Build a ‘performance + people’ culture

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs describe the idea of building a performance culture as “dirty”. It seems that they picture it as “results at any cost” which to them feels in direct opposition to the people-centred culture they are striving to create. Let me be clear — results at all cost is not what I’m talking about when I use the term performance culture.

To me, a performance culture is one where, at all levels, company team and individual, everyone is crystal clear about what it means to succeed — and where each person is driven to achieve that success and held accountable for realising it.

Let’s dig a little deeper….

Michael Watkins, in his HBR article What is Organisational Culture? And Why Should We Care? talks about culture as an organisation’s immune system, designed to protect it from risk. By that definition, performance must form an integral part of the culture — because its absence presents like a virus attacking the immune system which ultimately results in the death of the company.

So what does a performance culture look like? While elite sport has limitations as a performance metaphor, there is no doubt it provides some useful signposts for establishing the structural and procedural elements of achieving success. As I’ve discussed in previous posts…

• the Goal or definition of success is clear — win a gold medal or a championship

• Expectations are set through training schedules, diet and nutrition requirements, recommendations for intensity patterns and rest

• Under-performance may result in exclusion from the competition

• Anything less than full Commitment opens the door for others to receive opportunities

All of these elements are necessary for the creation and reinforcement of a performance culture — but they’re not all you need. In addition to clear goals, and expectations of effort, behaviours and outcomes, performance cultures also tend to exhibit:

• Efficient collaboration & decision making — whether we’re talking at the broader project or the individual decision level, it’s important that everyone in the team knows a) who to involve b) when to involve them, and c) what they’re asking for. I’ll talk more about this in next week’s post on Process — but suffice it to say that establishing clear guideposts for collaboration and decision making can be extremely challenging when moving at pace.

• Transparent communication flows — very small teams are often characterised by organic communication — it just happens. Either because people are sitting right next to each and tend to hear everything that’s going on. Or because everyone is involved in every decision. As the team grows and roles become more defined, the need to share information proactively and purposefully increases significantly. This need is magnified in the world of remote working. Information sharing is not limited to the top-down — it’s important to make sure that the right information flows upwards as well. As leaders it’s important to pay attention to what information is flowing, to whom and when — and making sure that you’re removing any blockages that might be limiting the right information getting through. Speaking of which…

• A sense of safety for all team members is important when creating a performance culture. When team members feel safe to say what they think, they feel more engaged, they protect the company from risk and progress tends to accelerate. Conversely, when they don’t feel safe they tend to hold back vital information.

So, where do you start when it comes to figuring out whether you’ve got a performance culture with people at the heart? Here are 4 of the questions I use to help with the diagnosis…

1. How do you define your role as a leader (rather than as a founder)?

I think about leadership as creating the conditions to enable the success of your people and, as a result, your company. In that sense, thinking about a performance culture means starting with you as the leader rather than with the team. What are you doing to create the context within which your people can perform at their best? Have you talked to them about what they need? What might be getting in their way? What they need you to do differently to help them? Ask these questions early and often. If individual performance starts to decline frustration creeps in (on both sides) and can make the conversations difficult to have.

2. What happens when a mistake is made?

Mistakes are inevitable — in fact, if you’re not making some mistakes, there’s an argument that suggests you’re not pushing your boundaries far enough. And those mistakes present great individual and organisational learning opportunities. When it comes to your performance culture, it’s important to understand what happens when a mistake is made. Do you observe finger-pointing and the need to allocate blame? Or do people openly take responsibility and focus on understanding the source and fixing the problem? In a true performance culture, your team will feel safe to identify and admit errors and will take accountability for capturing the learnings and resolving the issue.

3. How do team members hold each other accountable?

I’ve observed many teams over the years who describe themselves as having a performance culture and they seem to fall into one of two categories. The first is where the leader “polices” performance and holds each member accountable. The second, and far preferable version, is where the team all feel the sense of responsibility and hold themselves accountable for behaviour, effort and performance. It probably goes without saying that, without a significant level of trust within the team, this second version is unlikely to work.

4. What happens to underperformers in your team?

Let’s face it, even with the most rigorous recruitment process, sometimes you end up placing someone in a role that just isn’t a good fit for them — and no matter what attempts are made over time to lift performance, it just doesn’t happen. It could be a skill issue or a motivation problem. Sometimes it’s both. It doesn’t make them a bad person. It doesn’t even necessarily make them a bad employee. It just makes them the wrong fit for what you need them to do. What you decide to do about this problem (and how you do it) is an indicator of the role performance plays in your culture. There will likely come a time where hard decisions need to be made about a member of your team. But where do you draw the line? And how do you do it? These decisions cause sleepless nights for even the most seasoned leaders. I’d suggest starting with your values — have you shown the level of fairness, respect, openness and support that align with your values? In other words, have you done everything you can to resolve this? If the answer is yes then perhaps move onto questions of risk — what happens if you do nothing about this problem? What happens to the underperformer? What impact is it having on the rest of the team? What impact is it having on the company? How long can you afford to let this continue? Once a decision has been made then it’s back to values and deciding how to implement your decision in a fair and respectful way.

These are just a few of the questions that can help you to consider and craft a performance-based culture with people at the heart. If you’d like more information or want some help answering these questions don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d be happy to help.