The author of the subject article covers several of the key
factors that are necessary in getting superior performance from ordinary
people. He begins, however, with what I
believe to be a faulty premise:
As leaders, we all want a team of
superstars.
Is this really true? Don’t
we want a few pluggers – the hard working types that make every organization
function? More so, do leaders spend any
energy wanting something that cannot be?
Outside of the theoretical sciences, I am not sure where a team of
superstars is desirable – let alone achievable.
Fortunately, he recognizes the low probability of this “want”
quickly enough. Getting superior
performance from ordinary people is an inherent job of any leader in almost
every organization of size.
But by definition, there are more
ordinary performers in the world than there are extraordinary, and Murphy’s Law
ensures that they always wind up on your team. The result: You’ve got a group
of average, normal people that must take on formidable challenges.
This is quite true, but it isn’t because of Murphy’s Law –
it is because, on average, any group of some size will be made up of the
average: some higher, some lower.
The author now gets to his recommendations:
Educate.
This is quite right. However
this takes significant time and commitment on the part of the leader. It will also require the leader to stand up
to pressure from those who feel that getting decisions made quicker are more
important than educating the team.
I found the most effective method to educate the team was
through meetings involving a broad group – a group much larger than those
strictly impacted or knowledgeable about the immediate decision at hand. For those not immediately impacted by the decision,
they often found this a waste of time. The
meetings were not only about coming to a decision, but subtly about training
management on methods they could use within their own decision-making
process. The meetings offered lessons about how to come
to a right decision (I say “a right decision,” not “the right decision” because
there is often not just one right decision).
What questions were asked? How were
other members brought into the discussion? How did others see that this
decision might impact their customers, or how could they use this thinking to
work differently within their department?
Over time, the value of this type of training was apparent even to some
of the more hardened skeptics.
When I initially received complaints about the wasted time
in these meetings, I would suggest that “you used to complain that the prior
management wouldn’t listen to you, now you complain that I am soliciting your
input – and that I want your input heard by the entire management team. Which is it, because you can’t have it both
ways?”
Set expectations.
For me, this is about being consistent with the
objectives. Keep the objectives simple
and understandable. This ensures the
greatest number of people will be able to actively work toward achieving the
objectives.
The best objectives I found were simple financial
objectives. Cash flow, debt reduction,
sales or order growth. Initially this
would be met with an attitude of “you only care about the customer; you don’t care
about quality, or customer relationships, or employee relationships.”
I spent time educating management on how every action they
take effects these concerns: is
profitability better or worse when quality is better? Is cash flow improved when customer
relationships are good? Again, this
takes time to meet with and discuss with enough employees such that this understanding
permeates an organization. But it will.
Empower. As you begin to see that
the team is on the right path, empower the folks who have leadership potential
to continually improve upon the plan and keep it on the right course.
In this case, I cannot say it better than the author has
done. His words suffice.
Stay the course.
Again, consistency. Don’t
be swayed by the latest fad, or “sky-is-falling” calamity.
I believe the author has left out what, to me, is the most
important requirement – the one that is the glue that brings all the rest
together: establishing an effective set of incentive plans that binds the
entire team together.
