The understanding that a leader’s behaviour is the key predictor to organizational performance is a radical shift in leadership thinking. To develop a performance driven culture a key element must be to begin to focus not on the technical elements and processes, but to begin to consider the impact poor behaviour has on safety, quality and service. This shift must start with leaders at all levels.
Real change will never come from an annual conference or the latest management fad. It will come from within an organization whose leaders are committed to understanding the impact that being self-aware, collaborative and connected to their followers has on performance and the willingness to enhance their behaviour competencies to unleash performance. Real change will only come from influential leaders who are focused on the performance gap created by an imbalance between technical skills and behaviour skills.
People tend to change their behaviour when they understand how it affects (negatively and positively) the outcome of their work, the lives of those around them, and the overall performance of their organization. For example, when a supervisor who is verbally aggressive to team members understands that this behaviour intimidates co-workers and compromises the team’s performance, they are more likely to change or tone down their approach. Another example is when the department director changes the “mental map” or “mental script” of weary managers by asking them to think of their job as necessitating that they be able to inspire, involve and reward individuals in unique and productive ways to build on the power of relationship, they too are more likely to pay closer attention to their work. Closing the performance gap in today’s knowledge-based organizations is a nonnegotiable imperative.
Years of emphasis on technical skills and technical solutions have provided some modicum of marginal improvement. The real key to performance excellence today and in the future is to focus on behavioural skill development for enhanced cognitive capacity — developing the skill of Positive Presence is the place to start.
CORPORATE HARMONY is grateful to Dr. Michael E. Frisina for his contributions to this entry.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.