Building a global high performance business

ExxonMobil takes the number one position in the 2017 list of global high performing companies published by Forbes. A company that resulted out of a merger between Exxon and Mobil in 1999 clearly holds a position every company admires. Building a global high performing business is the desire of every business leader.

But sustained high performance in business is really a direct result of a high performing organization. It is not about been in oil, banking or software, rather it is about the quality of the organization behind the business. It is building a high performing organization or team that effective business leaders focus on not working hard to make it to the list of high performers published by anybody.

For many executives, the challenge is where to start. Should they start by hiring new talents, or increasing staff motivation? Should they set new measures of performance or restructure their decision making processes? Any of that will work but that will depend on a number of factors including the organization mission and vision, its competitive case and current performance.

Based on my studies of several organisations of different sizes in different industries in different parts of the world, I have found five keys that drive the results of high performance business teams.

The five behaviours that characterize high performance teams are as follows:

•         They share goals

•         They are aligned to goals

•         They measure fairly at individual and team levels

•         They delegate authority and responsibility

•         They recognize results

They share goals.

Leaders of high performing teams realize that it is individuals who learn, change, improve and pursue organisational vision. So they focus on having the right people. They do this by understanding the individual behaviour of the people that make up their team. This understanding helps the business leaders relate with the people effectively in a way they share in the business vision, mission and goals. People work harder when they share in the goal of their organisation because they are emotionally involved with it. So they can put their heart, time and creativity in their work. They stand pressures and are willing to improve themselves for more effectiveness in their career. The result for the company is business success.

They are aligned to goals

Even with a great goal a team will not execute well except it is aligned to goals. High performing business teams are aligned to goals. They achieve this because the leaders ensure that people are given responsibilities for which they are most suited. They mitigate weaknesses by leveraging the strengths of the team. By examining the goals the leaders ensure that people are appointed into roles where their potentials will be most maximized. So there is team spirit. Everyone is doing what he/she is most suited for with the understanding that his contributions is necessary for the overall success of the business.

But then there is also a constant REVIEW of how goals are aligned with team members. This is because as people develop and gain more experience, their strength and aspirations also change. The same way people in the organisation increase in the awareness of their work, their strength and aspirations change because of the increased knowledge. This ensures there is no idle human capacity in the organisation.

They measure fairly at individual and team level.

Leaders of high performance teams focus on action plans that the individuals can impact. Since the focus is on the individuals, they make sure they focus on tactical manoeuvres which the individuals can impact. They ensure that the individuals are included in the business of finding the right action plan for realizing the corporate goals and have the authority and responsibility for influencing those goals.

They delegate authority and responsibility.

Authority and responsibility is well understood in high performance organisation. When authority is delegated it is given a chance to be exercised. That means you do not micro manage people. The leaders in high performance organisations usually don’t tell you how to do what you have to do, they simply tell you what to do and allow you to use your initiative. This way they demonstrate their trust in your ability to do the right thing.

They don’t give orders, they ask questions and through that lead you to discover your hidden abilities.

They recognize results.

This they basically do in two ways. First, through communication, orally and in writing, they let the individual and others know how their contributions have affected the team shared goals.

Next is that they pay performers. Individuals that produce results are exceptionally rewarded in order to encourage them and to inspire others to produce even better results. This helps the people know that their input is appreciated but aside from that it also promotes healthy competition among the people. Everyone strives to be a top performer, everyone strives to outdo the past and produce better results. At the end the company gains from all the collective input of the team members.

 

Brian Reuben