We hear this all of the time, yet most leaders don't successfully integrate their people strategy with their operational strategy. They don't realize they are
operating with only two functioning legs (strategy and execution) on a 3 legged stool. This imbalance causes an inefficient drag on resources.
Unless you are measuring the performance nexus between strategy, execution, and culture, you are leaving profits on the table.
My favorite diagnostic tool to use in this instance is the High-Performance Index (HPI). It is economical, fast, and provides a great ROI.
Created by Jeff Smith from Supporting Lines, HPI is well-researched, academically validated, AND operationally focused. Jeff is a former CFO/COO driven to help companies deliver great business results while creating a great human experience for their employees.
While you can deliver good business results without a good culture, you cannot deliver GREAT business results without a GREAT people strategy.
The beauty of this tool is that it quickly elevates key insights to improve leadership and team performance, so my clients use HPI to quickly surface areas of disconnect, directly impact their Key Performance Indicators, and improve organizational results.
HPI measures three core dimensions and six supporting elements required to build a high-performance culture. In this case, high-performance culture is defined as an organization that achieves its desired business metrics (revenue, market share, profitability, etc.) while delivering a great human experience (high employee engagement and high psychological safety).
Here is a summary of the dimensions and elements HPI measures:
The 3 Core Dimensions of a High-Performance Culture:
1. Alignment: clarity and meaning
2. Collaboration: teamwork and accountability
3. Growth: development and performance
HPI measures these 3 core dimensions through the lens of leadership behaviors and team behaviors. There are 3 elements in each of these categories and described as follows:
The 3 Most Important Leadership Elements Creating a High-Performance Culture are:
Leaders who deliver the highest achievement (revenue, market share, & profitability), engagement, and psychological safety do this by supporting their employees in these three critical areas:
Clarity: Leaders provide the organization with a clear mission and a vision that inspires people. They ensure people understand what needs to be accomplished and what organizational values / leadership principles are important.
Development: Leaders help people cultivate the necessary skills and capabilities to deliver on current expectations and advance toward career aspirations.
Performance: Leaders hold people accountable for delivering on commitments and living the organizations values and principles. Leaders instill a culture of feedback, recognition, fairness and equity.
The 3 Most Important Team Elements Creating a High-Performance Culture
The three most important elements that team members need to provide each other to create a high-performance culture are:
Meaning: People find meaning by connecting their work to an inspiring mission and vision. People understand how they contribute to organizational goals and the success of their colleagues and other teams.
Teamwork: The organization has a culture of mutual respect and inclusivity where people have positive workplace relationships and flexibility in how they achieve their objectives.
Accountability: The organization has a culture of accountability where progress on goals is reviewed regularly, and people hold each other accountable for commitments and living the organizations values and principles
For those interested in learning more about this topic, you can join us December 9th at 4:00pm PST for a panel discussion sponsored by the Harvard Business School Association of Southern California. You can register here: http://www.hbsasc.org/s/1738/cc/index2.aspx?sid=1738&gid=9&pgid=74507&cid=156712&ecid=156712&crid=0&calpgid=13&calcid=1372
If you need a promo code, feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn.