My key takeaways from this article:
- High performance should be seen as the norm not the exception
- Mediocre teams are characterized by accountability from the boss (peer accountability is better)
- Asking folks to step-up to high performance is inviting them in to a place of stress. Some will look for hypocrisy as an excuse to retreat to safety.
Robert
by Joseph Grenny
I’ve been struck over the years watching executives opine in public about the need for “accountability” and “high performance,” then complain helplessly in private about one or two middling members of their own team. You have no moral authority to ask other managers to hold people accountable if you’re not doing so yourself. Are you sure you’re doing enough to push for high performance? What do you do when someone’s work is good but not great? How many employees do you have whose performance isn’t bad enough for termination, but whom you’d pass on if you could get a do-over on hiring them?
Unfortunately, if you’re hoping for a silver bullet to address a mediocre performer, I have little to offer. Chronic mediocrity is a symptom of ineffective leadership, not anemic personnel. But mediocrity is not destiny. In fact, I’ve even seen examples of government bureaucracies in tragically broken countries that dramatically turned around their performance in a matter of months. They do it through four leadership practices that lead to performance excellence.
Download or access the full article here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/rob.gramly/What-to-Do-About-Mediocrity-on-Your-Team.pdf