19 Aug Simply foundational: plain talk, better performance

What do the CEO, a first-line supervisor, the Human Resources manager, and an IT team-lead have in common? Among other things, they all have people reporting to them. What should be old news is that each of them is responsible for the work of others. Or are they? Is this now an outdated idea?

Recent stories from the field worry us. Managers in one organisation told us they could not ask a salesperson (who was failing to achieve targets): “Do you know what your targets are, and how do you feel about them?” Instead, they preferred to ask, “How are things going?”

Yet the direct question goes to the heart of the first two stages of the ADKAR model: Awareness (do you know what is expected?) and Desire (do you want to achieve it?). Without these foundations, the later stages of Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement are built on sand.

So why avoid asking? Managers said they didn’t want to make anyone feel bad by highlighting non-performance. In organisational psychology terms, this is conflict avoidance – a misplaced attempt to create “safety” by avoiding discomfort, when true psychological safety comes from clarity and candour (as Dr. Amy Edmondson has emphasised).

In another organisation, managers struggled to say they needed behaviour change from their people. They could describe what was going wrong but were reluctant to link overall performance issues to individual behaviour. And yet the issues were basic: “You need to do things this way, not that way.”

Stepping back, what links these stories is not only avoidance. Both firms are essentially machine bureaucracies – rule-based, process-driven enterprises (see Henry Mintzberg for more on this). Ironically, the very systems designed to provide clarity and order can, if overemphasised, create cultures of rigidity and avoidance rather than accountability.

So, have we become so concerned about “toxic management” that we can no longer speak plainly?

We believe that people thrive on clear and constructive feedback. Opening a conversation about performance is healthy – especially if the manager stays in the dialogue long enough to co-discover areas for improvement and, crucially, to support that improvement. Decades of research show that when feedback is specific and developmental, people experience it as a form of care, not cruelty.

This seems foundational to good management – whether for first-time supervisors or CEOs, and whether in the operating core or support services. Have we developed a culture of avoidance so gentle that it misses the point entirely?

What you might take away: If you’re a manager, try asking the direct question rather than skirting around it. If you’re in HR or OD, consider whether your systems encourage accountability or inadvertently promote avoidance. And for all of us—perhaps the most “simply foundational” truth is this: performance conversations, when done with clarity and care, are not a threat to safety but a path to growth.

In our next OD Café we discuss “Organisational Agility Is Not What You Think: An OD Perspective. It’s a space for conversation, not just content – so come with your thoughts, your questions, your war stories. And let’s rethink what it means to move well, not just move fast. Register here to join us on 27 August from 09h00 – 10h30 (GMT+2).