they were wrong. Good leaders SEE INTO the FUTURE.
In order to understand ourselves, we need to Explore Life Purpose. Mike King at Learn This takes us on the journey.
Bob Lieberman talks about organizational survival in his post The Need for Nerve.
Being a good project manager is an important skill for the future. Take a look at the Project Management Interview Questions and Answers to see if you have what it takes to manage the important task of making sure projects are on-time, within quality standards and at budget.
A key skill for any leader is public speaking. Matt Eventoff at Communications 3.0 coaches us on effective speeches in Clash of the Titans, Public Speaking and Chris Christie. Good tips for anyone who presents information.
1 Year
Jennifer V. Miller of The People Equation cautions organizations about encouraging “fearlessness”. See how leaders can stay on the “light side” of the force in her post the Boundaries of Fearlessness.
Over at The Bloom Blog, Lisa Ann Edwards explains leadership in terms such as Gemstones and Spark and shares wonderful stories of people who possess those qualities.
Mike Henry at Lead Change Group reminds us that our friends and the people we associate with set the boundaries of our future. He suggests socializing with high-caliber leaders to become one in his post, Your Friends and Your Future.
Confronting someone is never a favorite task, but sometimes necessary to manage performance. The Thriving Small Business blog shows us How to Confront Negative Employee Behaviors.
David Burkus from The Leader Lab explains Situational Leadership theory and why you should care about it in the post Path-Goal Theory.
According to The SALT & Pepper Group, there are seven core leadership styles. In their series wrap up, titled The 8th Leader, they share a specific classification system of leadership.
Timeless?
Some of our contributors have either been blogging so long they’ve forgotten or not long enough to keep track. Regardless, their posts are worthy of a visit.
Youngme Moonm, the Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, created The Anti-Creativity Checklist, a wonderfully irreverent video incorporating every cliché, past and present, used to kill creativity.
All around us people kill creativity through their frequent, unconscious use, as shown in a quote from last Thursday’s post by Jonah Rockoff, an economist at Columbia University, who said, “…no research he can think of has shown a teacher-training program to boost student achievement. So why invest in training when you could be throwing your money away?”
Not doing something new because there is no proof that it will work is number five in this video by Youngme Moon, a business professor at Harvard Business School.
Which have you heard recently in your workplace?
Which have you used?
Did their use kill creativity or just put it on hold?
There is a major disconnect for many managers between what they think others do, what they say they do and what actually happens. It is a disconnect that affects not just their own teams, but spreads like ripples in a pond when a stone is tossed.
Most managers are unaware of it and are horrified when it’s brought to their attention—once they stop trying to rationalize it.
‘It’ refers to deeds and actions they condemn in others, but practice themselves.
It the idea that when ‘they’ do it it is unfair, immoral, or illegal, but if ‘we’ do it it’s OK—and it’s happening everywhere.
We see it in
political and religious leaders who preach high moral codes while practicing immorality;
parents who demand better education and then condemn any teacher that doesn’t give their child a good grade;
business leaders who preach ethics and practice them only as long as it’s convenient;
colleagues we condemn for filching company supplies even as we use company time to shop, update Facebook and Twitter; and
friends who, much to our dismay, share our private information even as we share someone else’s.
When managers do it it can damage, even destroy, the team, because it is a form of hypocrisy; hypocrisy kills trust and without trust there is no team.
A vicious circle that only the manager can break by listening carefully to the feedback she doesn’t want to hear.
I had lunch with a guy friend this week and I almost threw my margarita at him, except that would be a waste of a good drink. Here’s what happened.
March is Women’s History Month and we had been talking about various women who had been written up in one place or another. “Rich” mentioned several he found very impressive; I asked if he ad ever read anything about Maya Angelou, because I like the way her mind works and she is wise.
Rich said he didn’t read poetry; he also reminded me that he wasn’t into sentimental stuff.
And that’s when I thought about throwing my drink, but my self-control held and instead I told him he was an idiot and to read today’s post.
Maya Angelou has a tough, practical side and I freely admit I connect with it more easily than what Rich calls the ’sentimental stuff’—but above all, the woman is wise and it is that wisdom which draws people in and teaches almost anything you want to learn.
So, Rich, in honor of you and Women’s History Month read these and recognize real wisdom from a woman who can make words sing.
In these days of 24/7, totally wired living it’s important to take these words to heart, Making a living is not the same thing as making a life.
Someplace back in the Seventies the idea that life was a series of challenges that needed to be overcome took hold. I never could stand that attitude; my own approach is better summed up in Angelou’s words, You shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back…
Maya Angelou is a firm believer in the power of MAP, although she’s probably never heard of it; but I know it’s true because she said, If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
That’s right, most of the time we try to change what’s outside and forget to change what’s inside, but, as this wise lady tells us, Nothing will work unless you do.
Even for Rich I can’t leave out two of Angelou’s statements that are deep life lessons; absorb them into your MAP and I can guarantee you will reap the rewards long after you’ve forgotten the source.
The first to remember is this, People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
And finally, real wisdom, the kind you don’t hear very often, Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Successful communications go a long way to sustaining successful relationships.
Relationships are a function of human interaction and whether they are short or long you need to communicate.
When those involved are peers, as in a marriage, good communication is a responsibility of both.
But when one person is subordinate to the other, such as parent and child, it is up to the parent to make sure that whatever is being communicated is understood.
Human interactions in companies are also relationships and follow the same rules.
If you are a manager how do you make sure you are heard?
It’s pretty simple as long as you remember to do it every time, no exceptions.
Did you know that all people have a mental model through which they hear?
That means their understanding of the words you use may have little-to-nothing to do with what you meant when you said them.
It’s a grave tactical error to assume anything else
There are 3 actions you must do to assure that you are heard correctly.
Start by carefully explaining your model and your assumptions when giving direction;
give your people clear, complete information on the subject. This includes what you want done, project outlines, deadlines, everything—you do not want them to have to keep coming back and asking for more—getting information should not be like pulling teeth; and then
check by having them explain it back to you; it’s the only way to be sure that they have actually heard and understood your information, rather than their version of it;
Have you noticed that all the stuff written about culture and how to create one that sparks innovation, attracts Millennials, boosts productivity, retains people, etc., consistently boils down to some pretty simple advice.
Now think about the kind of culture created when the boss provides them,
Tell me my role, tell me what to do, and give me the rules.
Discipline my coworker who is out of line.
Get me excited.
Don’t forget to praise me.
Don’t scare me.
Impress me.
Give me some autonomy.
Set me up to win.
The descriptions change from writer to writer, but the underlying principles stay the same and have for decades. In fact, workers have craved these basics for centuries, long before the idea of business culture took form.
So, if the desire is that ancient and the pay-back that great why don’t more managers provide the desiredenvironment—they certainly talk enough about it.
Utilizing an outside-in approach means focusing on delivering something of value to customers, as opposed to focusing on products and sales.
Gulati discusses 5 key levers from both “why” and “how”:
Coordination: Connect, eradicate, or restructure silos to enable swift responses.
Cooperation: Align all employees around the shared goal of customer solutions.
Clout: Redistribute power to “bridge builders” and customer champions.
Capability: Develop employees’ skills at tackling changing customer needs.
Connection: Blend partners’ offerings with yours to provide unique customer solutions.
Gulati is blunt and his approach isn’t for those who prefer incremental change to revolutionary, but it is MAP that will stop many leaders from embracingReorganize for Resilience—because you can’t implement that in which you don’t sincerely believe.
Since the advice to be customer-centric isn’t new, following it isn’t easy and may actually require difficult, even painful changes to your MAP, so why bother with Reorganize for Resilience?
Because it carries the biggest bottom-line payoff, both short and long-term, in any economy and for any company—from Fortune 50 to the neighborhood copy shop.
That is the basic question in the drive for merit performance for teachers.
Office politics has many definitions, but one characteristic remains constant—your ‘voice’ is positional. In other words, your ability to be heard is based on your position in the pecking order. Ideas below X level are ignored, between X and Y are acknowledged, Y to Z are heard and sometimes implemented.
In putting together today’s carnival, I thought it might be fun to ask how long people have been blogging – their blogging “anniversary” if you will. It was interesting to hear their answers. On one hand, blogging has been around for a long time. 
Youngme Moonm, the Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, created The Anti-Creativity Checklist, a wonderfully irreverent video incorporating every cliché, past and present, used to kill creativity.
Successful communications go a long way to sustaining successful relationships.
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