The inherent awkwardness of evaluating an employee's or team's performance may cause managers to avoid confrontation altogether, resulting in work not done right, tension between employees and unnecessary strain on high performers. In this guide, Bodaken, CEO of Blue Shield of California, and Fritz (Corporate Tides
) delineate a methodology of "truth telling'' in order to curb bad habits early on and institutionalize good behaviors. A proper approach to "managerial moments of truth" (MMOTs)—which the authors define as a manager's awareness of her unmet expectations, followed by the decision about how to handle them—will add capacity without cost, Bodaken and Fritz claim. Their four-step technique first requires manager and employee to "acknowledge the truth" or agree on what happened. Then they analyze together how the situation occurred, establish an action plan and finally put a feedback system in place. The book provides a variety of case studies, which show how to provide individual feedback and team evaluations, plus how to deal with repeat offenders or an employee/team mismatch. With dozens of sample conversations throughout, the authors present an action-oriented communication technique they believe will improve the managerial process and thus a company's "performance, productivity, and creativity." (May 2)
