Redefining Performance

During a recent programme I realised that the term, high achiever, is so ingrained in our corporate language that changing its definition is not simply important, it's a business imperative.

High Achiever is synonymous with over achieving individual contributor. When you listen to managers speak about their high achievers- or ones they have known, the imagery is almost exclusively the lone wolf doing extra well. An Individual contributor with hero qualities, who can be relied on to pull the team out of a hole by over delivering on their responsibilities.

The picture works in sales but what of the rest of the organisation?

Can an account really help the team by constantly delivering their financial reports ahead of schedule? Well that depends on how they spend their free time.

And there lies the need to redefine the ideal of high achiever. It is about more than delivering their targets. It has to include delivering the culture, safeguarding and promoting the values. Finding ways to deliver strategically important improvements to the processes in their department. Improving the interface with other business units and coaching the new beginners.

High Achievers are a mangers second command, watchful that the soft areas of performance are maintained to standards at least equal to those of the hard measures. Always helping the team turn negative concerns about the business into positive outlooks based on the vision and mission statement.

HA not only has your back, they have the Company's too.

Defining HA beyond a great individual performer to that of a great team contributor is the foundation for basing talent selection and management on leadership behaviours. It will take a long time for this to happen unless every manager begins to reset the dial on HA to include the corporate values.

So what about leader – someone performing most often at this point on the performance lifecycle?

Well this is up to you the management community. I should be possible for people to rate at the top of any companies performance management system. This just need the manager to build from the foundations up the ideal that performance in more than hitting the numbers, we should expect that as a minimum standard. Leadership performance must include delivering all the values and making your company the most desired and rewarding place to work.