| Many of us have had the experience of working longer and harder than others and performing our responsibilities exceptionally well, only to be given the equivalent of a B on our annual review. Or, equally frustrating, we’ve tried to get an exceptional subordinate or colleague promoted only to have others refuse to recognize what we consider to be an outstanding job. This definitely raises a question: what is this ‘high performance’ so beloved by leadership gurus and anybody above you in the pecking order? The truth is, when you hire somebody, you expect them to work hard and do a really good job. That’s the price of admission — especially for senior officers. But hey, you were doing a lot more than that when you got that B rating, right? So what were they thinking? I think three things define high performance, no matter the level, role, function or industry…. even in your family and private life. These are the ABCs of High Performance: A = Above and beyond your day-to-day job responsibilities B = Making things better C = Continuing – leaving a lasting legacy that survives after you are gone. One coach I know defined high performance as leading projects above and beyond day to day operations….. that is, something you would put on your resume as an achievement, like: Establishing a customer satisfaction monitoring system Restructuring the division’s long-established pricing strategy Spearheading creation of an employee handbook Doing analysis and projections showing how to cut inventories (and getting the recommendations implemented) Creating an in-house training program for executive assistants, or interns or new hires and getting it included in the firm’s training curriculum Digging a little deeper provides a lot of insight. Going above and beyond your job description requires initiative. To be truly high performing, you need to take initiative on something that might not happen unless you do it, lead it or encourage it…. something beyond your day-to-day responsibilities. Often this means that you think it up and push it. But sometimes it means volunteering for something somebody else suggests, or just taking on an assignment that is noted or requested, but not demanded, by your boss. Such an initiative can lie close to your job description, like building or upgrading a system or process that you could be responsible for but aren’t necessarily responsible for. Or it can be more peripheral, like heading up the United Way drive in a highly successful new way. It can be technical, social (e.g. organizing Friday pizza), financial, organizational, or whatever. But it must be clearly beyond your assigned responsibilities. Visibility is central To be rewarded institutionally for high performance people need to be aware of what you do and able to connect it to you. Your boss has better things to do than justifying why she gave you a special bonus when what you did to deserve it isn’t obvious. And visibility isn’t important for just you. Taking initiative and doing something extra overtly will encourage others and set a general tone of commitment and contribution for everybody (unless you are such a klutz that it looks like brown-nosing of course). So, think about how to build visibility into the process: meetings that involve others; periodic reports; an ‘update’ at a brown bag lunch; a paragraph in the company’s internal newsletter, etc. Doing what makes things “significantly better’ is tricky. Wouldn’t doing almost anything above and beyond your job description be considered higher performance? No. Some things are only better for you, or your clique or your boss. Some things may be improvements but are waaaaay down on the priority list and seen as an indulgent waste of money. Some things will make it harder or impossible to do your real job or drag others into work that they feel is unwarranted or unappreciated. Be careful. To be high performing you need to do things that are universally seen as helpful, valuable and well worth whatever time and money is needed to get them done. Dragging everybody into a process that makes some damned system work ‘OK’ is not enough…. even if it is beyond your job description and continues into the future. Whatever you do has to be perceived as a significant improvement over the past AND recognized by others as important and valuable. (your personal passion for getting better fish in the atrium reception area pond probably doesn’t qualify). Continuity is the best way to make sure initiatives are worth the investment. High performance means making things better for the future (as well as the present).…. not just increasing quarterly sales by 7% but driving improvement going forward, like opening a new market or developing a new product or repositioning the brand or value proposition. High performance is creating productive, long-term change — not just working harder and smarter in the same old way. Happily, most people want to do the right thing. If you focus on creating a continuing, long-haul impact, people will tend to support you and cheer. High performance means personal goal-setting. High performance personal goals are those that you can personally put in place to make things better long after you’re gone. A good exercise is to identify the major buckets of activity that make up your job — say, managing your team, serving on the risk management committee, supervising the audit function, or maintaining customer account relationships — then figure out a way to do each of them better. Those are your goals — and your legacy. High performance also applies to non-traditional jobs. What if you’re a writer or an entrepreneur or a teacher? An Uber driver or an attorney? What if you don’t have a boss or any way to be “visible” at work? The same rules apply — but in your own head. Doing something above and beyond the accepted norm for someone in your role — something that might make a long-term difference — that’s still high performance, whether it’s visible or not. High performance doesn’t have to happen just at work, or be that big. We all need to define high performance in whatever contexts are important to us… parenting, or being a friend or brother or neighbor or lover. Next time you’re in the shower, think about how you can make things better, even in a small way. Look for a new holiday tradition, or find a better venue or a new way to approach a PTA meeting, or think about how to improve your family’s garage organization, or initiate a regular breakfast with your buddies. You can look for “better and continuing” almost anywhere. Even just raising a question can be a contribution… try asking your kids at dinner tonight how bedtime could be easier, or how those weekend trips to see Aunt May could be less excruciating. What high performance looks like in the real world: -An aerospace exec who establishes a stand-up 7:00 AM team huddle to increase urgency and flexibility in a sleepy production operation — and brings donuts -A mom who starts a block party to get everybody working together to save the neighborhood trees from Dutch Elm Disease and turns it into a beloved community tradition -An insurance manager who inspires her team to bring in agile methodology and generates copycat efforts all over the firm -An engineering officer who spearheads the creation of outside review panels for complex project plans and saves millions from the resulting new ideas -A creative officer in a large entertainment company who develops a simple set of guidelines for producing creative and commercially viable content — upgrading the work of hundreds of artists and designers for generations Finally… Your point of view Defining high performance in the real world is an on-going challenge for all of us. As with many things, this model is great in theory but doesn’t always work so well in reality. I would love to see how you see it working (or not working) in your world….. and hearing your advice for others. And I’d love to hear about some examples of high performance you’ve seen. — traditional or not — and what you’ve done to find it in yourself. |
6 Responses
Thank you Lauren. This post is really helpful and appreciated. I also see your design work and am so impressed! Amazing lady you are.
Love, brenda
Hi Brenda —
Since most of my career was in government, I spent some time thinking about how your advice could be applied in government settings. I suspect that there are definitely ways to stand out as a high performer in government, but they are no doubt somewhat more circumscribed than in the private sector due to the number of applicable rules and regulations. One fertile area would be finding ways to create more friendly and supportive work environments to help motivate co-workers. Thanks for this blog. It’s nice to have this opportunity to think outside the box!
Brenda, great post, very thought provoking. Going well above and beyond and making things significantly better can be tricky (in my experience). Completely agree with your criteria: must have broad impact, worth doing and worth investment. Where I think it’s tricky, is when you do things above and beyond and then you become THE PERSON for championing those things repeatedly, thus adding to your list of responsibilities. This has been especially true for me in the old line, conservative companies I always end up working in. I have become THE change agent, adding to my list of duties and frequently having to spend a lot of time persuading others to come along for the ride. I think it’s important when you do these big things to engage a cross functional team of people. Spread the risk and the credit. You can still lead it and get the visibility for that (if that’s important to you), but it then it’s not just YOUR job when it’s time for big change initiatives.
Miss you, hope all is well. Shirley
Hi Brenda, so nice to see this from you. Its been too long! I love the article and as always its right on point. I think its a good reminder for teams to show them what high performance can look like. Solid tangible examples are always good.
Hi Brenda,
As always, it is so good to hear from you and the advice you share to coach us all up. I want to say “thank you” for working with me during Disney. I do not think I ever really got a chance to say this, so I am saying it now. Through the process of working with you and attending the “Creative Leadership Program” down in San Diego for a week, I found out a lot about myself. I found out that I have skills and strengths that were at a much higher level than previously known to me and to others, the self-confidence I gained in that, and that I am really good at what I do which is creative problem solving whether it is artistic or leading a team through a solution. I carry this knowledge every day and try to expand on it.
So, to your question of how am I implementing change in my own company?
My work to a large degree is less about the creative and more about processes and of course driving the pipeline for new business.
Right now, I am implementing a new accounting system for my company. It is based on cash and not accrual nor GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principals) It is from a book called “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz. I have my bookkeeper on board and we are challenging the norm. I am always looking for better systems as technology is constantly changing and internal processes can be re-tooled for maximum value.
I hope you are doing well, I see you on Facebook with your family and that makes me happy for you.
You are loved and respected forever.
Sincerely,
Lauren Jacobsen
Thank you Lauren. I am so happy you are doing well. Love, Brenda