(Relational leadership) - Performance Conversations: Building Accountability and Care in Teams
Performance and conduct conversations are often approached with apprehension—yet, when handled with relational skill and clear structure, they can strengthen trust, clarity, and workplace culture. For social workers and community organisations, these conversations must balance the central obligations of compliance and performance management with the profession’s ethical commitment to dignity, respect, and care.
Performance Management as a Psychosocial Risk
Performance management is not neutral. If mishandled, it can itself become a psychosocial risk vector. Australian WHS regulators now treat factors such as poor role clarity, low support, unfair processes, conflict, and bullying as psychosocial hazards. This means performance conversations carry legal and organisational weight: when they are fair, supportive, and clear, they can mitigate risk and strengthen wellbeing; but when they are rushed, adversarial, or procedurally unfair, they may create or exacerbate harm.
The Model Code of Practice: Managing the Risk of Psychosocial Hazards at Work (Qld 2022) makes this a positive duty for PCBUs to eliminate or minimise risks so far as reasonably practicable: through consultation, early intervention, and structured controls.
Why Relational Conversations Matter in the Community Sector
In the community sector, performance discussions are not simply technical, they are deeply relational and values-driven, overlaid with assessments of skills and capacity. Workers often carry the weight of complex social issues while delivering services in low-paid, high-responsibility roles. These staff bring extraordinary commitment and emotional labour to their work, yet are also more vulnerable to stress, burnout, and systemic inequities.
Relational conversations matter because they reflect the values the sector stands for: dignity, respect, equity, and justice. When leaders approach performance conversations with care and clarity, they affirm the humanity of their staff. This reduces defensiveness, builds trust, and helps sustain the culture of care that underpins effective service delivery.
Importantly, community organisations operate under the close gaze of funders, regulators, and the communities they serve. Conduct and performance management therefore impact not only staff morale but also organisational reputation, trust, and legitimacy. By embedding relational approaches early—before tensions escalate—leaders can prevent small issues from spiralling into grievances while reinforcing values of respect and accountability.
This is where the work of Vikki Reynolds offers guidance. Reynolds invites leaders to reframe performance conversations away from a deficit-based question of “what’s wrong with you?” toward a systemic, collective question: “what conditions are shaping this, and how can we respond together?”. This reframing preserves dignity, connects accountability with care, and recognises the organisational and systemic factors that shape worker wellbeing.
Early Intervention: Building Relationships Around Guidance and Feedback
Early, informal interventions, outside of a formal performance management setting—are one of the most effective ways to address emerging performance or conduct concerns. These are not about minimising risk in a punitive sense, but about building relational safety. Short, respectful conversations that link observations to impacts, needs, and options help workers understand expectations without feeling shamed or blindsided.
In practice, this can involve:
Observation and curiosity – sharing what has been noticed without judgement.
Impact and needs – clarifying how behaviours or practices affect colleagues, clients, or compliance requirements.
Options and support – inviting dialogue on adjustments or strategies for improvement.
Agreement and follow-up – confirming shared understanding and next steps.
Handled well, early intervention strengthens trust and accountability while keeping staff supported, reducing the need for more formal processes later.
Structuring Formal Relational Performance Discussions
When early conversations don’t resolve the issue, leaders may need to step into a more formal performance discussion. These are often required for compliance with WHS psychosocial codes and industrial relations (IR) obligations. But “formal” does not need to mean adversarial—when grounded in relational care, these discussions can maintain dignity, strengthen trust in the process, and provide clarity for both worker and manager.
Key Principles
Respect & Dignity – begin and end with care for the worker’s wellbeing.
Transparency – explain why the conversation is moving to a more structured stage.
Documentation – create a clear written record.
Support – keep supports visible alongside expectations.
Boundaries – focus on work-related behaviours and impacts, not personal traits.
A Good Structure Includes
Opening with respect and clarity – thank the worker, explain the purpose, and acknowledge it may feel stressful.
Sharing observations – present specific examples neutrally.
Inviting perspective – ask with curiosity: “What do you think is contributing to this pattern?”
Discussing impacts and needs – link behaviours to their effect on clients, colleagues, or compliance.
Exploring options and supports – co-design solutions, training, or adjustments.
Confirming agreements – summarise expectations, supports, and timelines in writing.
Closing with care – reaffirm confidence and offer ongoing support.
With intention, understanding of purpose, and skill, formal relational performance conversations can strengthen relationships, clarify expectations, and protect role integrity. They also ensure the organisation meets its legal and regulatory obligations.
When leaders use relational, structured approaches, they demonstrate compliance in three ways:
Procedural fairness – documenting expectations, giving workers the right to respond, showing consistency.
Psychosocial safety – addressing issues respectfully reduces hazards like bullying, stress, or ethical strain.
Organisational integrity – funders and regulators expect evidence of safe, accountable practices; relational approaches show compliance and values alignment.
Tools and Practice: Strengthening Conversations
Leaders can build confidence in relational conversations through:
Frameworks and structures – conversation guides that ensure clarity and care.
Agreements – co-creating team “observation and response” agreements to establish shared expectations.
Skills practice – role-play, peer observation, and coaching to build confidence.
Collective reflection – using team meetings to explore how relational accountability strengthens wellbeing and outcomes.
Regular and consistent relational performance conversations can be a constructive part of ensuring recognition and reward for workers, as well as a safe container for raising tricky or complex issues.
References
Reynolds, V. (2011). Resisting burnout with justice-doing. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (4), 27–45. vikkireynolds.ca
Safe Work NSW. (2021). Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work.
WorkSafe Queensland. (2022). Managing the Risk of Psychosocial Hazards at Work: Code of Practice.