If you have leadership, what does the leader lead?
After the Strategic Vision is developed and the Core Values are set, what are the techniques the senior leadership team and management team use to break down the objectives and initiatives across all categories and departments of the business? How do you make sure each business unit and each person clearly understands the accountabilities of their role?
This is accomplished by replacing the traditional “job description” with a “performance agreement” that each associate and their supervisor jointly develop. Yes, it contains objectives and initiatives but it also clearly outlines what results must be achieved by each role for both the person in the role and the company to be successful.
This approach, like in golf, places an associate and their skills against their committed performance to the company, based on clearly set accountabilities. It does not pit people against their supervisors. We lay out a plan to create Entrepreneurial Business Units (EBU’s) within a formalized organization structure to achieve the benefit of Entrepreneurial Passion within a controlled structure.
The “performance agreement” approach also defines a growth and development plan based on a mutually agreed upon career path for each individual. It should be a road map for personal development. The simple goal, as with any team, is to conclude that if every associate meets the results outlined in the performance agreement, we have built a high performing company culture that will produce great and sustainable results. If not, we know where to look to improve.
There is a central theme in developing a high performing organization. There must be a recognition based culture. This approach gives each person a clear understanding of their role, the expectations set for the role and the career progression they can expect by achieving the jointly set objectives and initiatives of their role..
Human respect should be a given for every person in an organization, recognition is dispensed freely for achieving any and all targeted results and reward follows successive recognition. Lack of recognition is easily seen and felt by individuals and becomes the motivator for underperformers to make a positive change or a career change.
This segment also includes the system of effective “gatekeeping”. What is the process for picking people that will fit into and enhance your high-performing culture?
Equally if not more important, what is the best process for identifying those existing team members who may be detracting from a high-performance culture? How do we deal with the situation positively and when do we take action?
A critical consideration for achieving consistent great leadership is pro-active succession planning. Succession planning is truly a longer term transition plan and not a single event.
The final segment centers around a Management Operating System (MOS) that allows for effective and efficient oversight and control through “Leadership Loops”. This approach results in the development of your organization, the associates within the organization and assures that the agreed upon objectives and initiatives that provide the growth and financial results for the organization are successfully achieved on a sustainable basis.