Listen to Your Performers
by Neil I. Clark
Employees often try to sell you their ideas, and if it’s one
of your top performers doing the selling, you’d better listen!
As a manager, you have to make your own decisions about your operation.
But you can’t always make decisions based entirely on your
own personal data. Sometimes, you have to take input from others,
and the question is: who to listen to. So, here is some input to
consider on this question.
Look Who's Talking
Imagine you are a Sales Manager running a team of six or eight representatives.
One rep is telling you their territory is too small and should be
restructured to give them more potential to sell.
It may well be a valid suggestion — there are many factors
to consider here. You could, for instance, go into a detailed analysis
of the historical sales per customer, or sales per establishment.
But that could be a lengthy exercise. Is it worth your time?
A fast way to get a pretty good first cut at this is to simply look
at who is making the suggestion. Is it one of your star reps? Or
is it a mediocre, or poor performer? If the one making the suggestion
has not produced good sales results for some time, they are most
likely motivated to make this suggestion in an effort to camouflage
their poor performance. You probably ought to look into this aspect
first.
If, on the other hand, it’s one of your best reps making the
suggestion, you’d better sit up and take notice. Their motivation
is much more likely to be a positive one. They have no axe to grind
and no poor performance to justify. If they are already getting good
results from their current territory structure, chances are you have
an opportunity to increase overall sales by looking further.
Poor Performer's Reason
A poor performer, by definition, can’t see what the end result
of their job is supposed to be. They look much more from the viewpoint
of what actions they are doing, or (worse still) from the viewpoint
of their supposed "status" and how important they think
they are. If that’s where they are coming from, they are not
looking from your viewpoint as the manager of the area.
You have your sights set on achieving the results of the team (be
it a small group or the entire organisation). And that, of course,
is the only viewpoint from which decisions relating to changing the
operating basis should be made. Sometimes, the suggestions may seem
very plausible. But if they are made on a self-serving basis, rather
than what’s good for the whole group or team, they are fraught
with danger.
The poor performer may simply be trying to get more of the action
(or kudos) for themselves, without regard for the overall results.
They are often just looking for yet another free ride.
Top Performer's Reason
When someone is really good at their job and consistently producing
the results that are expected of them, you can bet their viewpoint
is much more closely aligned with yours. And, because they are usually
closer to the action than you are, they become aware of things that
you may not have had time to notice. If they are telling you something
they feel could be an improvement, you can be certain they mean "improvement
in results".
By contrast, the poor performer is more likely to be chasing "improvement
in their personal status", or "less work and more reward".
Of course, you can have a top performer who is also very self-interested.
They are not all "saints"! So don’t assume that even
a top performer’s suggestions are totally valid. What you do
know, however, is that what they propose will often lead to more
results, because that’s what drives them.
Take, for example, the very single-minded sales rep with a drive
that would rival "The Terminator". They are hell bent on
getting sales and stomp all over everything to make it happen. Great
for sales results, but their focus may be just a tad too narrow to
see the overall group picture clearly.
Watch Out For Noise
When you become aware of conflicts or gripes, the same principle
applies in doing a first-cut assessment. If the person griping has
no real results to show for their efforts, the noise could well represent
an attempt to pull a top performer down.
It is a sad fact that top performers get attacked. The smaller,
less able people around them are apt to be jealous of their results
or their recognition. Pulling the top people down to their level
is an insane effort to become the top dog themselves.
It doesn’t enter their heads that they could achieve the same
result (getting to the top) by improving their
own performance. They
opt, instead, for what they see as an "easy" solution: "Jim’s
top dog around here, so let me see how I can pull him down, then
he’ll be smaller than me and I’ll be on top". The
logic is not sensible, of course, but it happens.
So, when you hear of conflict amongst the troops, look first at
protagonists involved and what their respective results have been.
It may surprise you. And it will also make it easier to resolve the
issues.
The one with a good record of performance is the one you should
give most credence to. If they are being attacked by a person of
much lesser performance, you should go to any length to protect that
top performer. The liability is that, without such protection, your
top performer may eventually leave you and move on to some other
organisation.
Top performers who make noise and bluster are generally frustrated
because something is standing in the way
of results. Remember that
your performer can see clearly what they need to achieve and, when
stopped, they will naturally make a fuss.
- It may be some administrative procedure or policy that is stopping
them.
- It may be another person in the organisation getting in their
way.
In the first case, the fact that it is a top performer who is protesting
the existing policy or procedure is reason enough to review that
area. There may be good reasons not to change these things (because
of broader ramifications), but if they are impeding performance,
you should, at least, look at ways to clear a pathway for your performer
to operate within — even to the extent of making a special
exception for them.
Top performers don’t make noise for nothing. There is usually
a valid (results-oriented) reason behind such racket.
In the second case, where it is another person in the organisation
who is stopping the top performer, you need to assess the situation
based on the results being achieved by the two parties. Is it a valid
conflict that can be resolved sensibly, or is it a blatant attack
on your top performer by some jealous rival?
Evaluating Input
With this approach of evaluating the performance level of your people,
it becomes somewhat easier to sort out which way to jump. And, if
you decide in favour of the top performer, you generally can’t
go wrong.
Realise, however, that top performers are not infallible. So, don’t
be too "black and white" about this. This approach is intended
to help with the initial assessment of the situation and to prevent
unnecessary wheel spinning. You still have to make the decision which
is right for the group.
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