Characteristics of a Performer
by Neil I. Clark
You Know Them Well!
When you have a top performer working in your team, you
know it.
They just get on with the job, and the results come rolling in. So
let’s have a look at some of the key factors which make these
people so valuable.
They Envision the Result
An effective individual, when presented with a new project or job,
will quickly identify what the end result should be. And if the result
is not immediately obvious to them, they will concentrate on getting
it clearly defined before they start. Consequently, in looking at
a new area or project, a top performer will typically ask questions
like:-
- "What are we trying to achieve here?"
- "What’s the main objective of this project?"
- "Where are we going with this?"
In simple terms, a top performer is results-oriented, so they will
just naturally have their eye on the overall target. They will also
want to put the results they achieve into context with the rest of
the operation. They will quickly align their results with the overall
objectives of the bigger picture.
They either know what the results should be already, or they will
get them nailed. And they do this before they begin to operate in
the new environment, or start to run the new project or job.
Take an office cleaner, for example. If they are good at their job,
and they are a top performer, they will
know what a clean office should look like. They will know that the end result of their efforts
is to achieve a clean office. You don’t have to come along
after them and point out that they missed the windows, or that the
corners are still dirty. They know what the objective is before they
get into action — they can envision
the end result.
What a joy it is to work with such people. By contrast, how frustrating
it is to work with people who cannot see what they are supposed to
be achieving. Non-performers have to be continually directed. You
cannot take your attention off their area because you know it will
go off the rails if you do. What does this do for executive sanity?
This Really Happened
Here’s a true story, and a good example of an office cleaner
who did not understand that the end result of their job was a clean
office. They thought they were being paid to do
certain actions,
rather than achieve specific results in their work.
So, there they were, mopping the hallway. That was the action they
were supposed to perform. But, because they had no concept of the
end result, they saw no problem with the fact that they
were using a dirty mop! Consequently, they were spreading dirt from the mop
along the lower edges of a clean wall, which now had ugly dirty marks
on it.
As far as the office cleaner was concerned, they had done their
job — they had mopped the office hallway (that’s the
ACTION). But with no idea of the purpose of the exercise (the RESULT),
they had actually produced the opposite of that which was required.
They had produced a dirty office, instead
of a clean office.
And the pity of it was, they could not see what all the fuss was
about. "What are you complaining about? I mopped the floor,
like you said..."
Their Actions are Effective
Have you ever had someone continually come back to you with problems?
Top performers don’t do that. Top performers will find a way.
They will go over, under, through or around
the barriers they meet.
They are not robots following blind orders. They will use their intelligence
to figure a way to overcome the obstacles. Sometimes the barriers
are considerable indeed, but the measure of the top performer is
their ability to get the result, come what may. Of course, there
has to be a degree of intelligence in the way in which they "make
it happen".
This Also Happened
Here’s another true story to illustrate the point. Someone
was asked to collect some plants and deliver them to an office. One
of the plants was a really nice palm tree in a large pot. After trying
for some time to get the palm tree into their van, without success,
our intrepid courier came up with a "solution":-
"We’ll have to break the top fronds off to make it fit."
And he was not joking! That would certainly solve the problem of
getting it into his van, so he could deliver it. But it was hardly
the end result the recipient was expecting!
The Theoretician
Sometimes you see someone who is very big on ideas. They can seem
to be a top performer as they apparently have the first attribute
of being able to see the end result. The only problem is, it’s
all theory, with no ability to get into action to produce those results.
Such people put a lot of importance on their academic achievements,
or their titles. They seem to feel that having such status is all
they need. But they fall dramatically short when it comes to getting
results, so don’t be fooled.
A top performer, when they get into action, will
not come back to you with endless problems and reasons why they cannot get the result.
They find a way!
They Measure Their Performance
One attribute by which you can easily recognise a top performer
is that they know what their results are. The fact that they are
results-oriented means that they are very interested in what results
they produce.
- They measure them.
- They record them.
- They are very happy to tell you about them.
A top performer is always seeking to improve their results. If things
went well, they want to know why, so they can repeat the same strategy
next time. And if things did not go well, they also want to know
about it, so they can correct that shortcoming in future.
How many times have you seen someone get a bad result, then
proceed to do the same job in exactly the same way next time? Is that smart?
No, but if the person has no concept of what they are supposed to
be achieving, that’s most likely what they will do.
So, the third characteristic of a top performer is their constant
awareness of, and interest in, the measure of their results. Ask
a top performer what results they have achieved in the past. You
will usually get a clear statement of achievements from them immediately.
They don’t have to think about it. They are actually proud
to tell you of them. And they don’t forget them.
Can you imagine a top sales person, who doubled their budget three
years in a row, not remembering that fact? Of course not! So, if
someone tells you they "can’t remember" their results,
that’s as good as saying they have none!
Executive Time
A manager has their own job to do and their own results to achieve.
Part of that job is supervising the people in their team, of course.
But when this supervision takes so much of their time that it overwhelms
the rest of their responsibilities, you have an overworked executive.
And the rest of their job suffers as a result.
If you have ever replaced someone in your team with a more effective
performer, you know what a relief that can be. You find you have
more time in the day because you can take your attention off that
area, and get on with your own job.
What Can Be Done?
The obvious long term solution, of course, is to hire top performers!
(We can help you in this department). But there is also something
you can do with the less effective staff you already have. Top performers
look after themselves in this regard. But the next category down – the
average performers – will respond to focus and direction.
Take the time to make the organisational or departmental objectives
clear. Help your staff to understand where their individual results
fit into the whole. If you haven’t tried this, you will be
pleasantly surprised.
And make sure that you can clearly define the results which every
job in your area must achieve. Every job in your organisation has
a valid and measurable result — otherwise, why are you paying
someone to do it?
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