How to Establish a Common Language for Performance
When you say you expect good communication skills, do your staff know what you mean?
Is it verbal communication or written? Do you mean that they are using clear concise language or that the communication is error-free? When you talk about communication, are you talking about with their colleagues, or with organizational partners, or industry leaders?
There are so many ways you can communicate. So how do your staff know what you mean? Are you using the same language?
That’s exactly what we’re going to discuss in today’s episode of Learning for Good.
Listen to the episode or scroll down to read the blog post ↓
Key Points:
03:24 Creating a custom competency model to establish a common language for performance
04:01 What are behavioral indicators?
06:29 Using behavioral indicators as the basis for your Learning & Development strategy
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How to Establish a Common Language for Performance
When my husband and I first got married, we realized we had a funny breakdown in communication.
I was raised in the South, and he was raised in the Midwest. And in our new combined Chicago life, I mentioned something about needing a toboggan to wear on my commute to work. And he looked at me with such confusion because a toboggan is a winter hat in the South, but it's a giant sled in the Midwest. and he couldn't figure out why I would need a giant sled to wear on the train.
This is just one of many examples of a breakdown in communication. And at least it was a funny one. There are far harder breakdowns in communication that we could have experienced.
We didn't have a common language, and it suddenly made a difference. He scooped ice cream, I dipped it. He turned off the lights, I turned them out. A common language would have made all the difference, and it does for your staff, too. That's why I want to talk about establishing a common language for performance in your organization.
In this blog post, we’re covering the following:
Incorporating behavioral indicators into your job descriptions
Incorporating behavioral indicators into your performance reviews
Using behavioral indicators as the basis for your Learning & Development strategy
When you say you expect good communication skills, do your staff know what you mean?
Is it verbal communication or written? Do you mean that they should use clear, concise language or do you mean that the communication is error-free? When you talk about communication, are you talking about communicating with their colleagues, organizational partners, or industry leaders? When you say communication, do you mean they're communicating for understanding or with influence?
There are so many ways you can communicate. So how do your staff know what you mean? Are you using the same language?
1) Behavioral Indicators
One way to establish a common language for performance is to create a custom competency model that identifies communication, or any other skill, as a key skill in your nonprofit. And then that competency model also defines what it looks like to be a good communicator.
And this applies to any skill you might identify as necessary for your staff and your organization. Now, if you're not sure which skills are important in your nonprofit, I do have a podcast episode all about determining which competencies are right for you. Check that out if you haven’t identified your organization's core competencies yet.
But let's say for the purposes of today, communication is a key competency that has already been identified in your organization. And now you are trying to define what that looks like in action.
This is going to vary by staff level. Typically what it looks like to be a good communicator in a support role will be different than what it looks like at the executive level.
These descriptions are able to paint pictures of success at each level of staff and they are called behavioral indicators.
A behavioral indicator might read something like - communicates needs and requests clearly. That might be something more at the support level and then it applies all the way through to the executive level.
A behavioral indicator might read - cast an organization vision in a way that is motivating and energizing for staff. And that behavioral indicator might only apply at a leadership or executive level.
You can then take these behavioral indicators, and use them to establish a common language.
2) Incorporating Behavioral Indicators into Your Job Descriptions
You can incorporate behavioral indicators into your job descriptions as you are hiring.
So the job description will say more than just good communication skills, but specifically what you want. So in a support-level job description, it might say communicates needs and requests clearly. But in that senior or executive position, it might say something about casting the organization vision in a way that's motivating for staff.
You can incorporate these indicators into your job descriptions, and before the person ever even enters your organization, you're identifying and establishing a common language.
3) Incorporating Behavioral Indicators into Your Performance Reviews
You can incorporate behavioral indicators into performance reviews so that all staff at a specific level are held accountable to the same standard of performance.
So at the support level, “communicates needs and requests clearly” can be incorporated into the performance review. And then everyone who's a support staff person is being held to the same standard of communication.
Your staff members can then be given specific feedback to improve because you have a specific standard that they're trying to achieve.
4) Using Behavioral Indicators as the Basis For Your Learning & Development Strategy
This is where it gets really exciting for Learning and Development teams, you can use behavioral indicators as the basis for your Learning and Development strategies.
When someone inevitably comes to you and says, “We need communications training”, you know what they mean. And you're able to use the same language as you begin to determine if training is the answer and think about what the behavior or skill is that you want to develop.
You have a common language and it allows you as a Learning and Development leader to be really intentional with your partners and to create training that better supports the staff in your organization.
Behavioral indicators also allow you to measure the success of your training more effectively. If you create training on communication, you can assess the change in behavior because you have this common language.
And just as my husband and I slowly started to establish a common language within our marriage, your staff will too. As you begin to socialize your competency model, people become more familiar with it, it gets embedded into more of your talent processes, and you have more learning solutions available to support the development of those skills, that's when your staff team will begin to have that common language. And that common language supports better performance.
To hear the full conversation I had on the Learning for Good Podcast, scroll all the way up and tune into episode 44.
The Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective
Do you wish you could connect with other nonprofit learning and development leaders?
I know what it feels like to want someone to bounce ideas off of and to learn from, someone who really understands you and your work. Imagine if you could have a simple way to meet people in the field, ask questions, and share information.
That's why I created the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective – so nonprofit L&D, talent management, and DEI leaders can connect with each other quickly and easily in a virtual space.
When you join this community, you will walk away with a new, diverse, and powerful network – and a sounding board for your staff development needs.
So if you're ready to exchange ideas and collaborate with your peers, come join the Nonprofit L&D Collective.
