Better Performance Conversations for Financial Services Leaders

Redwood Shores, CA – LSA Global, the business consulting and training firm that helps fast growth life science, technology, and service companies by powerfully aligning their culture and talent with strategy, today announced results for a customized Performance Management Workshop focused on having better performance conversations at work.  The customized training program scores were:

• 97.0% Job Relevance
• 100% Satisfaction
• 131% Knowledge Gain
• 97.7% Net Promoter Score

Better Performance Conversations at Work: What Financial Services Leaders Need to Get Right
This fast-paced, metrics-driven financial services client knew that the majority of their performance conversations had devolved into backward-looking scorecards rather than forward-focused career growth discussions. Too many leaders and managers were relying checklists and having compensation-driven dialogues that were not engaging or motivating their direct reports.

What the Performance Conversation Research Says

• Based upon organizational culture assessment data that consistently shows that how leaders talk about performance can determine whether their teams thrive or disengage.
• According to a 2024 study by Gallup, only 21% of employees strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.
• Research published in the Harvard Business Review found that employees who receive regular, high-quality feedback conversations are three times more likely to be engaged and twice as likely to exceed performance expectations.

Because this financial services client was under pressure to innovate, retain top talent, and deliver compliant yet customer-centric results, they wanted to greatly increase the quality and level of strategic alignment of their performance conversations.  They could no longer afford to have formal, one-way discussions that left employees feeling judged, not developed. When discussions focus on outcomes instead of behaviors and development, they reinforce fear and compliance rather than curiosity and a culture of accountability.

As part of a larger management development training program for both experienced and new managers, having better performance conversations at work started with:

• Clarity of performance and behavioral expectations.
• Agreement on measurable standards.
• Coaching that connected success metrics to personal purpose and professional growth.
• Shifting from:
  • A one-way administrative review approach to two-way strategic dialogues that focused less on evaluation and more on insight.
  • Judgment to curiosity that invited ownership and collaboration.
  • Annual reviews to ongoing and frequent micro-conversations that built trust and agility. Note: Firms that embed regular feedback cycles report 30% higher engagement, according to Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends report.
  • Generic approaches to personalized feedback tied to individual motivations and needs.

Building the Performance Conversation Skills Leaders Need
The sessions focused on developing three core competencies:

1. Empathic Listening
   Based upon communication skills training best practices, we know that understanding what employees are feeling, not just what they’re saying, creates the psychological safety necessary for growth.
2. Data-Driven Coaching
   Based upon executive coaching best practices, using metrics as conversation starters, not end points. Numbers provide context, but insight turns data into direction.
3. Forward Focus
   Based upon project postmortem best practices, shifting from retrospective critiques to future-oriented commitments: “What will you do differently next quarter?”

The financial services client knew that embedding these performance conversation habits doesn’t happen overnight.  They knew it required organizational alignment where HR and senior leadership visibly and consistently reinforced the expectation that great performance conversations are an expected leadership behavior, not a soft  or administrative skill.

Better performance conversations at work in financial services are not about talking more — they’re about talking better. When leaders move beyond compliance-driven reviews to genuine dialogue, they unlock discretionary effort, deepen trust, and link performance to purpose.

About LSA Global
Founded in 1995, LSA Global is a trusted performance consulting and training firm that helps high-growth technology, services, and life sciences companies turn strategy into measurable results. We partner with executive teams to build a powerful competitive advantage by aligning culture and talent with strategy — so individuals, teams, and organizations perform at their peak. Learn more about how alignment drives performance.