This is Part 1 of a 3-part post.
My firm’s name is Triangle Performance, LLC. The Triangle comes from a model I developed about the foundations of employee (mostly managerial) performance. These foundations include Processes, Knowledge, and Motivation (3 foundations, 3 corners of a Triangle, you get the picture…).
Now, I know that most of you (outside of a few other consultants) could give a squat about models, methodologies, and so forth.
You simply want results. Rightfully so.
I don’t need to know what specifically makes a jet fly to appreciate getting to Baltimore in 2.5 hours. I just need to get there. You expect experts — people who DO know what makes a jet fly, to do their job successfully.
Enter… me. No, I’m not a jet expert, but I am an expert in what makes managers and leaders perform, and how to increase productivity and performance among employees. Like you, my expertise doesn’t come solely from a book, but from years of on-the-ground efforts in multiple organizations.
Trial by fire, if you will.
Anyway, back to my model. The first “leg” of that model is about processes.
Processes are what – and how – things happen within your organization. They may include things that are formal, informal, in writing, unwritten, etc.
Some of the more obvious include:
- Organizational Structure: This starts with hierarchical “chain of command,” but extends further into “who does what,” not just “who gets paid for what.” Where to go for certain questions and issues; who is really responsible for certain problems, etc.
- Policies and Procedures: These include both formal written policies, as well as cultural procedures driven by your organization’s internal “way of doing things.”
- Existing Culture, and maintenance of that culture: A little more difficult to grasp, these are the things that are accepted as proper and appropriate through both acquiescence and outward support over the years. These are ingrained into the organization, and likely cannot be changed easily, even with written instructions and/or guidelines.
- The Decision-making Process: Here we have both hierarchical processes as well as “established” methodology. Who’s buy-in do I really need for this decision, regardless of who is the public decision-maker?
- The Process for employment decisions and performance management: These are those things that provide both for entering employees as well as the general employment and advancement of existing employees.
All of these – and likely more – make up your organization’s Process, and are a fundamental lever in improving manager and employee performance and productivity.
Suffice to say, that managing these processes doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Try to ‘improve’ on processes without addressing either motivation or knowledge is folly.
We’ll discuss further in the next post, when we bring in Knowledge.
Until then…
