Performance delivery

PERFORMANCE DELIVERYGetting Results

Copyright Caswell Corporate Coaching Company Adapted from the CCCC Practical MBA

Review• Leadership is about cooperation• Cooperation requires respect• Respect people by providing the seven motivators• Emotions trump logic all the time• Work in balanced teams• Fight bureaucracy & support the vision• Listen!

Review: Individual Differences

Four Personality Types

PProducer, who is driven, direct, in a hurry and sometimes hard on people

AAnalyzer, who is careful, cautions, thorough, orderly, analytical, organized and logical

VVisionary, who has a vision of things being better, newer and who is creative and full of ideas

FFriend, who cares deeply about people, driven to help others, is empathetic and consults people to get their cooperation

Every individual is different

• Most people are dominant in one or two but may have a bit of all of the traits• PAVF

• The traits have inherent conflicts so people with different traits will have interpersonal conflicts• Positively managing conflicts

is important

Review: Evolution of an Organization

4

WOOING(PAVF)

BABY(PAVF)

TODDLER(PAVF)

TEENAGER(PAVF)

EXCELLENCE( PAVF)

CONTENTMENT(PA VF)

NOBILITY(PA VF)

SCAPEGOAT(PA_F)

SLUGGISHNESS(_ A _ _)

DEATH(_ _ _ _)

FLIPPANT(_ _ V _)

CRIB DEATH(P _ _ _)

EGO TRAP(P _ V _)

PREMATURENOBILITY(PAVF)

UNFULFILLEDVISIONARY

(PAVF)

PEAK PERFORMANCE

NO PERFORMANCE

GROWING DYING

Review: Working in Teams• Force logic into the system• Meetings are the best tool

• For routine business• To solve problems

Performance Delivery

“Resources are hired to give results, not reasons.”

― Amit Kalantri

Performance Delivery• We are here, as a group of people, as a company to fulfil

a purpose, a mission and vision

“To cost-effectively provide and maintain the required assets,

equipment and transmission grid network for evacuating and dispatching high quality and reliable electricity with

minimal technical losses.”

Performance Delivery• Topics

• The Challenges• Excellence• Chaos Theory and bottom up management• Problem Solving• Dealing with Change• Deciding and Doing• Accountability• Motivation• Performance Monitoring

The Challenges• Issues common to most companies:

• People not accountable• A lack of cooperation • Conflict among departments and people• Managerial style of some key individuals is inappropriate• People do not fit the roles they are in• Decision making process in disarray

• A decision was made and nothing was done• Lots of organizing, lots of discussion but tasks are not getting finished• Resources are wasted when working on tasks

• Major problems remain unresolved• Not meeting agreed-on targets

• How many of these apply to TSP?

Excellence• Excellence is a stage in the life of an enterprise at which it

is most effective in carrying out its mandate as evidenced by • high growth, • high profitability (or high efficiency), • smoothness of operation, • a fun place to be and • recognition as a leader in its field.

Excellence• Characterised by

• all the staff working together with a combined commitment to achieving the organization’s goals

• A balance between flexibility and control• Alignment of authority and responsibility at all levels

• The results of excellence• Predictable performance• More fun, less stress• Great personal relationships within the organization• Recognition as best-of-class

Excellence• Difficult to achieve – requires lots of change

• But each step will show improvements• Requires effort to maintain

• Adhere to the principles that brought the organization to excellence

Chaos Theory• A principle leading to excellence• Observing nature, there is tremendous organization

• Fantastic, complex things an behaviors are evident without any “master control”

• Why and how does this happen?• What can we learn from it?

Chaos Theory1. Small changes in initial conditions lead to dramatically different

results.2. Chaos must occur before the simple return to growing or building

reoccurs.3. Chaos theory provides answers where conventional mathematics

would tend to bog down.4. The incidence of coincidence is high if minimal constraints.5. Simple local choices result in beneficial global solutions.6. The detailed results is never the same, but the global general result

is.7. Chaos-driven evolution is slow and deliberate as it is based on very

simple decisions by simple organisms along the way.8. Chaos progresses and builds from the answers provided before.9. Chaos crafts elegant solutions, superior to those created by human

planned, top-down approaches.

Chaos Theory: 1. Small Changes1. Small changes in initial conditions lead to dramatically

different results.• Examples:

• Lorenz and Butterfly – the flap in a butterfly’s wing can cause a storm on the far side of the planet

• Scrabble – the look of the board at the end of the game is completely changed by the first word played

• Chance meetings can change the course of your life• If I didn’t visit the student pub on that particular night, I would never

have met my wife

• Conclusion: don’t try to predict the outcome of a chaotic process – focus on the process and let it happen

Chaos Theory: 2. Chaos first2. Chaos must occur before the simple return to growing

or building reoccurs.• Patterns come out of chaos• Locus

• a mass of stupid chaotic insects become a swarm united in purpose

• but you need the chaos first. Two insects do not a swarm make

• Conclusion: chaos is not a bad thing

Chaos Theory: 3. Answers3. Chaos theory provides answers where conventional

mathematics would tend to bog down• Complexity of information

• Try to mathematically describe a square - easy• What if the square was a window with a view of people

• Can math easily describe the people? What of their actions?• The frequency of a plucked string can be defined but the combined

effect of a symphony is much more complex

• Conclusion: Don’t get bogged down with chaotic details. Break down the complexity.

Chaos Theory: 4. Coincidence4. The incidence of coincidence is high if minimal

constraints• Examples:

• What is the chance that at least two people in a group will have a common birthdate (day/month)?

• 30 people = 73%• 40 people = 90%• 50 people = 97%

• Conclusion: Remain open to unexpected coincidence

Chaos Theory: 5. Simple Choices5. Simple local choices result in beneficial global solutions

• Examples:• Ants build a bridge: Choice is hesitate at an obstacle or take

another route• Locus swarm: avoid being bitten by the insects behind• Golden Shiners (fish): when it gets dark, slow down• Starlings: do what your neighbors do• 28 numbers define the look of the infinitely complex black

spleenwort fern

• Conclusion: Control the local choices not the end result

Chaos Theory: 6. Details Differ6. The detailed results is never the same, but the global

general result is.• Example

• The snow flakes differ but the global result is still snow• Cities are generally comparable but they all have different layouts• Sports games are similar but never the same

• Conclusion: Don’t try to control the outcome based on details. Control the rules that govern the details.

Chaos Theory: 7. It is slow & deliberate

7. Chaos-driven evolution is slow and deliberate as it is based on very simple decisions by simple organisms along the way.

• Examples:• Evolution – success of each simple decision increases the

likelihood that it will be repeated. Failure of a simple decision will decrease the likelihood that it will be repeated

• Results in some truly astonishing behaviors

• Conclusion: learn from mistakes and reinforce successes at all levels in the organization

Chaos Theory: 8. It builds on the past8. Chaos progresses and builds from the answers

provided before.• Examples:

• Fractals:

• Conclusion: build on the current situation using the lessons learned

Chaos Theory: 9. Superior Solutions9. Chaos crafts elegant solutions, superior to those

created by human planned, top-down approaches.

• Conclusion: Apply chaos theory to solve problems. Don’t constrain, predict or define the solution.

Problem Solving• Put chaos theory in practise to solve the impossible

problems• Manage the problems, not the solutions• Apply simple rules for finding the solution• Decide on the solution and Do it• Capture the lessons learned

Manage the Problems• Gather a list of ALL the problems

• Actively search for problems – Listen!• Goal to solve them all. Even small problems can be debilitating –

like a broken toe.• Create a Problem Management Council (PMC) to

• A multi-level council – off-loads the CEO• Set priorities and decide which problems to work on• Assign resources to solve each problem• Track progress and results

• PMC delegates problems to Opportunity Teams (Opp Teams) to find solutions

Manage the Problems• PMC is a change management team

• Manages the change in the organization• PMC consists of 5 to 10 people

• Can include people from any level• Lower level staff need delegated authority

• Six month term• Multiple PMCs may be needed

• One PMC for each 35 to 50 people• Active about 2% of the time (4 hours a month)

Delegate Problem Solving• PMC delegates to Opp Teams

• Defines the task • What is the particular problem• What constraints define the task

• Assigns resources (OAK – more on that to come)• Set a start and stop date

• No longer than three months – if more time is required, break up the task

• Assign a budget (if required)

Opps Teams• Opps Teams solve problems• Structured with sufficient OAK (the right people and roles)• Work at solving problems in a series of 2 hour meetings• Follow a problem solving process

Conventional Problem Solving• Problem defined• Some information assembled• Ideas formulated about a solution• Solutions argued about• Compromises made• Solution put forward right away• Further down the road the solution fails, harms other

aspects of the business or the problem resurfaces

Problem Solving Process• This is the simple process at the heart of managing chaos1. Deflate - Get the team member’s heads in the game 2. Accumulate - Gather all the facts BEFORE a solution is formulated.

Just gather, don’t organize. Rely on the magic of brainstorming3. Organize - With all the facts, organize to find patterns and reduce

redundancy. Are there common elements?4. Formulate - Solutions will begin to form from the patterns5. Adjust - Respectively discuss and argue the solution to

accommodate all areas of the business. This is where the magic of chaos theory starts to have an effect

6. Conclude - Decide on the solution. Define action plans and assign responsibilities

7. Final Review - Ensure all team members agree with the solution without any misgivings

Nesting of Problem Solving• Any problems discovered during the process trigger a new

process• Nest these and roll the solutions back• Helps to keep detailed track of where the team is in the process

Problems• Break down complexity into smaller chunks• Follow the process to the end

• Be disciplined and focused• Even impossible problems will be solved in you do this

Managing Change

Change …creates

Challenges …

that need Solutions …

fromManagement

• Or• Management is finding solutions to challenges created

by change

• Next step – Deciding and Doing

Deciding and Doing

Deciding: Common problems

• Flip-flop of decisions

• The right people are not included in the decision-making process

• You get forced decisions

Doing: Common problems

• A decision was made and nothing was done

• Lots of organizing, lots of discussion but tasks are not getting finished

• Resources are wasted when working on tasks

Deciding and Doing• Deciding is different than doing• Deciding is not always easy

• Requires tools and skills to make a balanced decision• Balanced decisions consider

• Short term • Long term• Effective• Efficient

• Balance decisions require• A team - more than one person• A balance of personality types (PAVF)• A means of handling conflicts created by different perspectives

Deciding and Doing

Decision Chain

Change

Challenges

Solutions

Management Deciding

PAVF

Decision Team

Different Perspectives

Harnessed Conflict

Safe Environment

Respect

Negative Conflict

CONFLICT

Dialog Flow

37

Initiate Dialogue

Conflict Arises

Slight Emotional Escalation

Large Emotional Escalation

Breakdown Due to Emotion

Problem Solving & Resolution

Components Involved

Natural Conflict

Natural Dialogue

Discussion of the Issue & Resolve the Issue

No Discussion

Emotional Issue

Discussion Issue Emotional Issue



FIGHT BEGINS

Defuse the Emotion

(Specific training may be required)

CHOICE

Blaming takes you further away from a solution

= Harnessed Conflict

Doing• To be successful, people doing things need OAK

• Oomph: Enough muscle/horsepower/capability for the job• Push a car out of the ditch• Replace a transformer

• Authority: Top responsibility. There is no higher.• Keys to the car• Regional Manager has authority to maintain equipment

• Knowledge: Enough specialized knowledge to do the task• Knows the best way to get traction in mud• Has training on safely maintaining high-voltage equipment

OAK – Effective and Efficient• Just need enough to get the job done

OAK

Task

OAK

Task

OAK

Task

OAK

Task

Ineffective Almost Effective

Effective (but?) Effective & Efficient

Negative Oomph• Human nature again• There might be people that hate the issue and work

against the solution• Called negative oomph• They row in the wrong direction, disrupt the team or use politics• Can be overtly hostile

• Negative oomph represents an obstacle that has to be removed or otherwise dealt with• Ignoring negative oomph is a bad idea

A word on Authority• Authority Rules

• Only one person can have authority, never two• The person with authority

• Can say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ about an issue (can decide)• Does not have to check with a higher level• Can trust that their decisions will not be overturned• Will have the support of higher levels, whatever the decision• Can delegate the authority along with tasks

• Once delegated, the authority no longer belongs to the delegator• Called the “Big Divorce”• Delegator must support the delegatee• Again, only one person can have authority

• A veto by a higher level should only be considered for a serious “learning experience”

Aligning OAK• Since no task will be successful without OAK, align the

elements in this order:1. Authority first2. Knowledge second3. Oomph third4. Negative oomph

The Action Team• The action team structure is based on OAK

• Like the decision team structure is based on balanced PAVF• Different people on the team will have different interests

• Management of conflict is still important• Use respect tools to ensure alignment with common objectives and

build trust

Deciding and Doing

Action ChainDecision Chain

Change

Challenges

Solutions

Management Doing

OAK

Action Team

Different Interests

Harnessed Conflict

Common Objectives

Trust

Deciding

PAVF

Decision Team

Different Perspectives

Harnessed Conflict

Safe Environment

Respect

Negative Conflict

CONFLICT

Negative Conflict

Accountability• Common problems

• People do not know what is expected of them• Cooperation among departments is lacking• Company goals set upstairs are not achievable• Tasks are not getting done to management’s expectations

Accountability• Different Expectations• Employers want

• To trust that staff will deliver what is promised• Employees want

• To have a clear understanding of what is expected of them• To be given authority to carry it out

• Both want clarity

• This is a bid-tender equivalent

Feedback

Performance

Success Indicator

Accountability ProcessCreation of a Task Need

Task Description

Assignment of Person

Authority

Establish Metrics Jointly

Initial Performance

Continued Performance

MeasurementReward +(Thrill)

Acceptance(Accountability)

Reward -(Struggle)



Defining Accountability• A sequence of events, based on closing a feedback loop

so that the person knows when the job is going well, according to agreed upon expectations established. Such individuals are willing to live by the outcome of the measurement mechanisms.

The Problem• Measuring some positions is easy

• Telesales: number of calls• Repairman: number of jobs• Athlete: goals scored

• More difficult• Design engineer• Legal staff• Head of planning

Management’s Task• Find a small set of measures (<=3)

• Job measurement sheet• A reliable means of tracking the measures

• Source data sheet• How

• A meeting between the employee and a trained facilitator to draw out the key measures. The supervisor is present to verify. (This is important!)

Measures• Ensure:

a. It is the right measureb. Measures can be tracked reliably c. Information can be gathered easily d. Information is ready to be displayed to relevant parties in a

timely manner

Measures• Why not define the measures for the employee?

• Good question with two answers:1. Motivation – Owners vs Tenants2. Employee job happiness

Motivation• Extrinsic (from outside)

• Motivation speeches• Peer pressure• Reward• Punishment

• Extrinsic motivation doesn’t work in the long term

Motivation• Intrinsic Motivation

• Owners rather than tenants• Owners take better care than tenants, they invest and build• Self-motivated• Key is intrinsic desire to grow and succeed• Long-term motivation

• Every other form of motivation is secondary

• People left to their own devices • search for and overcome challenges; • they try to master skills; • they attempt to attain competence

• On achieving competence, people seek new levels of complexity in

what they do

Conditions of Happiness1. To be in control of decisions, which fall within a person’s own domains2. To be appreciated in their personal environments or on the job, as indicated by the

people important to them, especially their partners, parents or bosses, listening to them

3. To feel that in their work, they are contributing to something worthwhile in the grand scheme of things

4. To achieve success in what they are doing5. To move, upon achieving that success, to tasks of increasing complexity or variation,

i.e. to learn6. To feel that they are growing from that learning7. To be allowed to make mistakes, since mistakes create the deepest learning imprint

(allowing mistakes permits people to take the risk to open new doors)

People in all walks of life, at all ages, follow this pattern. In a word, people actually want to be accountable.

The EmployeeIf I as an employee

• Know what I am suppose to do• Have contributed in the decision of what I am suppose to do• Know how well it is to be done• Have the tools and training to do it• Have the corresponding authority, and• If I happen to like what I do, then I need only two more things

• Timely and accurate feedback telling me how well I am doing and• The reward that comes from doing a good job – that is, recognition and

a sense of self-worth

Then I as an employee will perform very well.

The Manager• Managers must understand

• Their roles as a coach to employees• The elements of job satisfaction• What drives people to excel• How very different people are• What rewards are true motivators

Job Measures• Capture 80%• Consider the following:

• Who are your ‘clients’?• What do you deliver to your clients?• What are the relative importances?• Focus on the most important one• What is its measure of success?• How can information be gathered?

A note on Measurement• If it is measured, it will improve.• Only items over which the employee has control should

be measured.• The goal is to provide the employee with information, not

the supervisor. • For most positions, the amount of information for

measurement should not exceed 3 pieces per employee.

Collecting Information• Gathering of information must be assured.

• If the supervisor provides the data, the supervisor must understand the diligence required.

• The need is for data, either objective or subjective. • Third party objectivity is not the goal because:

• It is often difficult to find third party inputs. • It removes the element of self control from the employee.

• Gathering of information must be timely.

Recall Definition of Accountability• A sequence of events, based on closing a feedback loop

so that the person knows when the job is going well, according to agreed upon expectations established.

Such individuals are willing to live by the outcome of the measurement mechanisms.

Outcome Consequences1. Exceeding expectations - highest intrinsic motivation.2. Meeting expectations is wonderful, but less emotional.

• Repeated success, leads to striving for a greater challenge.

3. Not meeting expectations has two possible outcomes.• Off slightly - makes an effort to improve. • Off by a great amount, the individual may give up.

• Either:

• Renegotiate the expectation.• Search for another job.

The Key to Measures• Capture 80% of the essence of the job within 3 measures.

• Getting the 3 measures right can make, or break, the entire system of accountability.

• Better to have some measures than none.• If they are wrong, readjust – it is an iterative process.

Practicalities of Maintaining the System

a. Identify the Champion of the Systemb. Indoctrinate New Personnelc. Deal with Job Changesd. Share the Champion’s Loade. Ensure the Champion has authority

The Champion is the catalyst to make sure the others fulfill their obligations.

Tracking Measures• Tracking measures with dashboards, or spreadsheets

• Collect measures, track and report• A simple method

• Human subjective – uses human computer• 1000 times better informed than a set of tables

• Simple measures judge employee in three levels1. Satisfactory2. Less that satisfactory3. Better than satisfactory

• Takes only 5 minutes a week per 10 employees• Must meet with employee to discuss unsatisfactory

performance• Personality clash is not just subjective, it is real (& destructive)

Putting the (Main) System in Place• Define the Job Measurement

• Set the bar low• Put a measurement system in place

• Let the information flow to the employees• Expand the information to encompass departments and then the

company• Look after the system• Enjoy the results

The Results• While the visual display appears to offer the results, the

real results are the improvement of employees, many of whom will attain new levels of performance, self confidence and enjoyment at work.

• There will be a discovery of superstars. • The most significant results are manifested in the overall

improvement of the company’s performance.

Why Does This Work So Well?• Gets to the roots of fundamental human behavior and mechanisms that support them.

Fundamentals• The entire purpose of this system is to feed the intrinsic motivators of the individual. • They need to know if they

‘master skills’ which only accurate, relevant and timely measurement will show.

• When mastered, they will raise the bar themselves.

Fundamentals• The role of the supervisor is to encourage the workers to reach the goals they have set for themselves. • The manager should try

to imagine being a high-jump coach of the individual.

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Fundamentals• It doesn’t really matter how high (or low) the first goal is.

• Meet with the employee quarterly so adjustments to the bar can be made (hence quarterly reviews)

Building Accountability

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Bottom-up management

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Composite of all Job Measurements• If you capture the job measurements for all the employees

for the department and put them together what will you get?• Apples, oranges and orangutans.

• Be happy with this bottom up approach because:• The strength of the system lies in consistency of measurement.• Consistency ensures fairness.• The power of the Job Measurement system lies in its ability to

inspire each employee to do their utmost; they are in control of their own performance.

Summary• Excellence is a balance of flexibility and control• Chaos Theory supports bottom-up management• Problem Solving is a process that can be applied as

required to solve any problem• Dealing with Change is the key job of management• Deciding and Doing have separate requirements

• Deciding: PAVF, Doing: OAK• Both require management of conflict

• Accountability is a feedback system• Intrinsic motivation is the only motivation that really works• Performance Monitoring requires diligent care

Leadership & Management

Performance delivery