Performance in management : Levers and actions

A high-performing manager does not simply achieve their objectives: they create the conditions in which their teams can perform at their best. This guide provides you with practical tools to assess, develop, and manage managerial performance within your organization.

Performance in management : what exactly are we talking about?

Managerial performance refers to a manager’s ability to achieve operational objectives while sustainably developing employee engagement, skills, and well-being. It is a dual concept: performance through results and performance through people. Effectively managing both dimensions is essential to creating long-term value.

The two inseparable dimensions of managerial performance

Performance by results	Performance by people
Achievement of commercial objectives (turnover, margins, deadlines, quality)	Team engagement and satisfaction rates
Team productivity and operational efficiency	Development of employees’ skills
Compliance with budgets and allocated resources	Talent retention within the team
Quality and reliability of deliverables	Team climate, cohesion, and cooperation
Achievement of the KPIs defined with management	Absenteeism and team turnover rates

A manager who delivers results at the expense of employee well-being is not high-performing: they are undermining the organization’s future performance. Conversely, a manager who is highly appreciated but unable to achieve expected results also fails to fulfill their role. True managerial performance lies in the sustainable balance between both dimensions.

Managerial performance vs individual performance : do not confuse

This is a common mistake in companies: promoting the best expert or top salesperson to a management role, assuming that individual excellence predicts managerial excellence. It does not.

Managerial performance is a specific skill set that is learned, developed, and assessed according to its own criteria, distinct from technical or job-specific competencies.

Key figures : why managerial performance is a critical issue

The data is clear: the quality of management is the primary driver of employee performance. Here are the key statistics every HR leader and executive should keep in mind.

70% the variance in a team’s commitment is explained by the quality of its manager

50% some employees left a job because of their manager

21% productivity gains in highly engaged vs unengaged teams

58%

3× Teams managed by an excellent manager are 3× more efficient.

82% some HR directors believe that the development of management is their number one priority

The 6 key dimensions of managerial performance

Managerial performance is not limited to a few generic qualities. It is based on six complementary dimensions that HR leaders and executives must assess and develop together.

Dimension 1 : Steering collective performance

A high-performing manager is able to translate the company’s strategy into clear, achievable, and motivating objectives for each employee. They master performance management tools (OKRs, dashboards, and review rituals) and adapt their approach depending on the situation.

• Set SMART objectives co-constructed with each collaborator
• Ensure regular and structured follow-up (weekly meetings, monthly reviews)
• Identify and quickly remove obstacles to performance
• Arbitrate priorities in the face of multiple requests

Dimension 2 : Employee development

The most effective manager is the one whose employees progress the fastest. They are able to identify potential, delegate with confidence, provide high-quality feedback, and build tailored individual development plans.

🛠️Recommended tool : the SBI feedback

The SBI model (Situation – Behavior – Impact) is one of the most effective feedback methods for managers. It involves describing the observed situation, the specific behavior, and the resulting impact, without value judgment. This fact-based feedback is far better received than general evaluations.

Dimension 3 : Communication and active listening

Communication quality is one of the key differentiators in management. It includes the ability to provide meaning, truly listen, manage conflicts, and adapt communication style to each individual.

• Practice active listening during individual interviews
• Know how to communicate a difficult decision with clarity and empathy
• Adapt your message to the profile and needs of your interlocutor
• Encourage speaking up and upward feedback

Dimension 4 : Emotional intelligence and stress management

Performance management inevitably involves managing one’s own emotions. A manager who is overwhelmed by stress passes it on to their employees. A manager with strong emotional intelligence creates a psychologically safe environment that fosters creativity, initiative, and sustainable performance.

Dimension 5 : Decision-making and problem solving

Managerial performance is also measured by the quality of decisions made under constraints: limited resources, tight deadlines, and incomplete information. A strong manager structures their thinking, involves the right people, and takes responsibility for decisions with courage.

• Use structured decision frameworks (RACI, 5-why method)
• Know how to distinguish between urgent and important decisions
• Accept uncertainty and decide with imperfect information
• Take responsibility for decisions taken, including in the event of an error

Dimension 6 : Adaptation to change and managerial agility

In a VUCA environment (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous), agility has become a core competency. Effective change management in 2026 means guiding employees through uncertainty and turning obstacles into learning opportunities.

How to evaluate managerial performance ? Methods and tools

Measuring a manager’s performance is one of the most complex challenges for HR managers. Here are the most reliable approaches and indicators to follow absolutely.

The 360° evaluation : the reference method

360° feedback gathers input on a manager from all directions: direct reports (N-1), peers (N), supervisors (N+1), and sometimes internal or external clients. It is the most comprehensive method for assessing managerial effectiveness beyond purely quantitative results.

1. Define clear evaluation criteria, aligned with the expected values and skills
2. Ensure respondent confidentiality to obtain honest feedback
3. Supporting the manager in reading and adopting his results
4. Build a concrete development plan based on the identified areas

The managerial KPIs to track in your HR dashboard

Indicator	Recommended target
Team engagement rate (pulse survey)	> 70% of employees are committed or very committed
Voluntary turnover rate within the team	> 10% per year (varies by sector)
Rate of achievement of collective objectives	> 80% of the OKRs or SMART objectives achieved
Completion rate of individual interviews	100% : no employees without 1-on-1 maintenance
Average 360° score for the manager	> 3.5 / 5 on the key skills assessed
Team absenteeism rate	Inférieur à la moyenne de l’entreprise
Internal promotion rate in the team	Employee development indicator

Managerial maintenance : an underused lever

Beyond quantitative tools, a structured discussion between a manager and their own line manager—separate from the annual performance review—is a valuable tool for identifying managerial difficulties early, before they become team-wide issues.

🗓️Recommended managerial maintenance schedule (quarterly)

1. What are your managerial successes this quarter ?
2. What challenges have you encountered in managing your team ?
3. Which employees require special support ?
4. What HR support do you need to perform in your role ?
5. What are your personal development priorities for the next quarter ?

8 concrete levers to improve managerial performance

Here are the high-impact practices implemented by top-performing companies to develop their managers, with immediately actionable steps for HR leaders and executives.

Lever 1 : Define a clear managerial skills framework

It is impossible to assess and develop what is not clearly defined. The first step is to formalize the managerial competencies expected within your organization, in line with your culture and strategy. This framework becomes the foundation for performance reviews, training programs, and promotion decisions.

Levier 2 : Former les managers avant de les nommer

58% of managers receive no training before taking up their role. As a result, they tend to replicate the behaviors of their predecessors—whether good or bad. A pre-managerial training program (covering fundamentals, communication, and labor law) is an investment with an immediate ROI for any organization aiming to improve employee performance.

Lever 3 : Establish a continuous feedback culture

Annual feedback is no longer enough. The best-performing organizations have built a culture of regular feedback : informal feedback after each project, weekly one-to-one meetings, and team rituals that include retrospective moments. Feedback becomes a habit, not an event.

Lever 4 : Coach managers, not just train them

Training transmits knowledge. Coaching transforms behavior. For struggling managers or high-potential employees, individual support from a professional coach delivers significantly stronger performance outcomes than group training alone.

Lever 5 : Create communities of managerial practices

Managers learn a great deal from their peers. Set up regular spaces for exchange: best-practice sharing forums, peer coaching, and problem-solving groups. These communities strengthen managerial consistency and accelerate collective development.

Lever 6 : Recognize and value managerial performance

Managerial performance should be recognized on the same level as commercial or operational performance. Integrate managerial criteria into your variable compensation systems, promotion decisions, and public recognition. What you measure and reward sends a strong signal about your true priorities.

Lever 7 : Regularly measure the climate of each team

Implementing quarterly pulse surveys at team level makes it possible to identify struggling groups and managers who need support early—before symptoms affect objectives and turn into serious issues (turnover, absenteeism, conflicts).

Lever 8 : Supporting managerial transitions

Periods of managerial vulnerability are well identified: new role, team changes, department mergers, or organizational crises. Anticipate these transitions with tailored support programs (manager onboarding, transition coaching) to secure performance from the very first months.

The 5 errors that hinder managerial performance and how to avoid them

It is just as important to learn from the most common mistakes. Here are the pitfalls organizations most frequently fall into, along with practical solutions to avoid them.

common mistake	✅ What to do instead
Promote the best expert without accompanying him in his managerial transition	Set up a 6-month managerial onboarding with coaching and training
Evaluate managers solely on their business results (encrypted KPIs)	Integrate managerial indicators (engagement, development) into 30 to 40% of the evaluation
Leaving managers alone in the face of their human difficulties	Create secure speaking spaces and offer proactive and regular HR support
Train managers once a year during a seminar disconnected from the field	Anchoring learning in everyday life : micro-learning, peer coaching, feedback from experience
Tolerate toxic managerial behaviors in the name of short-term results	Apply the principle : zero tolerance for behaviors that destroy trust and the team

Checklist : your 12 priority actions to boost managerial performance

Assess your organization’s current state and identify the most urgent initiatives to launch over the next 90 days.

✅	Formalize a managerial skills framework aligned with the company’s strategy
✅	Implement an annual 360° evaluation process for all managers
✅	Create a dashboard with key managerial KPIs (engagement, turnover, absenteeism by team)
✅	Launch quarterly pulse surveys at the team level to detect weak signals
✅	Establish quarterly managerial interviews between each manager and their hierarchy
✅	Roll out a managerial training program for newly appointed managers
✅	Offer individual coaching support for managers with high stakes or in difficulty
✅	Create a community of managers with regular co-development meetings
✅	Integrate managerial criteria (min. 30%) into evaluation and variable compensation systems
✅	Train managers in constructive feedback with practical scenarios
✅	Specifically identify and support high-potential managers (future CODIR)
✅	Clearly define and communicate managerial behaviors that are not tolerated in the company culture

Conclusion

Managerial performance is one of the highest-return investments an organization can make. Improving management quality simultaneously drives employee engagement, talent retention, operational productivity, and employer brand attractiveness—all measurable outcomes in the short and medium term.

For HR leaders, this is an opportunity to position the HR function as a strategic driver of business performance by equipping, training, and supporting managers with structure and consistency. For executives, it is the recognition that management is not an innate skill, but a competency that must be continuously cultivated, assessed, and developed.