As managers, we usually think we have good employees working for us. Sure, there might be one or two who don't perform well,
but on the whole, our employees are solid workers. Poor performers don't last long, as we're quick to get rid of them before they contaminate the rest of the team. The remaining employees are
those who put in a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. They are dependable, knowledgeable and trustworthy, and they do their job without complaint -- but are they overachievers? Not really.
Away from work, they're likely overachievers who excel at many things, but chances are that they have the capacity to contribute much more to your organization than they do. It's the
manager's job to convert good employees into overachievers, and the difference between fair managers and great managers is the ability to do so. Consider which of the following best describes
your own managerial performance:  Meets requirements
Occasionally exceeds requirements Consistently exceeds requirements Outstanding Overachieving If you are not an overachiever, reflect on your career and determine what you
believe was your very best performance. Next, write a paragraph about why you believe your performance was outstanding. Then make a list of your feelings
toward your manager at the time and how he or she influenced your thinking and actions. Managers who can successfully develop overachievers share many traits. Too
often, poor managers drive performance improvement with threats, bonuses, salary increases, mandated policies and trickery. But measures such as these only work
for a short period of time; they don't produce long-term results. Managers can bring out the best in their employees in many ways. Many
consultants believe that being able to provide employees with a good understanding of the organization's vision is the most important, while others talk about open
communication. Still others preach that managers must "walk the talk." These suggestions are all important, but none of them are the most important. Then what
is the most important? My research clearly identifies that the key factor driving performance improvement, reducing turnover and encouraging creativity is management integrity.
Short-term results don't require leadership; management can bully employees into short-term performance. But it takes a person with a reputation for high integrity to
drive long-lasting results. I look at integrity and character as cause and effect. If your employees don't believe you have integrity, you've lost your most important
leadership trait. Managers talk about integrity in others but seldom evaluate themselves. Low integrity drives poor performance. Remember that each person
with whom you come in contact every day measures your integrity. Too often we encourage others to stretch the truth. We make promises and then
don't deliver. Little half-truths and innocent lies all undermine your credibility and integrity. When employees are never quite sure what's truth and what's
exaggeration, they spend a great deal of time trying to second-guess you. They soon realize that you won't stand behind them but will instead always look for the
easy way out. True leaders have the strength to stand behind their people regardless of the politics of the situation. Managers who can't do so are two-faced; they tell
employees they're doing a good job, but behind their backs, the managers preach a different story. Their words and their actions are very different. They set
performance standards for their employees that they can't meet themselves. They complain that the employees aren't working hard enough and then take the afternoon off to play golf.
Our employees will overlook our poor-judgment errors, but they will always remember our lapses of integrity. To stimulate overachievement, it's absolutely
imperative that managers never compromise their integrity, or they will have lost their right to lead. The first step in developing overachieving employees is establishing yourself as a
credible manager with a high degree of integrity. This is the foundation from which we start to develop overachieving employees.
About the author H. James Harrington is COO of Systemcorp, an Internet-software development company. He was formerly a principal at Ernst & Young, where he served as an
international quality adviser. He has more than 45 years of experience as a quality professional and is the author of 20 books.
Harrington is a past president and chairman of the board of both the American Society for Quality and the International Academy for Quality. E-mail him at jharrington@qualitydigest.com . Visit his Web site at www.hjharrington.com . |
