Factors Affecting Performance
Muzaffar Nazish
29-June-2008, Karachi
Dinosaur Brain
Fright
Fight
Flight
Rapidly Changing World
Change in Thoughts
Change in Behavior
Change in Environment
Change in Attitude
Change in Life
UP SIDE DOWN
I see no advantage to the
graphical user interface.
Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft, 1984
There is no reason for any
individual to have a
computer in their home.
Ken Olsen, president and founder of Digital
Equipment Corporation, 1977
I think there is a world
market for maybe five
computers.
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
This “telephone” has too many
shortcomings to be seriously
considered as a means of
communication. The device is
inherently of no value.
Western Union internal memo, 1876
The horse is here to stay but the
automobile is only a novelty, a fad, a
passing fancy.
President of the Michigan Savings Bank advising
Horace Racham (Henry Ford’s lawyer) not to
invest in the Ford Motor Co., 1903
While television may be theoretically
feasible, commercially and financially I
consider it an impossibility, a development
of which we need waste little time
dreaming.
Lee DeForest, American radio pioneer, 1926
It is a World of Competition
Do Not Disturb
seven of the more important factors
that affect the performance of an
individual in the workplace:
1. Goal Clarity
2. Repertoire
3. Knowledge of Structures
4. Feedback
5. Mental Models
6. Motivation
7. Environment
Goal Clarity
People must have in mind a clear picture of any end or goal they
are to achieve. If this picture does not exist, they cannot tell if
they are making progress or when they have completed the task
or assignment. The time a manager spends in developing,
communicating and clarifying the goals or ends to be achieved is
time well spent.
Repertoire
To achieve a goal, the people working toward it must
possess a suitable, flexible repertoire. They must be able
to engage in whatever behaviors are necessary to obtain
that goal – despite changing circumstances and
environmental disturbances.
Knowledge of Structures
Figuring out what to do in a particular situation requires
knowledge of the structure of that situation. This
knowledge of the structure of the situation allows people to
say how the actions they take will lead to the result they
seek. It also allows them to say, for a given result, the
actions that will lead to it. Absent this knowledge, action is
little more than a shot in the dark and achieving de-sired
results depends mainly on luck or intuition.
Feedback
Without information about actual conditions in relation to
intended goals or results, no one can perform to standard.
Such information is known as “feedback.” It informs
progress, enables corrections and, eventually, signals
attainment of the objective.
Mental Models
Absent feedback, people have no choice except to act in
ways that are consistent with internally-held views or
mental models of what is appropriate or what should work
instead of externally-based information about what is and
isn’t actually working.
For this reason, it is worthwhile spending time working with
people to identify the mental models they currently use in
situations where feedback isn’t readily available. In some
cases, this will surface mental models that are inappropriate
or inadequate. In other cases, it might surface mental
models that are superior to those held by most people.
Motivation
People generally want to do things for two basic reasons:
(1) it serves some purpose of their own or
(2) it serves someone else’s purpose and they’ve accepted
something in return for doing whatever it is that someone
else wants done. Self-satisfaction and incentives; these
are the two great motivators.
Environment
Even if the first six factors are present, performance might not
occur if the environmental conditions are so unsuitable as to
present insurmountable barriers to performance. Most of us
can successfully drive our cars on windy days but none of us
can drive through a tornado. In less dramatic terms, missing
tools and equipment, competing priorities, a repressive climate
and other factors can interfere with our ability to perform as
expected, regardless of our motives or our repertoire, the
presence or absence of feedback and the quality of the mental
models that guide our thinking and actions. In short, the task
environment must support the desired performance; at the
very least, it must be manageable.
Seven Factors
The seven factors that make performance possible are
these:
a clear picture of the ends to be attained,
a suitable repertoire,
knowledge of the structure of the situation,
a functioning feedback loop,
sound mental models,
adequate motivation and
a supportive or manageable task environment.
Ten Commandments
Build Self-respect
Positive reinforcement allows people to understand that their
performance adds value to the organization. Receiving positive
strokes gives employees a sense of satisfaction that creates the
initiative to try new ideas and take bigger risks.
We can never have enough self-respect. Ever notice that the office
”egomaniac” is usually the person who actually has the lowest level
of self-respect? The more obnoxious and toxic they become in their
bragging, the less we feel like feeding their egos with strokes.
No matter how confident or comfortable we are with who we are,
we all have moments of insecurity where our performance drops.
Everyone needs strokes.
Ten Commandments
Don’t Be Neurotic (or at least disguise it well)
Employees deserve to have a clear understanding of
what behaviors and outcomes are expected of them.
Many managers are so unclear that they create the
perception that they’re intentionally hiding the target.
Management teams seclude themselves for strategic
planning sessions—an archaic and bankrupt
management practice—only to place the resulting
notebook on the office shelf, and maybe giving a brief
verbal report of the session to their employees. If
everyone in the organization isn’t involved in “the plan”
at some level, they’re not committed, period.
Ten Commandments
Show Respect
Managers often treat employees like the
child in a parent-child relationship. Provide
guidance with a clear picture of expected
outcomes and allow people to think.
Ten Commandments
Save your sayings
It is unquestionably true that most people would say that they
keep their word. In any day, however, those same people will
break their word repeatedly in small ways. Employees spot all
the ways that managers miss obligations by small things like not
sending out reports that were promised, delaying meetings, etc.
Role Models
Employees are quick to spot slips in integrity in peers and
managers. Instead of confronting the problem directly, they too
often fall out of integrity by blaming, gossiping, and whining.
Living in integrity means keeping our word and speaking a
deeper truth.
Ten Commandments
Be Fair
In a world where there isn’t much that is
fair, we need to find ways be as fair as
possible. Fair doesn’t mean equal. Paying
for performance isn’t fair if you cap the
incentives that a star performer can
receive.
Ten Commandments
Value and Reinforce Ideas
According to an Employee Involvement Association study, the
average employee in Japan submits 32 ideas for improvement
per year, compared to the average employee in the United
States, who submits 0.17. This is a ratio of 188:1. The root of
this problem stems from the fact that only 33 percent of U.S.
employees’ ideas are adopted, compared to 87 percent from
Japanese workers.
If we expect people to give us their ideas for improving the
organization, we need to have a serious system for evaluating
and implementing those ideas. People who submit ideas are
entitled to a quick decision and an explanation of why their idea
was or was not accepted.
Ten Commandments
Give Immediate Feedback
Who created the annual performance review anyway? By
itself there is really nothing wrong with it, but
somewhere along the path, we assumed that all
feedback gets stuck in a file and delivered yearly. The
problem with this approach is that inappropriate
behavior becomes habit by the time the employee hears
about it. Worse yet, you lose the benefit of re-energizing
your people with the substantial immediate impact of
positive reinforcement for a project well done.
Ten Commandments
Reinforce the Right Things
One of the companies I’ve worked with for
believed that good employees come to work
early and stay late. Not surprisingly, the CEO
came to work early and stayed late. When a new
CEO took over, he emphasized performance—
and productivity went up miraculously. Those
same employees did more work in less time.
Watch what you reinforce because you will
undoubtedly get more of it.
Ten Commandments
Serve Others
We’ve all seen it in our mission statements. “To be a
leading provider of blah, blah services in our service area
providing quality service and a good return to our
stakeholders.” Gag me with a shovel! To say we are in
business to profit is like saying we are breathing to
remain alive. Every thriving organization is passionate
about serving their customers. When we focus on our
customers’ success, we enroll our hearts, minds, and
souls as opposed to simply working from our job
descriptions.
There are three types of players;
those who make it happen,
those who watch it happen, and
those who wonder what happens.
Tommy Lasorda
No man was ever so
much deceived by
another as by himself.
Grevillel
Opportunities are often
things you haven’t
noticed the first time
around.
Through indecision,
opportunity is often
lost.
Publilius Cyrus
Every act of creation
is first an act of
destruction.
Pablo Picasso
Great leaders, like
diamond, are products
of pressure.
Arnold H. Glasow
Don’t be afraid to take a big
step. You can’t cross a
chasm in two small jumps.
David Lloyd George
