10
What If?
Your Toughest Performance Conversations
What if, at this very moment, I am living up to my full potential?
—Heidi Wagner
Throughout the previous chapters, you've learned the principles of painless performance conversations. From conveying your expectations to applying the four mind-sets, each chapter has provided specific skills and insights you can apply when facing a tough discussion. However, along the way you may have thought, “But what if...?” The purpose of this chapter is to answer some of the most common “what if” questions related to employee performance conversations. In this chapter you'll find sample conversation dialogue structured around the four mind-sets and the painless performance conversation model.
You'll explore common “what if” questions, including:
What if the employee has been with the organization for many years and has received positive performance evaluations that are not accurate? Where do I start? What if the employee is entrenched in the old ways of doing business and is resistant to change? What if the employee spreads gossip and constantly stirs the pot?
