The Behaviour Element of Performance Excellence

Performance can be illustrated by this simple formula: Performance= technical skill x behavioural skill.

In high-risk industries, such as health care delivery, an imbalance between these two elements of performance (technical skill and behavioural skill) can result in poor work quality that causes harm, suffering, and even a threat to human life. ‘Influential leaders’ are aware of these dire consequences.

As an influential leader you hold yourself and others accountable for closing the performance gap created by a lack of balance between technical and behavioural skill. As an influential leader you model and teach the appropriate behaviours that strengthen both technical skills and behavioural skills.

A critical problem in management generally (not just high-risk industry) is scarcity of influential leaders who possess the necessary behaviours (influential leadership behaviours) that propel organizations to greatness and guide them through significant challenges. There are plenty of managers and leaders who possess superb technical, operational and financial skills and an acute understanding of system processes. But what is lacking are managers and leaders who have the motivation to go beyond these skills to enable the organization to exceed (not just meet) expectations, and continue to improve processes, quality, and satisfaction. There is a lack of leaders who have a deep understanding of the critical link between behaviour skills and performance excellence.

Behind every high-performing organization is an influential leader who is keenly aware of how thought habits drive individual behaviour, and how behaviour habits affect those with whom you work. And, whether formally trained or not, this influential leader knows the power of positive human energy to drive strength-giving workplace behaviours. This finding emphasizes one simple truth: influential leaders with a deep sense of behavioural-awareness not only can close the performance gap but also can inspire others to make a difference in the work they do every day.

State-of-the-art equipment, technical and operational expertise, and use of proven quality improvement methodologies (e.g., benchmarking, Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing) are merely tools that help leaders, but on their own they cannot bring about a performance driven culture. The key to performance excellence, as research continues to reveal, remains to be a unique leader awareness of one’s self and of the impact they have on those they lead.

In many organizations at mid-level leadership levels, particularly in not-for-profit and public organizations, when asked “Where did you learn how to be a leader? “, the answer will reveal very little, if any, formal leadership training and development. This is really not surprising. Many leaders of today came into their titled positions by being exemplary employees and moving successfully through progressive levels of management. These former “front-liners” were exceptional at their day-to-day responsibilities and were rewarded a promotion to management level positions with little or no training (formal or informal) or experience in leadership and management. And very few organizations will or can justify the investment of the time and/or money necessary to develop and prepare these, their most capable employees, for leadership positions.

Unfortunately, it is not unusual to see people in management positions that are clueless about how to deal with the dysfunctional situations and behaviours, the “people issues,” that occur daily and could consume upwards of 80 percent of a workday. And, again unfortunately, it is not uncommon to see ineffective and dysfunctional behaviours in managers themselves, particularly during times of chaos and crisis which are often just a typical occurrence in today’s complex and ambiguous work environments.

This lack of formal leadership development was fine prior to the dawn of the knowledge economy. But in today’s organizations where our front line workers are now highly educated, and more times than not, professionals in their own right, a lack at management level of the necessary emotional and behavioural intelligence can spell performance disaster and loss of high performing employees. Even more unfortunate is that many existing leadership development programs ignore the value of studying human behaviours and the impact these behaviours have on performance outcomes.

For performance excellence in today’s work environments it is crucial that mid-level and front-line leaders understand the impact of the behaviour element of performance and how to develop the skill of Positive Presence within themselves and within the people with whom they work, the necessary positive human energy for performance driven behaviours.