>Tips for Developing High-Potential Performers

>

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By Dr. Woody

A survey conducted by Right Management  reported that 84% of employees intend to leave their jobs in 2011.

This astounding number raises serious concerns for business owners and managers as turnover can be very costly. Add to this that those employees most likely to leave are typically the ones you want most to retain. They are your high-potential performers who are hungry for opportunity and willing to do whatever it takes to get to the next level.

To combat this impending exodus of top talent, employers are going to have to engage these rising stars and find ways to provide them with the kinds of opportunities that will keep them stimulated and on a path to success under their payroll.    

According to Nathan Hiller, assistant professor of management and faculty director of the Florida International University Center for Leadership High Potential Program, high-potential employees (HI-POs for short) are “those employees with the potential to reach fairly senior levels in the organization. They are your future managers and executives.” For this reason, organizations must identify their HI-POs and ensure they are being properly groomed. The future of your company will depend on HI-PO’s readiness to lead.  

Spotting HI-POs isn’t always easy. Hiller points out that it’s not just about strong performance or time on the job; it’s about the quality of learning that has occurred. Moving to the next level requires a capacity for managing others and the ability to think strategically, something not all top performers are necessarily suited for. Developing leaders takes time and money, so it’s important managers focus their efforts on those with the most potential to succeed.     

Related Links

Leading in Tough Times: The Values Compass

Dealing with Negativity and Harassment at Work

Why Personality Matters in the Workplace

When it comes to developing HI-POs, many companies don’t have formal mechanisms in place. Thus, it’s up to managers and executives to get creative and find informal ways of facilitating the growth of Hi-Pos. To help with this, Hiller shared a few tips:         

Encourage Self Insight: According to Hiller, “one of the key mechanisms for developing high-potential talent is encouraging critical self insight.”

Leadership is about influencing others to take action and influence starts with self knowledge; you have to know yourself before you can know and influence others. Part of the transition to management is learning to step back and work through people as opposed to doing it yourself. HI-Pos need to build self awareness by seeking out critical feedback from colleagues and key constituents. Managers should also consider the use of personality and values assessments, these tools are a great way to help HI-Pos  gain personal insight.     

Give Stretch Assignments: Making the leap from line producer to manager or from manager to executive requires stretching beyond comfort zones. Managers should identify one or two key competencies that HI-Pos should develop and find an assignment that will afford them the opportunity to demonstrate those competencies.     

Facilitate Interaction: When I worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, I was in an office with more than 1,000 people. Needless to say, it wasn’t the coziest environment.  The management team was constantly challenged to come up with ways to encourage meaningful interactions between key contributors. This challenge is certainly not unique. Companies, both large and small, struggle with connecting their own people.

Facilitating interaction is critical to leadership development because it allows for the exchange of ideas as well as the development of critical relationships. This is particularly important when it comes to HI-Pos because these individuals will ultimately have to work together to make critical business decisions. Managers should take the time to identify opportunities to get HI-Pos  together. Consider such things as quarterly meetings, informal get togethers, or special projects that will allow for regular and meaningful interactions.       

Leadership is something that must be continually developed. It’s up to managers and executives to identify and cultivate high-potential talent. Taking the time to raise HI-Pos as the future success of organizations will ultimately depend on their ability to lead. 

Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward, PhD is a CEC certified executive coach trained in organizational psychology. Dr. Woody is author of The YOU Plan: A 5-step Guide to Taking Charge of Your Career in the New Economy and is the founder of Human Capital Integrated (HCI), a firm focused on management and leadership development. Dr. Woody also sits on the advisory board of the Florida International University Center for Leadership. Follow Dr. Woody on Twitter and Facebook 

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/03/28/tips-developing-high-potential-talent/#ixzz1HvRkWhr8

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>Performance Management is not just another Business Process

>

Mark A. Smith in his Information Management Blog “Performance Management Is a Business Process That Requires Dedicated Applications” shares his professional experience that organizations continue to struggle to operate efficiently and effectively from an executive’s strategic perspective or the close-up tactical views of the lines of business, as opposed to the more efficient way of  treating performance management a business process – not just as a management process; an integral part of how the organization functions, not only a tool for evaluating the quality of work after the fact.

I admit that in starting out I looked at it as a management process, but then I noticed that organizations did not take it as seriously as their business processes. Performance management should be a part of every worker’s daily and weekly responsibilities to do what they can to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their activities and ultimately further the strategic objectives of the organization. To do that, though, they need assistance from the right business applications that can be used throughout the organization.
I presented recently at the Global Strategic Management Institute (GSMI), Global Performance Forum on innovation in performance management applications for business and operations, and preparing for it reminded me how far the IT industry has advanced in providing easy-to-use tools and practices for managing performance at every-level of an organization. It is true that most organizations have not made this class of applications a priority over the last five years, but recently I have seen increased interest and discovered some enlightening facts in our performance management benchmark research.
It indicates a lack of satisfaction with performance management, as only 9 percent of research participants are very satisfied with existing efforts, and 55 percent said they lack confidence in their current technologies for this purpose. Yet other findings indicate organizations making a positive change to examine applications that can help them manage performance, and address in our terms the three steps to align, optimize and understand performance across their people and processes. There’s good news that applications have been advancing significantly, as noted in my analysis of Actuate’s new release and my colleague’s analysis of Information Builders’ latest release (See: “IBI’s Eye Popping New Performance Management Software“). These and some other vendors have been working to advance their applications even during the economic downturn and decreased interest from potential customers while the largest application providers generally have not been as progressive in their dedication and efforts to this specific application.
To return to my point about performance management being a regular business process, that requires vendors to dedicate applications to this market segment. While many technology providers have spent time and resources on business intelligence (BI) to serve the IT organization, conventional BI will not be sufficient to meet the usability and functionality needs of business. I am looking forward to our firm’s full assessment of all of the vendors and products in this space for the 2010 Value Index for Performance Management; the 2009 version did not include vendors that did not want to participate, but this year we will assess all major vendors regardless of cooperation.
It was great to see the success in organizations that attended the GSMI forum; I was not surprised to find that they realize it requires dedicated applications and support of performance management as a business process. They compare awfully well to the many organizations still using reporting, spreadsheets, presentations and e-mail (and the intensive time and labor they require) to try to guide performance in their organizations. With success in this approach comes a responsibility to collaborate with peers in the industry to advance the practices of performance management. I hope to see you at the next Global Performance Forum, meeting with your peers and learning more of what is possible with performance management, which I think is the most valuable business process. Thanks to the GSMI team for continuing to provide the venue for independent and objective education on this critical topic.

Mark also blogs at VentanaResearch.com/blog.

ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS >>> KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN TRUST >>> ENJOY IT!

>Performance Management is not just another Business Process

>

Mark A. Smith in his Information Management Blog “Performance Management Is a Business Process That Requires Dedicated Applications” shares his professional experience that organizations continue to struggle to operate efficiently and effectively from an executive’s strategic perspective or the close-up tactical views of the lines of business, as opposed to the more efficient way of  treating performance management a business process – not just as a management process; an integral part of how the organization functions, not only a tool for evaluating the quality of work after the fact.

I admit that in starting out I looked at it as a management process, but then I noticed that organizations did not take it as seriously as their business processes. Performance management should be a part of every worker’s daily and weekly responsibilities to do what they can to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their activities and ultimately further the strategic objectives of the organization. To do that, though, they need assistance from the right business applications that can be used throughout the organization.
I presented recently at the Global Strategic Management Institute (GSMI), Global Performance Forum on innovation in performance management applications for business and operations, and preparing for it reminded me how far the IT industry has advanced in providing easy-to-use tools and practices for managing performance at every-level of an organization. It is true that most organizations have not made this class of applications a priority over the last five years, but recently I have seen increased interest and discovered some enlightening facts in our performance management benchmark research.
It indicates a lack of satisfaction with performance management, as only 9 percent of research participants are very satisfied with existing efforts, and 55 percent said they lack confidence in their current technologies for this purpose. Yet other findings indicate organizations making a positive change to examine applications that can help them manage performance, and address in our terms the three steps to align, optimize and understand performance across their people and processes. There’s good news that applications have been advancing significantly, as noted in my analysis of Actuate’s new release and my colleague’s analysis of Information Builders’ latest release (See: “IBI’s Eye Popping New Performance Management Software“). These and some other vendors have been working to advance their applications even during the economic downturn and decreased interest from potential customers while the largest application providers generally have not been as progressive in their dedication and efforts to this specific application.
To return to my point about performance management being a regular business process, that requires vendors to dedicate applications to this market segment. While many technology providers have spent time and resources on business intelligence (BI) to serve the IT organization, conventional BI will not be sufficient to meet the usability and functionality needs of business. I am looking forward to our firm’s full assessment of all of the vendors and products in this space for the 2010 Value Index for Performance Management; the 2009 version did not include vendors that did not want to participate, but this year we will assess all major vendors regardless of cooperation.
It was great to see the success in organizations that attended the GSMI forum; I was not surprised to find that they realize it requires dedicated applications and support of performance management as a business process. They compare awfully well to the many organizations still using reporting, spreadsheets, presentations and e-mail (and the intensive time and labor they require) to try to guide performance in their organizations. With success in this approach comes a responsibility to collaborate with peers in the industry to advance the practices of performance management. I hope to see you at the next Global Performance Forum, meeting with your peers and learning more of what is possible with performance management, which I think is the most valuable business process. Thanks to the GSMI team for continuing to provide the venue for independent and objective education on this critical topic.

Mark also blogs at VentanaResearch.com/blog.

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>Performance Management Quotes: An obstacle is what you see when you lose sight of the goal

>

“Some people achieve the top of the ladder and only then realize it was standing against the wrong wall.”
Stephen Covey, 1932-, Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

“For progressive people the present is the beginning of the future. For conservative people the present is the end of the past.”
Karl Mannheim, 1893-1947, One of the founding fathers of classical sociology

“Seek not to know all the answers but to understand the questions.”
Kwai Chang Caine, 1972-1975, fictional television character played by David Carradine

“Distance is not a problem. It’s taking the first step that is difficult.”
Marquise du Deffand, 1697-1780, French hostess and patron of the arts

“You never know where your actions will lead to. But if you don’t do anything they will lead you nowhere.”
Mohandas Gandhi, 1869-1948, Spiritual leader of India during independence movement

“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.”
Peter F. Drucker 1909-, American management guru

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Sun Tzŭ c. 490 BC, Chinese military strategist 

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
Peter F. Drucker, American Management Guru

The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important – and then get out of their way while they do it.
Jack Welch, former CEO of GE

It is much more difficult to measure non performance than performance.
Harold S. Geneen, former CEO of ITT

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.
Michelangelo, Italian sculptor, painter, architect & poet

It is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises—but only performance is reality.
Harold S. Geneen, 1910-1997, communications executive

The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there.
Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, author and pioneer in self-improvement and interpersonal skills

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher

There’s nothing so useless than executing a task efficiently when it actually never should have been executed at all.
Peter Drucker, 1909-, American management guru

Treat people the way they are and they will stay that way. Treat people the way they can become and they will become that way.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832, German writer and author of Faust

The value of achievement lies in the achieving.
Albert Einstein 1879-1955, German-born American theoretical physicist

An economist is someone who knows all the answers to last years’ questions.
Robert Orben, 1927-, American magician and professional comedy writer

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.
Stephen Covey, 1932-, Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

What’s your favorite performance management quote?

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>Performance Management Quotes: An obstacle is what you see when you lose sight of the goal

>

“Some people achieve the top of the ladder and only then realize it was standing against the wrong wall.”
Stephen Covey, 1932-, Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

“For progressive people the present is the beginning of the future. For conservative people the present is the end of the past.”
Karl Mannheim, 1893-1947, One of the founding fathers of classical sociology

“Seek not to know all the answers but to understand the questions.”
Kwai Chang Caine, 1972-1975, fictional television character played by David Carradine

“Distance is not a problem. It’s taking the first step that is difficult.”
Marquise du Deffand, 1697-1780, French hostess and patron of the arts

“You never know where your actions will lead to. But if you don’t do anything they will lead you nowhere.”
Mohandas Gandhi, 1869-1948, Spiritual leader of India during independence movement

“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.”
Peter F. Drucker 1909-, American management guru

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Sun Tzŭ c. 490 BC, Chinese military strategist 

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
Peter F. Drucker, American Management Guru

The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important – and then get out of their way while they do it.
Jack Welch, former CEO of GE

It is much more difficult to measure non performance than performance.
Harold S. Geneen, former CEO of ITT

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.
Michelangelo, Italian sculptor, painter, architect & poet

It is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises—but only performance is reality.
Harold S. Geneen, 1910-1997, communications executive

The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there.
Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, author and pioneer in self-improvement and interpersonal skills

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher

There’s nothing so useless than executing a task efficiently when it actually never should have been executed at all.
Peter Drucker, 1909-, American management guru

Treat people the way they are and they will stay that way. Treat people the way they can become and they will become that way.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832, German writer and author of Faust

The value of achievement lies in the achieving.
Albert Einstein 1879-1955, German-born American theoretical physicist

An economist is someone who knows all the answers to last years’ questions.
Robert Orben, 1927-, American magician and professional comedy writer

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.
Stephen Covey, 1932-, Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

What’s your favorite performance management quote?

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>Gaining emotional commitment for Peak Performance

>

Peak Performance By Jon Katzenbach How do companies get the emotional commitment from employees which leads to peak performance?  This is the key question that Jon Katzenbach’s  book deals with.  Almost all organizations selected were successful for at least a 10 year period based on enterprise performance criteria, such as shareholder return, customer satisfaction and quality. Many such as Marriott, Southwest Airlines, 3M, and Home Depot show up on a number of authors’ lists as great companies. Just as the other authors in this set do, Katzenbach goes to lengths to determine which companies are successful using standard financial criteria before examining why their approaches to people are so successful.  The research team did not find one path to employee commitment but five paths. They are described in the diagram below. Katzenbach research determined that having only one path to emotional commitment was not usually sustainable. Multiple paths are a better way to go. He also found that some organizations need to shift their path over time as growth or other changes make the original path ineffective… Jon Katzenbach uses Marriott International as a good example to illustrate balancing three paths to emotional commitment. Marriott integrates these three paths well according to the author: Mission, Values & Pride Process & Metrics Recognition and Celebration Discipline that leads to pride is a critical ingredient in employee commitment. Katzenbach feels that self-discipline rarely occurs in large numbers of people without wise enforcement of top leaders. The combination of institutional, peer and self-discipline at all levels of the workforce is critical to high performance. While it may sound like heresy, discipline and empowerment go hand in hand in successful organizations. These successful companies used disciplined practices in a limited set of areas to channel energy into performance. They also worked hard at developing integrating mechanisms to ensure cross organizational alignment. The author spends a good deal of time comparing the success of Southwest Airlines, the only airline to be profitable for over 20 straight years, with the very successful US Marines. It’s a fascinating comparison. Some of the key similarities he found are: Using discipline to build pride in self and the organization Emphasizing individual responsibility Selection of people who fit with their values, and could identify with their mission Quickly weeding out those that do not fit the values or identify with the mission, or are not disciplined enough to deliver on the values. Focusing on the front line work force � caring about each and every person Turning ordinary people into top performers The diagram below describes the paths to employee commitment and peak performance that Katzenbach found. The descriptor bullets next to each label are culled from a longer list of descriptors in the book. You’ll have to read the book for more detail. The table below that gives examples of organizations they found that used the various paths to peak performance.  PATHS to PEAK PERFORMANCE Balanced Paths Notable Examples Mission, Values & Pride U.S. Marine Corp Marriott International 3M Process & Metrics Avon Manufacturing Hill’s Pet Nutrition Johnson Controls Entrepreneurial Spirit Hambrecht & Quist BMC Vail Ski School Individual Achievement The Home Depot McKinsey & Company First USA Recognition and Responsibility KFC Marriott International Southwest Airlines Katzenbach offers wise council in discussing how you can decide which path(s) to peak performance make sense for your organization. He lists a process to work your way through and a list of questions to answer.

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ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS >>> KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN TRUST >>> ENJOY IT!

>Gaining emotional commitment for Peak Performance

>

Peak Performance By Jon Katzenbach How do companies get the emotional commitment from employees which leads to peak performance?  This is the key question that Jon Katzenbach’s  book deals with.  Almost all organizations selected were successful for at least a 10 year period based on enterprise performance criteria, such as shareholder return, customer satisfaction and quality. Many such as Marriott, Southwest Airlines, 3M, and Home Depot show up on a number of authors’ lists as great companies. Just as the other authors in this set do, Katzenbach goes to lengths to determine which companies are successful using standard financial criteria before examining why their approaches to people are so successful.  The research team did not find one path to employee commitment but five paths. They are described in the diagram below. Katzenbach research determined that having only one path to emotional commitment was not usually sustainable. Multiple paths are a better way to go. He also found that some organizations need to shift their path over time as growth or other changes make the original path ineffective… Jon Katzenbach uses Marriott International as a good example to illustrate balancing three paths to emotional commitment. Marriott integrates these three paths well according to the author: Mission, Values & Pride Process & Metrics Recognition and Celebration Discipline that leads to pride is a critical ingredient in employee commitment. Katzenbach feels that self-discipline rarely occurs in large numbers of people without wise enforcement of top leaders. The combination of institutional, peer and self-discipline at all levels of the workforce is critical to high performance. While it may sound like heresy, discipline and empowerment go hand in hand in successful organizations. These successful companies used disciplined practices in a limited set of areas to channel energy into performance. They also worked hard at developing integrating mechanisms to ensure cross organizational alignment. The author spends a good deal of time comparing the success of Southwest Airlines, the only airline to be profitable for over 20 straight years, with the very successful US Marines. It’s a fascinating comparison. Some of the key similarities he found are: Using discipline to build pride in self and the organization Emphasizing individual responsibility Selection of people who fit with their values, and could identify with their mission Quickly weeding out those that do not fit the values or identify with the mission, or are not disciplined enough to deliver on the values. Focusing on the front line work force � caring about each and every person Turning ordinary people into top performers The diagram below describes the paths to employee commitment and peak performance that Katzenbach found. The descriptor bullets next to each label are culled from a longer list of descriptors in the book. You’ll have to read the book for more detail. The table below that gives examples of organizations they found that used the various paths to peak performance.  PATHS to PEAK PERFORMANCE Balanced Paths Notable Examples Mission, Values & Pride U.S. Marine Corp Marriott International 3M Process & Metrics Avon Manufacturing Hill’s Pet Nutrition Johnson Controls Entrepreneurial Spirit Hambrecht & Quist BMC Vail Ski School Individual Achievement The Home Depot McKinsey & Company First USA Recognition and Responsibility KFC Marriott International Southwest Airlines Katzenbach offers wise council in discussing how you can decide which path(s) to peak performance make sense for your organization. He lists a process to work your way through and a list of questions to answer.

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HEALTHY BUSINESS STRATEGY
DRIVING REVENUE STREAMS

ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS
KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN TRUST