What Makes a Top Performer?

Posted on by Scott

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Last week, I had a conversation with a couple of people about identifying their top customers. It’s been my experience that when asked to name their best customers – that is, those who contribute the most to the business – the majority of people get it wrong. A look into actual sales data and performance of actual accounts over time always reveals others who contributed more. In fact, those that were considered “top” customers often prove to be hurting the business. Their demands for refunds and special treatment make them a burden rather than an asset.

The same can be said of employees I think. A manager’s perception of their team’s top performers is very often skewed. Someone who knows the right things to say or manages to be in the right place at the right time is not necessarily a key contributor. Digging into some actual performance data reveals that the actual work was conducted by others, people who may not be in a position of influence. The one you think is a top performer may in fact be riding on the coattails of the organization’s true heroes.

How do you identify a top performer? How do you know you are one them?

Top Performers Will: Top Performers Won’t:
  • Volunteer for new challenges.
  • Wait for someone to tell them what needs to be done.
  • Give credit where credit is due.
  • Allow you to believe they contributed more than they did.
  • Have a track record of steady contribution.
  • Have a hard time explaining their individual contribution to the team.
  • Identify ways to improve the organization.
  • Bad-mouth the organization.
  • Look for opportunities to assist others.
  • Shrug their shoulders when others encounter difficulty.
  • Work to build a history of performance.
  • Rely on friendships or past successes.
  • Have the support of those who work closest to them.
  • Be resented for failing to act as part of the team.

As a manager, do you know who your top performers really are? Are you relying on hearsay, assumptions, or friendships to guide your perception of team performance? If you were to dig a little deeper into actual performance, who would stand out?

As an employee, are you contributing in a way that identifies you as a top performer? Are you producing actual work or claiming success that really isn’t yours? Would those who see what you do on a daily basis refer to you as a top performer?

We all want to be seen as a marquee player. And everyone wants to have superstars on their team. The good news is top performers, like top customers, are easy to spot. You just have to know what to look for. What attributes tell you someone is a top performer?

Culture By the Numbers

Posted on by Scott

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On Friday, while the thoughts of most people turned to the events of September 11, 2001, my mind zeroed in on a different anniversary. On September 11, 1965, Ron Voland and Helen Stinson exchanged their wedding vows. Fifty years later, my parents are still together and going strong.

Experts say it’s difficult to zero in on an accurate divorce rate, but depending on how you look at it, between 10 and 50 percent of married couple have called it quits since the mid-sixties. Those who divorced made it an average of 8 years before parting ways. But you don’t have to be a statistician to know my folks have beaten the odds. Fifty years together is something rare.

Work relationships are even more fragile. Gone are the days of life-long employment. Even as divorce rates have declined, the rate of employee has been on the rise. Check out these recent trends reported by Fast Company magazine.

  • 22% of turnover takes place within the first 45 days.
  • 31% of people have quit a job within six months of starting.
  • 46% of new employees leave within 18 months.
  • 25% of Fortune 500 managers leave for a new job each year.

Obviously this shift comes at a great cost. In addition to the financial burden of replacing lost employees, organizations face a number of setbacks associated with the turnover. The loss of institutional history, missed opportunities to innovate, and inconsistent service are just a few. Each time a person leaves, they create a void larger than any one person can fill. It’s no wonder that reducing turnover ranks high on the average CEO’s to-do list.

What is it though that keeps people loyal to an employer? Is it pay? Benefits? Position? Though these aspects of employment certainly play a role, additional research shows that the most important piece of the employment puzzle is culture.

I once heard someone describe culture as “the way things work around here.” Culture is the collection of behavioral, political, and social rules that dictate how people interact with each other and approach their jobs. If “brand” is the promise an organization makes to the outside world, then culture is the reality faced by those on the inside. An attractive work culture not only keeps people around, it creates a desire in them to work harder for the collective good and growth of the group – for the good of the organization.

It takes all of us to create the right kind of culture. Management bears the biggest burden, of course, but no one operates as part of a group without affecting it. Each individual plays a part in creating and maintaining the kind of culture that retains top performers and attracts more of them. And when we work together, we create something that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

So the question I have for you is this: What role do you play?

How are you contributing to an attractive organizational culture? In what ways are you detracting from the culture and potentially driving people away? If someone on the outside were to catch a glimpse of your behavior on any given day, what would they assume about the way things work around here?

My parents would no doubt tell that marriage is a two-way street. It takes a lot of effort to stay together for fifty years, and both partners have to commit to making things work – not just for themselves, but for the collective good of the family. If an organization is like a family (and a lot of people describe their work teams that way), how committed are you to yours?

What do you say we commit to beating the odds?

What’s Your Story?

Posted on by Scott

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My paternal grandfather (I knew him as “Grandpa”) passed away in 1994. A few years ago, my parents gave me a box of books they had salvaged from an old barn on the Ohio farm where he and my grandmother had lived. Many of them were ruined, having been damaged by time and exposure to the elements. But a handful remain in good enough condition to display and even read.

My favorites are the books from his childhood. Grandpa had an adventurous spirit and the books he collected as a boy reflect that. With titles such as “The Country Beyond” and “The Port of Missing Men,” they practically beg to be read. I like to picture Grandpa reading them late into the night; burrowed under the bedcovers with a flashlight so as not to upset his parents.

I love a good story. The best ones draw you in with vivid descriptions of characters and worlds so compelling you want to know more about them. They weave a narrative with ups and downs, twists and turns, and events that keep you turning the page in anticipation of the next chapter. Reading a good story makes you want to become part of it. The best demand that you revisit them again and again.

Of course, we are all, part of our own stories. The stories of our lives – our adventures, our families, and our careers. Organizations have stories too. And just like a good book, the best ones draw you in. When a company has a good story, you want to learn more. You want to find out what happens next. You want to become part of the story yourself.

Every organization has a story. Too often though, those involved don’t know what the story is – or how to tell it.

Have you ever thought about the story of your organization? Your department? Your team? There are people waiting to hear it. Customers, other employees, vendors, shareholders – they’re all looking for an adventure to be part of. They’re all yearning for a great story to make their own. All you have to do is put together one that is compelling enough to draw them in.

If you’re not sure how to share the story of your organization, I encourage you to spend a little time thinking about it. It doesn’t have to be long; a few sentences will do. But you should be able to speak about your business and its mission with the same level of energy and passion with which you recount the adventures of your weekend.

Here are a few questions to consider when crafting your particular story:

  • Who are the characters in your story? What makes them interesting?
  • What circumstances brought your story’s characters together? What are they trying to achieve? Why is this a worthy adventure?
  • What obstacles have been encountered and how were they overcome? What new challenges lie ahead?
  • As one of the central characters in the story, what role do you play? How are you helping to move the action along?
  • How can those who hear your story become part of it? What can they add to the tale?

Now try your hand at crafting your story. Share with the rest of the team and see what they think. If you’re willing, I’d love for you to share it with me. Like I said, I love a good story.