From the Ask Tom mailbag:
Question:
I was curious about a study in IT that showed that while managers can see underperformance, they can’t see who is over-performing.
Response:
Actually, the results of the study may be correct, however, the conclusion may be flawed.
The results show that managers easily recognize or identify underperformance, but they do not as easily recognize or identify over-performance. The conclusion is that managers do not have the ability to recognize over-performance. I believe that to be false.
Managers do not recognize or identify over-performance because they do not focus on it. Managers allow the distractions of underperformance to dominate their vision and efforts.
It is simply a matter of focus. It is a conscious choice to focus on over-performance, and once that decision is made, the focus becomes quite natural. But it’s that choice that is difficult. It is too easy (unconscious) to see things wrong and too difficult to make the conscious choice to see things going right. -TF
Do you think this is because most companies performance management systems are aimed at ‘improving’ individuals performance? Thus managers are obliged to look for things to improve, hence find ‘wrong’? Finding over-performance requires action from the manager (more reward, or move individual on to new challenges etc.) which may be as difficult to handle as under-performance (approach budget holders, break current reward structures or ‘loose’ your best team member. The motivation to spot and actually manage over performance is not there for managers in the short term.
David,
Your comment points to a system difficulty that most companies face. In the midst of production and cost controls, spending time thinking about career paths and challenge isn’t in the cards.
Tom,
I catch myself doing this now and then because I am so focused on constantly improving. I have been making a conscious effort to recognize when any of our team members over produce or achieves. The results are amazing. You can almost feel the energy level skyrocket when someone acknowledges that their extra effort was recognized. Watch an assistant light up when you compliment their typing speed or notice something they did without being told. Watch the Chest pop out on a Superintendent when you compliment them on their paperwork or the fact that they pulled in a large Change Order. It’s a contagious boost to moral, attitude and production. Soon you see others becoming energized by it and it starts a chain reaction. A little compliment goes a long way.