In many organisations there is an absolute and unwavering focus on results, however this can be a flawed strategy that can prevent results being consistent and sustainable. Understanding the six precursors that create results helps leaders to create high performance teams and aligned and successful organisations that consistently achieve results.
Market research by Watson Wyatt has shown that barely half of employees trust senior management and only 36% of surveyed employees believed that top managers in their company act with honesty and integrity. When trust is lacking, communication breaks down, collaboration is limited, employee commitment and engagement falls off and consequently the business results are less than they could be.
So, let’s look at the six precursors to results for an organisation (at Rapport Leadership, we refer to this as the Performance Aligned Leadership Model or PALM™ for short) and how each factor relates to creating results:
- Trust
- Communication and Collaboration
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Commitment
- Focused Action
- Accountability
- Results
TRUST
Trust is an interesting word. It is not a noun, it’s a VERB. It gets thrown out there a lot. Often we hear statements like, I trust him, I don’t trust her, or I’ll trust people when they earn it. It doesn’t work like that, it is something you work on building every day. The actions you take, or don’t take, either add or take away from building trust.
When we trust each other we communicate openly and honestly. We ask questions, we ask for clarification, we share ideas, and judgement is taken out of the equation. As trust grows in an organisation, Communication and Collaboration improves. Interestingly as people Communicate and Collaborate more, what happens to Trust? It builds, further strengthening the organisation.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
When communication is open and we are collaborating, roles and responsibilities become much clearer, and if they aren’t, people will ask for clarification. Additionally, as we communicate with others not only do we become clearer on our own role and responsibilities, we learn about other people’s role and responsibilities and the impact we have on each other.
COMMITMENT
When we understand what we are doing and why it’s important – then we will get a whole new level of commitment! It is a by-product of people knowing what to do, how to do it and why to do it. They understand how they fit into the organisation, the bigger picture.
FOCUSED ACTION
When we are committed – we will take focused action and get the job done! A lot of people spend their time doing busy work and they are running around in circles. Focused action is about being purposeful. It’s about doing the right thing, at the right time and creating the right result.
ACCOUNTABILITY
When we take focused action, we begin to create a culture of accountability within the organisation. It’s important to understand what is meant by this as there are two types of accountability:
One type is a culture where accountability means finger pointing, blaming, or standing over people… watching them and “holding them accountable” for their work. Is this an effective form of accountability? Is it productive? NO!
When an organisation is aligned, a culture of accountability is one where we hold ourselves accountable by taking personal responsibility for our actions and our results. In addition, we hold each other accountable because we want to be on the same page, we want to be moving in the same direction, and we want to create the right results. That’s the type of accountability that truly works. and creates not just results; it creates consistent and sustainable results.
SO, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR BUSINESS LEADERS TODAY?
In summary, while results are important to keep a close eye on, leaders need to focus on the ‘glue’ that holds the organisation together and that’s all about creating a culture of trust. Results only come when people work together as aligned teams. It’s never the case that a company fails to achieve results, it’s always people that have failed to achieve the results.
For a more in-depth discussion of the PALM™ process, you can download the Creating a Breakthrough Culture Guide from our website.
Which of the six factors above have your found to be the most important?
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