The High Performing Manager

A high-performing Manager operates at levels that will include Team Leader to Director. The further up the management scale that they serve, the more strategic their outlook will be. Low-performing Managers will look to hire extra staff to resolve an issue. High-performing Managers will look to resolve issues by eradicating waste and getting Teams and staff to work smarter rather than harder.

Team Leaders manage the tactical aspects of the organisation and act as the bridge between staff and Directors; the typical duties of a Team Leader might include:

• Team Management.

• The tactical aspects of turning the organisation’s strategy into action.

• Acting as a second-line customer service support.

• Instigating and directing organisational processes and procedures.

• Reporting on Team, staff, function, and procedure performance.

At the other end of the scale, Directors are officers of an organisation responsible for managing the organisation as a whole and for decision-making on behalf of shareholders. A private company must have a minimum of one Director. In contrast, a Public Liability Company must have a minimum of two, whose obligations are set out in the Companies Act 2006 (sections 171 – 177). These tasks include a duty to:

• Act within their powers.

• Exercise independent judgment.

• Promote the success of the organisation.

• Exercise reasonable skill, diligence, and care.

• Avoid conflicts of interest.

• Not accept benefits from third parties.

• Declare interests in any of the organisation’s transactions or arrangements.

However, there are several duties that Directors perform that are in addition to their legal obligations as appointed Directors, which include:

• Driving the Strategic intent of the organisation concerning customer service and profitability.

• Supporting the organisation’s Team Leaders to achieve the organisation’s strategy.

• Financial decision-making involving investments and profitability.

• Marketing the organisation’s service or product offering.

The significant difference between a low and high performing Manager, whether they operate as a Team Leader or Director, is in their involvement in “developing” their organisation to perform at a high level and their success at managing the organisational “change” process that is often required to operate at a higher level.

However, performing at a high level is a subjective thought that could mean different things to different people. At the higher end of the high-performing spectrum, high performance involves broad organisational aspects, such as:

• Higher profitability.

• Increased Customer Service.

• Decreased costs.

At the lower end of the high-performing spectrum, such aspects of high performance tend to be more generic and operational in nature and might include:

• Lowering absenteeism.

• Raising production levels.

• Increasing staff and Team output.

• Eradicating waste and inefficiency.

Leadership is the foundation for all high-performing organisations, Teams, and Managers. Leaders set the organisation’s tone, communicate the strategic goals and objectives, and directly impact staff performance in creating a high-performance culture. Leaders motivate and facilitate Team and staff motivation by inspiring the organisation to perform at its highest potential.

A high-performing organisational culture is a set of behaviours, expectations and norms that directly impact the output of an organisation, such as customer satisfaction, competitiveness, and innovation. An organisation exhibiting such a culture will routinely achieve higher financial and non-financial results than those of a low-performing organisation over the long period. The following elements create a high-performance organisational culture:

• Clarify Values: by defining an organisation’s culture and values that reinforce what it is that customers value and are willing to pay an enhanced premium to experience.

• Communicate Values: through team and staff positive reinforcement by telling Teams and staff when they are wrong, using mentoring and coaching to bring them back on track.

• Empowerment: empowering Teams and staff to make decisions without fear of retribution for overstepping the mark.

• Celebrate and Reward Success: Teams and staff must be acknowledged for high performance both verbally and by receiving material rewards.

• Communicate and Feedback: organisations must seek feedback and act to right the wrongs, learning from where they have done well to turn weaknesses and threats into strengths and opportunities.

Low-performing staff, Managers, and Directors drive low-performing organisations. Managers at all levels must come together as one, not only within their vertical functions, such as finance or operations but more imperatively through the horizontal integration between functions. Poor performing Directors set the culture that ensures low performance across the organisation, as they fail to:

• Integrate horizontally between functions for fear of treading on other Directors' toes.

• They are too busy to listen to cross-functional Teams to guide and steer them.

• Visit other Teams to get a steer on organisational issues.

• Mentor and coach Managers to assist in the development of tactical planning.

• Seek input from around the organisation to create the organisation’s strategy.

Managers set the performance criteria that ensures low performance across the organisation, as they fail to:

• Tactically plan for their Team and staff to achieve higher performance.

• Plan for improvement and productivity gains.

• Set performance targets that are sufficiently challenging.

• Communicate with staff through monthly Team and one-to-one meetings.

The role of a Manager plays an essential part in any organisation. They must be able to lead, direct and motivate their Team and staff to undertake many tasks, often within a stressful and changeable environment. Organisations must support and engender the ability of a Manager to manage without:

• Fear of “upsetting” or “offending” staff when they say something.

• Being accused of “micro-managing” by requesting Teams and staff to undertake tasks.

• Causing levels of increased “stress” when setting achievable targets and deadlines.

• Fear of being accused of bullying when dealing with Teams and staff behavioural issues.

An organisation is as equally reliant on its staff as it is on its Managers to service their customers' needs, but is only as strong as its weakest part, which is often the low performance of its Managers.

Customers do not have a right to incur poor performance. Managers need to be accountable for the organisation’s performance. Still, organisations often fail to manage accountability, as low-performing Managers are allowed to continue to be low-performing rather than being dealt with. This should include removal from the organisation for persistent low performance. 

Low-performing Managers also forget that staff are paid for their services in exchange for a salary, preferring to prioritise staff "rights" at the expense of customer service. High-performing Managers know that staff and customers have equal importance and never put one at the disadvantage of the other.

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