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 matters 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.
- Report on team, staff, function,
and procedure performance.
At the other end of the
scale, Directors are officers of an organisation responsible for managing the
organisation as a whole and for decision-making on behalf of shareholders. A
private company must have a minimum of one Director. In contrast, a Public Liability
Company must have a minimum of two directors, whose obligations are set out in
the Companies Act 2006 (sections 171 – 177). These tasks include a duty to:
- 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.
However, there are several
duties that Directors perform that are in addition to their legal obligations
as appointed Directors, which include:
- 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.
The significant difference
between a low-performing manager and a high-performing manager, whether they
operate as a Team Leader or Director, is their involvement in “developing”
their organisation to perform at a high level and their success at managing the
organisational “change” process that is often required to operate at a higher
level.
However, performing at a
high level is a subjective thought that could mean different things to
different people. At the higher end of the high-performing spectrum, high
performance involves broad organisational aspects, such as:
- Higher profitability.
- Increased Customer Service.
- Decreased costs.
At the lower end of the
high-performing spectrum, such aspects of high performance tend to be more
generic and operational and might include:
- Lowering absenteeism.
- Raising production levels.
- Increasing staff and Team output.
- Eradicating waste and inefficiency.
Leadership is the foundation
for all high-performing organisations, Teams, and Managers. Leaders set the
organisation’s tone, communicate the strategic goals and objectives, and
directly impact staff performance in creating a high-performance culture. Leaders
motivate and facilitate Team and staff motivation by inspiring the organisation
to perform at its highest potential.
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 a
low-performing organisation over the long term. The following elements create a
high-performance organisational culture:
- Clarify Values: Define an organisation’s culture
and values that reinforce what customers value and are willing to pay an
enhanced premium to experience.
- Communicate Values: Through team and staff positive
reinforcement, telling teams and staff when they are wrong and 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 verbally and through material rewards for high performance.
- 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.
Low-performing staff,
Managers, and Directors drive low-performing organisations. Managers at all
levels must come together as one, not only within their vertical functions,
such as finance or operations, but more imperatively through the horizontal
integration between functions. Poor performing Directors set the culture that
ensures low performance across the organisation, as they fail to:
- 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.
Managers set the performance
criteria that ensure low performance across the organisation, as they fail to:
- Tactically plan for their Team and
staff to achieve higher performance.
- Plan for improvement and
productivity gains.
- Set sufficiently challenging
performance targets.
- Communicate with staff through
monthly Team and one-to-one meetings.
The role of a Manager plays
an essential part in any organisation. They must be able to lead, direct and
motivate their Team and staff to undertake many tasks, often within a stressful
and changeable environment. Organisations must support and engender the ability
of a Manager to manage without:
- Fear of “upsetting” or “offending”
staff when they say something.
- Being accused of “micro-managing”
by requesting Teams and staff to undertake tasks.
- Causing increased “stress” levels when
setting achievable targets and deadlines.
- Fear of being accused of bullying
when dealing with Teams and staff behavioural issues.
An organisation is equally
reliant on its staff as it is on its Managers to service its customers' needs,
but it is only as strong as its weakest part, which is often the low
performance of its Managers.
Customers do not have the
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.
Low-performing Managers also
forget that staff are paid for their services in exchange for a salary,
preferring to prioritise staff "rights" at the expense of customer
service. High-performing Managers know that staff and customers have equal importance
and never disadvantage one over the other.
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