Stop Blaming Millennials for Bad Management

Performance evaluations should be conducted at least once a year and ideally twice, with periodic check-ins on critical areas throughout the year. Within service businesses, I am particularly keen on 360-degree reviews for partners and up-and-coming leaders. This format includes evaluations by an individual’s seniors, peers and subordinates, and follows a prescribed structure and set of questions. In small firms, an outside coach may capture responses to keep the feedback anonymous. That same coach may conduct performance evaluations of partners, or at least the managing partner. In one of my previous firms, we rotated members of the executive committee to evaluate the managing partner.

Every performance evaluation should include positive and constructive assessments of the individual. There should be at least one area for the individual to work on even if it seems trite. Examples include improving speaking skills, becoming a better delegator or enhancing a particular technical skill.

Advisory firms often fail to systematize the performance evaluation process. While sometimes uncomfortable, this process gives leaders the opportunity to take corrective action with partners and employees. It also provides a systematic means for communicating the firm’s expectations about behavior and performance. Age should not be confused with maturity or skill when it comes to performance. We all need to be called out when something we are doing needs attention.

Hiring Is ‘Science and Art’

After 40-plus years in a variety of roles, I have developed some fairly clear ideas about what enhances job performance. First is clarity around the nature of the work: What exactly do you want the person to do and how will they know what success looks like? Second is clarity around the nature of the worker: Is he or she well matched to the work in terms of aptitude, motivation and interest? Third is the nature of the workplace: Assuming you’ve hired people suited to the jobs, are you creating an environment in which motivated people will flourish?

Recruiting, selecting, evaluating and grooming employees combines science and art. It’s hard to know what makes people tick and whether the environment and opportunity you’ve created is right for them. I have hired many qualified people who seemed perfect for the job but did not work out; this process is not exact. Nonetheless, the odds of retaining and growing the right people improve exponentially with clarity around role definition, job match and cultural expectations.

How does a leader deal with underperforming or culturally incompatible employees? Many advisory firms contain team members who manage a large number of clients, are brilliant technically or bring in a lot of business — but also are disruptive jerks. Partners must decide whether to endure this behavior or terminate the individual because of his or her impact on others. In my opinion, business owners should lead by example in holding people accountable and terminating those who violate firm principles if they refuse to change.

Advisory firms often fail to make these changes because they lack a process for evaluating performance and discussing expectations. Employees keenly observe what the business leaders do. If you wish to create a successful work environment, it is as important to eliminate the distracting bad behavior of co-workers as it is to provide the latest technology, fair rewards for their labor and opportunities for promotion. Young people today have a choice, and they exercise that choice by seeking out companies that align with their values.

— Read “Top 10 Best Jobs of the Future: 2015” on ThinkAdvisor.