A high-performing Manager operates at levels that will include Team Leader to Director. The further up the management scale that they serve, the more strategic their outlook will be. Low-performing Managers will look to hire extra staff to resolve an issue. High-performing Managers will look to resolve issues by eradicating waste and getting Teams and staff to work smarter rather than harder.
Team Leaders manage the tactical aspects of the organisation and act as the bridge between staff and Directors; the typical duties of a Team Leader might include:
- Team Management.
- The tactical aspects of turning the organisation’s strategy into action.
- Acting as a second-line customer service support.
- Instigating and directing organisational processes and procedures.
- Reporting on Team, staff, function, and procedure performance.
- Act within their powers.
- Exercise independent judgment.
- Promote the success of the organisation.
- Exercise reasonable skill, diligence, and care.
- Avoid conflicts of interest.
- Not accept benefits from third parties.
- Declare interests in any of the organisation’s transactions or arrangements.
- Driving the Strategic intent of the organisation concerning customer service and profitability.
- Supporting the organisation’s Team Leaders to achieve the organisation’s strategy.
- Financial decision-making involving investments and profitability.
- Marketing the organisation’s service or product offering.
- Higher profitability.
- Increased Customer Service.
- Decreased costs.
- Lowering absenteeism.
- Raising production levels.
- Increasing staff and Team output.
- Eradicating waste and inefficiency.
A high-performing organisational culture is a set of behaviours, expectations and norms that directly impact the output of an organisation, such as customer satisfaction, competitiveness, and innovation. An organisation exhibiting such a culture will routinely achieve higher financial and non-financial results than those of a low-performing organisation over the long period. The following elements create a high-performance organisational culture:
- Clarify Values: by defining an organisation’s culture and values that reinforce what it is that customers value and are willing to pay an enhanced premium to experience.
- Communicate Values: through team and staff positive reinforcement by telling Teams and staff when they are wrong, using mentoring and coaching to bring them back on track.
- Empowerment: empowering Teams and staff to make decisions without fear of retribution for overstepping the mark.
- Celebrate and Reward Success: Teams and staff must be acknowledged for high performance both verbally and by receiving material rewards.
- Communicate and Feedback: organisations must seek feedback and act to right the wrongs, learning from where they have done well to turn weaknesses and threats into strengths and opportunities.
- Integrate horizontally between functions for fear of treading on other Directors' toes.
- They are too busy to listen to cross-functional Teams to guide and steer them.
- Visit other Teams to get a steer on organisational issues.
- Mentor and coach Managers to assist in the development of tactical planning.
- Seek input from around the organisation to create the organisation’s strategy.
- Tactically plan for their Team and staff to achieve higher performance.
- Plan for improvement and productivity gains.
- Set performance targets that are sufficiently challenging.
- Communicate with staff through monthly Team and one-to-one meetings.
- Fear of “upsetting” or “offending” staff when they say something.
- Being accused of “micro-managing” by requesting Teams and staff to undertake tasks.
- Causing levels of increased “stress” when setting achievable targets and deadlines.
- Fear of being accused of bullying when dealing with Teams and staff behavioural issues.
Customers do not have a right to incur poor performance. Managers need to be accountable for the organisation’s performance. Still, organisations often fail to manage accountability, as low-performing Managers are allowed to continue to be low-performing rather than being dealt with. This should include removal from the organisation for persistent low performance.
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