Mission First, People Always

The Definitive Guide to Balancing People and Performance

Mike Patterson

• Publisher: Ambassador Associates
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9780578936765
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

Do I focus on accomplishing the mission, or do I take care of my people? How do I do both?

This is a practical guide for building dynamic and respectful workplace relationships, while also achieving the loftiest of organizational goals. It's about creating a culture where collaboration thrives, communication flows freely, and conflict is rare and brief. Each chapter provides practical tips that are supported by inspirational stories, personal anecdotes, and scholarly research, along with opportunities for reflection and developmental activities. All are designed to give you a clear path to achieving results with, through, and for people.

1

getting started

What’s it like to be on the other end of you? Let’s begin with a simple experiment. Recall tthe worst leader you have personally encountered in your professional life. Exclude current or recently departed politicians, grand-scale megalomaniacs, and anyone responsible for mass murder unless, of course, you had a personal connection to them. I’m talking about that really bad boss with whom you crossed paths regularly.

Despite taking those go-to options off the table, you’re still likely to come up with several good candidates rather quickly. From the clueless kid in his first management role to the control freak who micromanaged your every move, weigh your options carefully. Certainly, don’t overlook the political animal who injured her shoulder throwing people under the bus because she, too, might be a good choice for what’s coming. If you’ve been around a while, it may be difficult to choose just one of these lousy characters, but please try.

Do you see that person’s face in your mind’s eye? If so, you are likely starting to recall some of your interactions with them. What are you feeling? Even though you may be muttering obscenities or breaking out in a cold sweat right about now as you recall your time in that person’s orbit, please embrace what you’re feeling.

exercise

In the margin of the page or on a separate sheet of paper, write five words that describe how you felt when you were around this person.

When I’ve done this as a flip chart or whiteboard activity with groups, I saw these words:

• Small
• Weak
• Anxious
• Cautious
• Frustrated
• Voiceless
• Powerless
• Stuck
• Disengaged
• Sick
• Exhausted
• Drained
• Disgusted
• Confused
• Embarrassed
• Fearful
• Angry
• Insufficient

Do any of them fit you? Feel free to use them if they reflect how you felt around that leader, or come up with your own. Be sure to write them down.

Now, think about the best leader you’ve personally known. How did you feel around them? Here are some words that might fit (circle any that apply), or again, add to the list:

• Inspired
• Empowered
• Engaged
• Included
• Confident
• Conscientious
• Accountable
• Enthusiastic
• Optimistic
• Focused
• Committed
• Positive
• Loyal
• Trusting
• Devoted
• Energized
• Cared for
• Informed

A huge difference, right? But what makes that difference? That’s what we’ll explore in the pages that follow.

Feelings are one thing, but you also had to get something done while associated with these people, right? Few organizations invite you to join their payroll for the purpose of building your social network. You had to fill your role in the mission.

Now, return to the worst and best leaders you identified a moment ago. How did each team perform? Use whatever metrics make the most sense: revenue, productivity, on-time completion of projects, etc. You might also consider which leader’s team had higher turnover. Which team spawned more complaints for HR to sort through? Now, give those leaders letter grades for their ability to get things done and everything else you considered. Use the old A-to-F system that most of us are familiar with from our school days.

I’ve done this group exercise hundreds of times over the years. Predictably, I hear a lot of C, D, and F grades on the performance of the bad leaders, but much better grades for the good ones.

This supports my assertion that teams perform better when leaders create a positive environment for their people.

If my anecdotal evidence isn’t enough, let’s consider the findings of a few of the most respected thinkers in the field, like Amy Cuddy of Harvard Business School. Professor Cuddy and her research colleagues found that leaders who projected warmth—even before their technical competence, skill, and mental toughness were revealed—were perceived as influential and trustworthy, two factors directly linked to superior performance. On the other hand, leaders who were perceived as competent, but lacking in humanity, often were resented.1

Occasionally, I will hear from some outliers who claim their manager, Attila the Hun, actually got good results while treating the team like unwashed peasants and undermining colleagues right and left. This is rarely the case, though. Researchers Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman studied the effectiveness of 51,836 leaders. They discovered that only 27 who ranked in the bottom quartile on the likability scale were also in the top 25 percent in overall. If you do the math, you’ll find that you have a 1 in 2,000 chance of being both nasty and a great leader.2

In my experience, it’s far more likely to hear people speak in almost reverent tones – often with a great deal of emotion – about the times in their careers when they were part of a truly great team that achieved extraordinary results. Its manager was approachable, treated everyone with dignity and respect, and somehow knew how to bring out the best in each person. In the stories I’ve heard, there is often a line about how much fun it was to work with those people and accomplish so much.

Sadly, many people long for such leadership again in their present work setting, while others who have never experienced such positivity may wonder if it’s even possible.

Rather than wallow in nostalgia, why not be an agent of change? Recognize that you can create that positive environment for the people you lead.

The first step is to ask yourself, “What’s it like to be on the other end of me?”

If the answer is anything less than incredible, you have some work to do. The good news is that you are creating those impressions and crafting your culture in each interaction you have today. The balancing act of people and performance is happening now, so there is no time to waste.

reflection

Take all the time needed to answer the following questions about the impression you make on your team and other co-work...

Table of contents

• Front Matter
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Getting Started
• Chapter 2 What's the Mission
• Chapter 3 Why Does the Mission Matter
• Chapter 4 Who is on Your Island
• Chapter 5 Words Matter
• Chapter 6 Please Disagree
• Chapter 7 The Conflict Chronicles
• Chapter 8 People Are Always Watching
• Chapter 9 Keep Looking for the Pony
• Chapter 10 The One Thing
• Appendixes