The Coaching Cafe Podcast

Start the Year with Intention, Performance Conversations

• Open Door Coaching

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Last week, we kicked off Coaching Café Podcast for 2026 by exploring the key trends shaping coaching and leadership conversations this year. One theme stood out clearly: the quality of performance conversations matters more than ever.

This week, we turn our focus to performance conversations and their critical role in setting direction, building engagement, and creating momentum at the start of the year.

Research consistently shows that when performance conversations are done well, employees are more engaged, more productive, and clearer about what’s expected of them. When they’re done poorly—or avoided altogether—engagement suffers and performance declines. That’s why, as leaders and coaches, we have a responsibility to partner with managers and help them get this right.

Join Natalie and Paula as we explore how coaching can elevate performance conversations and support leaders to start the year with intention and focus.

You’ll walk away with:

✔️ The research that explains why performance conversations are so important 

✔️ The key focus areas that make these conversations meaningful and effective 

✔️ A practical coaching framework you can use straight away—one we know makes a real difference

This is your space to stay informed, reflect on practice, and connect coaching to what’s happening in real workplaces—right now.

Transcripts can be found here: 

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Watch the webinar of this episode on YouTube or read the blog by visiting our website.

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[Music] Hello and welcome to you all wherever you're listening to this coaching cafe either live or on your favorite streaming service. My name is Dr Natalie Ashdowne. Welcome to the coaching cafe. Today we're talking about performance conversations and starting the year with intention and focus. And as always, welcome to the Lion Paula Jones Hunt. Great to see you Paula. Hi everyone, lovely to be here. And we have had the weather report just before we go live and we're working out where everyone is dialing in from today. So welcome to people from all around the world. We've got South Africa down the road in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Brisbane, all around the world. Tokyo is representative. We're all represented. So it's abasying as represented. So it's wonderful to see you all. Before we begin, as always, let us acknowledge the traditional owners, the custodians on the lands and which we're all meeting today either live or on your favorite streaming service. And they're continuing connection to the land, waters and communities of Australia. And the lands from all around the world where you might be joining us. We pay our respects to them elders past, present and emerging, and elders from indigenous communities from all around the world. Well, we have a lot to discuss with you today. We are talking about performance conversations and the performance conversations season. And I'm sure I don't need to share with anyone on the line why these conversations are so important. All the great coaches, managers and leaders on the line will already know this. But we are thinking also about coaching managers in our workplace. So what we're sharing with you today might actually be useful to convince some of those people that need convincing around why we need to start the year with intention and focus on performance conversations. So we'll share some data with you as always. And as always, we'll talk about taking a coaching approach to these conversations. If you are new to the coaching cafe, we say welcome to you. We are all about creating a community, sharing learned experiences and having thought, provoking conversations. We come together this time every Friday or on your favorite streaming service. And you can feel free to interact with us in the chat box. If you are a regular, you know, we absolutely love spending this time with you. And we also love meeting you face to face, which I've had the opportunity to do this week as well. So shout out to those alumni that I've been able to catch up with this week as well. So feel free to interact with us in the chat box. And if you are here to collect your ICF-CCE, that's a very good idea to start collecting them as you go. And they will be available to you at the end of the coaching cafe once we finish the recording. Alrighty, let's get into it. So why are performance conversations so important? And as you know, we like to be evidence informed and data informed in our research. So we take a practical approach to everything in our experience and your experience as well. But we also like to go back and look at the statistics. So this is a Gallup report I'm showing you can pick this up on the blog if you can't see it. And it's a Gallup report, it's very recent. And they're talking about why performance conversations are so important. And look at the numbers. Basically, only 23% of employees strongly agree that they have a clear definition of what exceptional performance looks like in their role. And when managers were asked, my performance is managed in a way that motivates me to do outstanding work only 20% of managers agreed. So it's a big gap here that only 20% of managers actually think that their performance conversations motivate them to do outstanding work. Now, I know the scepticals on the line and you need to be with me on this one as well. You could easily say, well, what's the definition of exceptional performance and what's the definition of motivates me to do outstanding work. So please feel free to dig into the research and see those definitions. And yes, you might say, well, what about the people that think that there's a clear definition of what good looks like? So you can take a look at the research as well. But they're the headlines, you know, the performance conversations at the moment are not doing enough to actually inspire and motivate people to do great work. Gallup says that traditional performance management, the decades old, aridged and frustrating review processes are not only antiquated, but they are ineffective. And this is based on research that they're seeing, global research that they do and the link is there on the page as well. And they're encouraging as we are always encouraging. And I think what this is our, I'm not sure, like our eighth year of doing performance of doing these coaching cafes, every year we review the data on performance management and about this time of the year. We also do this webinar. So it's not, it's not changing. And our message hasn't changed as well. We need to move from the traditional and re-engineered performance conversations. And Gallup says that as we do, and I'm sure you all on the line would also be saying we need to move, managers need to move from thinking of themselves as bosses move to thinking themselves as coaches. So a re-engineered approach to performance conversations is about thinking about yourself as coaches and not bosses. And of course, all of us on the line are either coaching people around their performance conversations, having performance conversations. And we might be coaching managers in the workplace to do this. So if you need the data and if you need the backup of why this is so important, that's what we're offering you up front. And as I said, feel free to interact with us in the chat box. And let me show you why this is also important. Last week, as you know, if you connected in with us, we looked at the trends. So one of the top, top trends we should be looking at in 2026. And the second trend that we actually highlighted last week was the need to address the trust gap. Now, what is this? This is a gap that has been measured and looked at by the Eldermann Trust barometer. So we looked at the 2025 data. It was the 25th annual trust survey. It's a massive, massive piece of research, 33 respondents, 28 countries at a minimum of 1,150 respondents per country. And they said that, and what I like about these global reports as well is we're always looking for the ones that give us Australian or Oceano or APAC data as well. And we like these global reports because we're a global community right now on the coaching cafe. And we give you the opportunity to go back into the research and check out what your country is actually saying in this regard. Well, if we just look at Australia and please feel to do the research for your country, if you're using this report in your work, Australia's overall trust index fell from 50, 50, the index was 50 down to 49. So a dip in trust over the last year. Country is actually in the range against a global average, trust average of 56. But what that means to the global community is that only half the people trust the, and this is a broader trust index about, do we trust our politicians, etc, etc. Now they also look at this in terms of, do we trust our managers, etc. And I backed up this research with Price Waterhouse Coopers Research that I found, it was very recent survey. And while we think, well, we're thinking about trust is, there's a lot of research that's actually saying currently, when it comes to trusting my manager and my top managers, there's so much more work that we can do. So moderately agree or strongly agree that I trust my manager and top managers. My direct manager comes out at 61% in Australia in in in our workforce, but my top management only 50%. So these global surveys are actually backing each other up. Overall, the Australian population feels only 50% trust in their in their leaders and the environment and everything it's going on. But when we look at our workplaces, top management, there's only a 50% level of trust and with direct managers, it's only 61%. So the reason why our performance conversations are becoming so important is because they are actually an opportunity to build trust. We also have to remember that there could be a backdrop of distrust going on as well. So the, the statistic that says my manager and top management does what they say they will do is 50% for top management agreeing with that and only 58% for direct managers. So whether my direct manager agrees. So when we think about performance conversations or what might be written in those documents, the commitments that might be made, we really have to look at this with a background of trust. And how do we use these conversations to actually build trust? And that's the core to action that we have. We know that trust builds engagement, engagement builds motivation, motivation builds high performance, etc, etc. But as we talked about the trend around trust is probably the most concerning one that we see at the moment. Paula, let me pause as always get your thoughts on this before we move into well, what are we going to do about it? Yeah, and I think it comes back to the human, human-centered approach to things. So if you're undertaking performance conversations and the like and your focus is on the system or the process that you have to use, you're going to be missing the mark on this. It's actually the value and where you build that trust is the conversation that you have with the person. And from that coaching approach, we know that it's all about getting the other person to come up with options and ideas and solutions to move forward. And then the managers supporting that as they're going through. Yes, indeed. And we're talking about an approach that is shaping the experience. So my big mantra at the moment is, and for 2026, I think, is how do we, as leaders, as coaches, as managers in our workplaces, shape the experience that people are having? And in particular, it's how do we help shape the positive experience of performance conversations? So when we think, I totally agree with what you're saying, they're, Paula, it's not about the process, it's about shaping the human experience. Because when I think about it, we can all remember great performance conversations we've had. And we can all way all remember the ones that were pretty useless as well. So it's about what we can do about that. And you will be coaching managers and leaders around this. So everybody, when we think about what we need, it is a mindset shift that we're talking about. I know everyone on the line will already be thinking about this, but it's worth highlighting what we need. We need to move from an annual event to regular conversations with a dynamic plan. We need to move away from lack of preparation last minute prep to the team member, as Paula said, really taking responsibility and the coaching that happens to enable that. We need to move away from lack of enthusiasm, like the process or the thing or the box or the form we have to fill out. And really move to breaking down the conversations into manageable chunks, encourage communication, encourage smart goals, encourage goals to be written in a manner that is inspirational, in a manner that creates momentum, in a manner that is specific and timely. And measuring all everything we talk about with smart goals, but breaking it down so it actually creates momentum. And then of course, we do see in the workplace unplanned discussions, rush discussions, rescheduled discussions because something more important has come up. So how do we use a practical coaching framework to actually address that? And remember, if trust and engagement is at the heart of that human experience, then what we do in performance conversations is really going to go a long way. And what we do in terms of a mindset shift and how we coach managers in the workplace around that mind shift will go a long way as well. I think to the key here is around that listening piece. And often what I've seen is that is what the staff member said or the person that the conversation is they're having with, they heard what they said, but they didn't listen hard enough to find out what else was going on in that conversation. And in that trust piece, once you've listened and you understand what that person is needing, it's then about how do you communicate with them about what is possible and how that can be implemented and what part they could play in that. So it takes it just from, I heard what you said, to I've listened and I've considered and what is that path forward? Yeah, it's a real conversation and anyone that's on the line can hear the grow model within within what you're talking about their Paula. And also how we link those conversations and link everything we're talking about with an individual through to the the business goals or the organizational objectives or the higher goals as well. So I've I've even worked with a group within our organization last week and the week before where we're cascading those goals down the big key performance indicators and how it cascades down to something that individuals can actually rally behind or get behind or feel like they can achieve. And so that that idea that you're talking about where we're having those conversations, allowing people to take responsibility, allowing them to write their goals with our support, great coaching questions, etc. That's all part of it really. You're listening to the Open Door Coaching Coaching Cafe podcast and for more information on programs run by Open Door Coaching, head to our website at Open Door Coaching.com.au. Now back to the podcast. And as I said, we've got an enormous alumni. We are on the line right now. You're all really great coaches. We know that most of you have been coach trained by us, but I think it's it's worthy to be having this conversation because if you're coaching managers around their performance going into the performance management process or you're coaching people to set their goals for the forthcoming year, it's such a great opportunity to really dig into that mindset and the orientation that we need to be, you know, to move forward. So we're not trying to tell you stuff, stuff that you already know. We're just really highlighting to you the reason why it's so important. And if you really want to make it easy, the whole moving away from the annual event to the regular conversations and having things that you're connecting in with on a regular basis, it's one of the first, if you just move that mindset from, I only have to do this once a year, and it's going to be a big pain and it's going to court, you know, it's lots of effort. If you're actually having these regular conversations that annual, if you have a, have an annual process, it's so much easier because you've got all the, you've got all the evidence to when you get to that conversation. But if I take it away from the process completely, what you have is great relationships with your people. So your, the managers are having great conversations, great relationships, it builds trust and it moves it forward with, and it doesn't even feel like it's a process. Yeah, that's a really lovely insight. Long-term listeners will remember the webinar we did a couple of years ago now, which was called,"I put myself on a performance plan." And it is still actually, would you believe, Paula, our highest rated or most downloaded podcast as well? And what that was was about me, the boss, putting myself on a performance plan. And we were trying to debunk the thing that the myth or the feeling or the mindset that performance plans are actually a bad thing. When we think about our performance conversations, we're putting a plan in place for the, for the forthcoming years. So absolutely, I agree with what you said around those regular conversations. The plan is dynamic, put yourself on plan, work that plan, update the plan, rather than just something we do at the beginning of the year and stick it in the bucket. Now again, we know that you all know this, but it's so worthy of highlighting it with you. And then of course, everyone's going to say, well, what do we do about it? Have you got something that we can focus on? Is there a coaching model? And the answer is yes. So here we are, everyone. This is the set of questions that we use when we're talking about performance conversations. Those of you that have done our certificate for in workplace and business coaching will also recognize this model that we use for needs analysis. So trying to understand what the needs are of the coaching, the coaching conversation. So pre-cursor to actually implementing the coaching series, for example. So we are very flexible in the use of this model and we do like to use it in performance conversations. And what it is is it's a catalyst for conversations. So we're not suggesting that you use every single question here, but quite often managers are stuck with, well, how do we get these conversations started? Yes, you can use your grow model, the GROW, an extended grow model as well to get your conversations going, but we also like to include a few extra questions that are really specific to performance conversations and needs analysis. And those questions are for those of you that can't see it. We start off with talking about what you're proud of. So what's going well? What have you achieved? What are you particularly proud of? Such a powerful question to really dig a bit deeper under the surface and find out what are people really proud of? And how did they play to their strengths? What a lovely question to ask as well. And again, quite often we haven't had taken the time to celebrate. So what would you like to celebrate? So the first part of the model is about P for proud. Then we have a conversation about challenges. So where are you experiencing challenges? What's been the impact? How did you overcome those challenges? What's still outstanding and what strengths can you call upon? So any of these questions are actually great to say, well, let's let's not only review the year, but think about where did you experience challenges last year? And what can we do about it this year? So if the challenge is still outstanding or the person hasn't overcome them or we need to understand more about the impact, then we can ask really great questions here. And then that can shape what actually goes into the performance conversation and shape what goes into the actual documents you might be documenting as well. Then the conversation can turn to improvement. And here we're thinking about what are we focusing on for this year that is around continuous improvement? What would you like to change or do differently? Is a wonderful question. I use it all the time. And if we did that, what would be the benefits of the changes? And then of course, you're going into the planning, the P for plan. So it's proud, challenges improvement and plan. And then we're thinking about the classic options and and and way forward in the grow model. What steps can you take to move forward? What's the plan for next two, three, six months? That's where we start documenting what resources do you need? How can you leverage your strengths? And then how can I support you? So we're offering these set of questions as something that you can give to people prior to the performance conversation. And as a way of using a set of a high quality questions, yes, you can use any other model and you grow model as well. But finding a really higher quality set of questions that that open up the conversation and then actually lead to something quality being documented. So you can use some or all of these questions. Now of course, you know, keep the reference there so that you know that it came from open door coaching. Well, what I really encourage is that these are questions that your, the people that you're coaching can think about before the meeting and come, come having thought about it and reflected. And if we do that, then that conversation is going to be so much better in terms of the high quality of the conversation. And we can pretty well guarantee these questions build trust. They build trust, they build engagement, they build really strong rapport. And particularly those questions about what are you particularly proud of? Because they help us take a moment to reflect about what we're proud of, the challenges we experienced and how we overcame those. And it's such a quality conversation that we can have that builds trust and engagement. So we offer you that as a way of kickstarting the conversation. Yes, we have used these questions throughout client sites and client organizations that we've worked with over the years. We've refined them over the years as well so you can feel free to do that as well. But we just find it such a wonderful set of questions to get yourself going. And of course, then use as the questions that you might use to re-examine the, to catch up with further conversations throughout the year as well. Paula, you've used these questions thousands of times. I'll be interested in your experience here as well. Yes, so I think particularly for managers who don't know how to have a one-on-one conversation, these are really, so in my HR world, I used to put them into a template so that people have got something and use them as questions to get you started because sometimes people just don't know where that beginning, where to start with is. And then you adapt them based on language that's in your organization. So there were some organizations where professional development was really important. So we added a question in there, what professional development have you done in the last month? How had that? What difference did that make to the work that you were doing? So we were linking that through. But one of the other things, I mean, we're thinking about performance conversations from an individual perspective, but I love this for team performance as well. And if you're wanting to build trust from a team with your whole team at one time, then running through this in a team meeting, really just, and if you think about the start of the year, it's a really great time to do it, which is, let's start the year off and think about the things we're proud of. And often people haven't been asked that question before, so it's a really beautiful place to start. And then really thinking about as a team, how do we want to work together moving forward and what all that look like and then what's that plan that we put in place? It also gives you a different approach to your team meetings. That's not just about data, giving people information, but really brings everyone into the conversation. I think they're great insights, Paula. Thank you for mentioning that. Two things that I'll just reiterate there as well. One is yes, you change the questions to suit you and you change the questions to suit the person that you're coaching as well. So that's the first thing. So make it language that the organization understands. One thing I'd say is don't swap out that word proud. It's a universal word. It's not a strumming guitars and hugging trees and skipping through the days is kind of word. It is actually a word that helps people dig in under the surface. And then the second, as you mentioned, the application to team and ongoing team meetings. Really, thank you for reminding about us about that as well. So, Gallop, this is from last year actually, really are encouraging people to get training around this in an effort to actually cut engagement, to cut down the level of disengagement, I think is what we need to say. So, Gallop is suggesting that we should ensure all managers receive training to cut extreme manager disengagement in half. They say that less than half of the world's managers, only 44% say that they've received management training that they need. Teach managers effective coaching techniques. Well, of course we know that to boost management performance, but that the indicator is from 20% to 28% increase performance from 20% to 28% and they say that some managers have a natural gift for inspiring and developing people, but many don't. So, how do we bring that out of people, bring out their best as well? So, we know this, but we're offering this to you. So, you are equipped with the stats and the numbers you need to have these conversations as well. We can increase manager wellbeing by 32% through ongoing management development. So, the statistic suggests that when employers provide manager training, it improves managers thriving indicators from 28 to 30%, but they also say if people have training, and this is the key thing around performance conversations, if someone at their work actively encourages their development, managers thriving increases further to 50%. So, when we consider the additional influence of great managers on their teams, and we give people some training around this, use these questions. Gallup suggests it's probably one of the most effective wellbeing initiatives we can invest in. So, training to help people develop others and use these kind of techniques to grow and develop managers so they can grow and develop others. That's what we're actually thinking about. So, we're addressing trust, we're addressing engagement, we're addressing wellbeing in the workplace, and we really want to encourage you. And as we said, everyone on the line pretty well probably knows this, but we're trying to give you the data so that you can also share the reasons and the strong evidence behind it as well. So, there you go, everyone. It's as always, a fast and furious insight and conversation around what we can do, how we can really shift the lens on performance conversations and really start the year-up with intention and focus. As always, we say, if you're interested in our certificate forum at Place and Business Coaching, our diploma of leadership coaching, executive coaching leadership development, all of that, you can always reach out to us. As always, thank you very much, Paula, for being part of our conversation today. And we look forward to catching up with everyone at our next coaching cafe. We always say, thank you so much for joining us and enjoy your coaching. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Coaching Cafe podcast. You can watch the full video of this podcast on our website. I'll put a link in the show notes. We'll see you at the next Coaching Cafe.