Public Sector Leadership: Managing Performance & Difficult Conversations

Key responsibilities as a manager and people leader

- Explore the importance (and challenges) of managing performance in a public sector context

- Agility, risk aversion and organisational expectation in the public sector

- Understanding and contextualising employee engagement, and your role as a manager

Understanding the risk of employee disengagement (and what it looks like)

- Engaging with risk and managing the consequences

- Explore what disengagement looks like in your department or team

- Appropriate conduct for risk assessment and risk management activities

How to effectively engage with your team 

- Clarify performance objectives, outcomes, behaviours and values, and formulate links with broader business plans

- Navigate the initial challenges of difficult conversations

- Explore coaching strategies to build capability in a team environment

Providing proactive and effective performance feedback

- Understand the conversation around the conversation

- Ensure performance conversations flow both ways

- Learn to listen effectively, and become open to 180ᐤ feedback

Preparing for tough conversations

- Learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable

- Effective communication strategies

- How to build rapport and why it is important

Tailor your communication style to need and situation

- Who are you talking to? Identify your key stakeholders

- Learn to adjust your style on the fly and deliver the correct message 

- Ask the right questions to get better results - When to act, and when to listen

Essential conflict resolution skills

- Strengthen your ability to become an active listener

- Manage emotional hot buttons for positive and assertive communication

- Manage clashes and learn to effectively “code switch” to keep on message

Pre-empting performance management conversations

- Spotting red flags before they become a problem

- Integrate performance conversations in your day-to-day

- Embedding purpose in performance management