performanceteams

High Performance
Reject conventional wisdom.
by Susan Lucia Annunzio managers and workgroup leaders agree

ONVENTIONAL

wisdom isnt getting companies where

they want to be. In only 10 percent of
companies are workgroups high performing, meaning that they make
money for the company and introduce
new products, services or processes.
About half are average performing,
and 40 percent are nonperforming.
Our research confirms five observations that defy conventional wisdom
about creating high performance:
1. Short-term thinking kills performance. Conventional wisdom says that
meeting quarterly goals is a measure of
success. Ironically, the number-one
inhibitor of high performance is shortterm thinkingliving for today at the
expense of tomorrow. To meet quarterly financial goals, companies are cutting staff and budgets, resulting in
overworked, frustrated employees.
On the day they announced their IPO,
the founders of Google vowed to concentrate on the long term. Outside pressures
too often tempt companies to sacrifice
long-term opportunities to meet quarterly market expectations. We request
that our shareholders take the long-term
view, wrote Larry Page and Sergey
Brin. Google encourages employees to
spend 20 percent of their time working
on whatever they think will benefit the
company in the long run.
Balancing the short and long term is
perhaps the leaders single biggest challenge. Not all leaders have the fortitude
to sacrifice short-term results. However,
they can collaborate with their teams to
attain an intelligent balance.
Senior leaders need to engage members of high-performing workgroups in
discussing the challenges that face the
company and the financial targets the
company proposes for the workgroup.
Are the goals achievable? How will
meeting the targets affect future as well
as current performance? Once senior
20

on realistic targets, the group should

decide how to achieve them. Acrossthe-board cuts may not be the answer.
2. Its the environment, not the leader.
Conventional wisdom says that the
leader is the most important factor in
achieving a high-performing workgroup. However, the workgroup environment is the most important factor in
driving high performance. No single
personality or style defines an effective
leader. Effective leaders create an environment that values people (treating
smart people as if they are smart), optimizes critical thinking (minimizing
emotional responses by matching
words and actions), and seizes opportunities (creating learning environments

that turn challenges into opportunities).

They create environments where people
want to go to work every day.
You can stop this dependence on
leaders by making the group responsible
for creating a high-performance culture.
One way to do this is to conduct a
360-degree feedback process to evaluate
the environment, gathering input from
the groups leader, members, and customers, as well as other workgroups.
The group should discuss what it can
start, continue, or stop doing to drive
results and make the workgroup something people want to be a part of.
3. Its the workgroup, not the individual.
Conventional wisdom says that hiring
and nurturing high-potential individuals
will drive high performance. Individual

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performance is influenced by the environment. You can put your best workers in
the wrong environment, and they will not
do their best work. Leaders need to
develop high-potential individuals by
providing training and mentoring, helping them plan a career path, and placing
them in high-performing workgroups
where B players becoming A players.
If you have people who care more
about looking good than helping the
group look good; who do only what will
advance their own careers; or who
define winning as beating their teammates, they will destroy the high-performance culture. High-performing groups
accept that we are in this together.
Leverage the skills of group members
by playing to their strengthsnot only
their functional skills, but their natural
abilities. This enhances the groups ability to collaborate effectively.
4. Even top-performing groups have
room to grow. Conventional wisdom
says that the best way to improve performance is to eliminate low-performing groups. Even high-performing
workgroups could do better. In fact, the
best way to increase performance is to
increase the performance of those
groups already at the top by encouraging members to speak the unspeakable, pass the ball to the right player,
and practice respectful communication.
By instituting a process for high- and
average-performing groups to collaborate on solving problems and overcoming barriers, you increase performance.
5. Your employees can solve your
problems. Conventional wisdom says
that if youre facing a tough challenge,
get outside help. While consultants can
provide valuable insight, first consult
your own people. They know the company well, and they usually can figure
out how to solve the problem. Offer
amnesty to employees for telling the
truth about what needs to be done.
If you have the courage to defy conventional wisdom and sacrifice shortterm results to attain long-term goals
and trust that your people have the
secrets to success, you will likely attain
high performance.
LE
Susan Lucia Annunzio is CEO of the Hudson Highland Center for
High Performance and Adjunct Professor of Management at the
University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. This article is
adapted from Contagious Success: Building High
Performance (Portfolio). www.csq.contagious-success.com

ACTION: Go for high performance teams.

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