The Four Components of Human Performance

There are four key components that need to be in place for people to perform, and for organizations to prosper.  What are they and what can we do to ensure they are in place? 

by Andrew Cooke, Growth & Profit Solutions 

Performance is about people, and people can be fickle.  Organizations are under pressure to do more with less; organizations are becoming flattered which, in turn, is extending the scope and responsibility of managers and leaders, increasing the number of reports and reducing the time that manager and leaders can spend with them.

So what do we need to do to ensure that we have the right building blocks in place so that people can perform effectively and efficiently?

Andrew’s Four Building Blocks

There are four building blocks which form the foundation for performance.

1.  The desire to Work – people need to want to work.  It is not about just satisfying their monetary or security needs.  People want the opportunity to apply their skills and talents, to gain gratification from doing so, and to receive recognition for doing so.

2. Adequate Skills– if people have the desire but lack the necessary skills they will be unable to perform, they will be frustrated, and the organization will be negatively impacted.  Certain skills are essential for success.  Employees may already have these skills; they may need to be trained in them or to develop these skills experientially on the job.  At the same time, especially with “knowledge workers”, the necessary skills and expertise may erode or even become obsolete (how many rotary telephone repair people do you know?  Or typewriter repair experts?)

3. Right Attitude – if you hire nothing else, hire enthusiasm.  Hire energy, hire excitement, and hire passion.  These are not teachable.  You can teach people your content and the skills required. The adage, “Hire for attitude, train for aptitude”, has never been truer.

4.  Right Behaviours– if people lack the right behaviours, even though they have the desire to work and the necessary skills, you will find poor performance. How many times have you gone out for a meal, which was excellent, but marred by slovenly, slow or disinterested service?  How are you clients experiencing your people? Behaviours have to match the job results expected.

Look at your organization and ask yourself how are you doing in each of these areas?  Are you recruiting people with these four components from which you can build a foundation from which to build high-performance? Are there are weaknesses or gaps in your business, divisions or departments? Are these gaps areas which you can influence or are they areas which are in the domain of the employee?

All four components are required for human performance and measurement, but only some of them can be built by the employer, although all of them can be nurtured by the employer.

Click here to find out more about Andrew Cooke and Growth & Profit Solutions.

How to determine and assess future leaders, and where and how to focus your efforts in their development.

by Andrew Cooke, Growth & Profit Solutions

You are looking to develop future leaders for your business.  How can you do this so that you can consistently evaluate them across the board?  What is more important when you evaluate them – their past performance or their future potential?  It isn’t an either/or question.  You need to understand both their past performance, and to identify their future potential.  This is where the Performance/Potential Matrix comes to hand.

Performance/Potential Matrix Overview

This consists of a 3×3 matrix contrasting the two elements:

• Performance – this is the extent to which the person achieved their objectives (“the What”) and the extent to which they demonstrated the appropriate leadership behaviors. (“the How”).
• Potential – this is a person’s capacity to be a top performer in a more senior role.

By assessing where an individual sits on each of these two axes you are able to determine two factors:

• Where they currently sit as you and/or others perceive each individual;
• With whom to focus your efforts and where (performance and/or potential)

An example of how each of the 9 grids can be labelled is shown below.  In doing this the matrix provides a simple and effective tool by which to calibrate criteria and expectations, and acts as a diagnostic tool for development.  As such its real value is in being a catalyst for robust dialogue and it facilitates shared ownership rather than one person’s opinion

Headings

• Red Headings – people in these grids are likely not to be retained
• Grey Headings – these people are unlikely to progress further, but given their level of performance may be best suited in developing further in their existing field
• Yellow Headings –  these people may develop further, but need attention and resources to help them develop.  If they do not develop further, or sufficiently, they may slip into a  red or grey box.
• Green Headings – people with real potential who should be in the first tier for leadership development.

Common Pitfalls to Using the Performance-Potential Matrix

• Misunderstanding high-potentials – there are misconceptions about the term “high-potential.” People use the term to talk about all top talent, as opposed to talent with the potential to become leaders. It can be difficult for managers to assess “promotability”.  Often most managers are subconsciously thinking, ‘Do they remind me of me?’ “
• Using the tool for individual assessment. – the matrix is  not designed for individual assessment, you need to be able to compare different people.  Without comparison, it enables neither valid assessment nor career decisions about an individual.
• Expecting too much. – the matrix is only one tool.  You need to ensure that you use other mechanism with more data e.g. 360-degree reviews.
• Using quotas for each box – don’t try to allocate people by quote, you need to reach a common understanding and agreement where each person should be realistically placed.
• Failing to include change management – when using it you need to engage people so they understand it and buy-in to the approach and understand what the benefits are for employees and the organization.
• Over-complicating the process  – don’t try to make the matrix more complex, the effort will usually not add significant insight or value.

         Failing to differentiate between employees – once you have identified the stars and top performers, you need to  direct resources towards developing  them—higher salaries, plum work assignments, mentorships with executives, exceptional training opportunities and coveted job rotations—to retain them and develop their talent.

Benefits of the Performance-Potential Matrix

• It allows managers to use the matrix to assess their people and calibrate them between the leaders.
• Assists in the creation of meaningful, accountable development plans.
• Allows you to aggregate relative comparisons between talent.
• Stimulates discussion and constructive debate, and creating a shared and common understanding.
• The accuracy of assessing performance and potential improves with multiple perspectives. Managers often have blind spots with their own employees, and are unaware of how they are perceived by others. These discussions can help shine a light on superstars and poor performers.
• Creates collective responsibility for the team in  building a stronger organization. It encourages everyone to be candid, to listen to each other, and to develop each other’s employees.
• It uncovers both individual and organizational strengths and weaknesses.  As such the matrix serves as a needs assessment for development actions that need to be taken
• Helps managers and leaders to assess potential which they normally struggle to do.

Next Steps

Work with your peers and use this tool to review your employees to identify your prospective leaders.  Try looking at the people by yourself, then share your ideas, insights and reasonings with your peers to create insights, ideas and a common perspective.  Use this to stimulate debate, and look to use other tools and means by which to identify the prospective leaders.

Click here to find out more about Andrew Cooke and Growth & Profit Solutions.