Once upon a time, there was a man named Joseph who had a pet frog named Felix.
José had a modest but comfortable life, supported by what he earned as an employee of a major supermarket chain. Still, he had always dreamed of being rich…
Felix! He said one day, filled with a sudden inspiration, “We’re going to be rich. I’m going to teach you how to fly!”
Felix, of course, was terrified by the prospect. “I can't fly! I'm a frog, not a canary.” Disappointed by the initial response, José said, “That negative attitude might show some resistance and will be a problem. I'm going to send you for training.”
So Felix took a three-day course where he learned techniques for problem-solving, time management, and effective communication, but nothing, absolutely nothing, about flying.
The day after lessons, José could barely control his excitement (and Felix could barely control his panic).
José explained that the building they lived in had 15 floors. Every day, Félix would jump from the window, starting on the first floor and eventually reaching the top.
After each jump, Felix had to: a) analyze how well he had flown, b) identify the most effective flying techniques, and c) implement the improved process for the next flight. By the time he reached the top floor, Felix would be able to fly.
Felix begged for his life, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. "It turns out he doesn't understand the importance of this," thought José. "He's incapable of seeing the bigger picture."
With this in mind, José opened the window and threw Felix out. The frog landed with a thud.
The next day, bitter about his second flying lesson, Felix again asked not to be thrown out the window. Joseph opened his “ Guide to leading more effectively "and showed Felix the part where he explained that one should always expect resistance when introducing innovative programs or proposals.
Then he threw Felix out the window. Splat!
On the third day (and on the third floor), Felix tried a different strategy: delay. He requested a postponement of the project until improved weather allowed for more favorable flying conditions. But José was prepared for that: he drew a timeline, marked the three milestones, and asked, "You're not trying to sabotage the plan, are you?"
Because of his time management training, Felix understood that not jumping today would only mean having to jump twice tomorrow. So he agreed. And off he went, out the window.
All of this doesn't mean that Felix wasn't trying his best. On the fifth day, he desperately stretched out his legs in a vain attempt to fly. And on the sixth, he tied a small red cape around his neck and tried to imagine himself as Superman (Positive Visualization, thought Jose).
But that didn't help.
By the seventh day, Felix, accepting his fate, asked for no more mercy. He simply looked at Joseph and said, "You know you're killing me, don't you?"
José pointed out that Félix's performance had been anything but exemplary and that he had failed to meet every single milestone that had been set for him.
“Shut up and open the window,” said Felix, and off he went, flying, to an unknown place… in the sky.
José was terribly disappointed given that he had failed to achieve even one of the objectives of his project: Felix had not only failed to fly, he hadn't even been able to improve his landing so as not to look like a bag of cement, despite his main advice being "skill is better than strength."
The only thing left for José was to analyze the process to determine where he had gone wrong.
After much thought, Jose smiled and said, “Next time I’ll get a smarter frog!”
Felix the Frog and Performance Expectations
The above story serves to make us all ask interesting questions:
- Are expectations about people's performance based on a realistic basis?
- What is the true development potential of each one?
- Did the goals we set take into account personal choices and commit employees to achieving them, or did we simply create the plan so someone else could accomplish it?
- Are we training in what really matters?
- Are we almost automatically interpreting behaviors as resistance, when they are indicating something else?
In short: Are we asking frogs to fly? Or better yet, is it Felix's sole responsibility to fail to live up to Joseph's expectations?
At this point in the story, it's worth clarifying: While we often encounter people who are unwilling to improve and grow, most of the time, the problem lies elsewhere:
- very poor communication about role expectations,
- preconceptions and mental models that make us skeptical about the potential of collaborators,
- inadequate (or non-existent) resources to achieve the expected results,
- poorly designed processes that are a real obstacle to improvement,
- objectives that are not only not challenging, but are often impossible
During the performance review and goal-setting period for the next period, we invite you to reflect and rethink the entire evaluation process with everyone involved. This way, there will be no unpleasant situations, unattainable goals, prejudices, and ultimately, widespread disappointment.
I look forward to your comments.
Lic. Viviana Liptzis
