Talent Journey

Regardless of the size, industry, or product-mix of an organization, there are three equally important thinking perspectives to be mastered for an organization to reach its greatest potential for success. The three perspectives balanced within an organization will yield results that unbalanced companies could never attain.

The Three Thinking Dimensions are:

Strategic Integration Defining and communicating company visions, mission, values & strategy and integrating/aligning those across the organization

Operational Excellence Executing strategy by creating efficient infrastructures and implementing strategy through people

Relationship Ability Enable and Equip high performance and organizational success

A simple internet search will yield thousands of results for books, seminars, and the like – all going into depth on each one of these thinking dimensions. Business gurus tend to specialize in one these areas, although the one they focus on varies. It is clear, however, that ALL THREE thinking perspectives are essential for full organizational success. Talent Journey offers leaders insight into how to leverage and develop these critical thinking perspectives within a team or organization. We have found that most organizations (and almost all leaders) demonstrate strength in one or two of these dimensions and weakness in the third. A simple, clear definition of what each thinking dimension entails* will help to identify which are currently strengths in your organization:

1. Strategic Integration focuses on future possibilities and integration of the whole organizational structure. Leaders that are strong in strategic thinking are quick to evaluate market trends, technology changes, demographic shifts, etc. in terms of their future impact on the organization. They take a “helicopter approach” and see the big picture, including how the operational parts of the business fit together.

2. Operational Excellence focuses on the practical elements of the business. Leaders strong in operational thinking adeptly assess people and processes; they maximize resources for efficiency and results. Such leaders take a sky-scraper view of the organization, focusing on the day to day execution of strategy and goals.

3. Relationship Ability focuses on selecting, motivating, developing, and retaining high performance at individual, team, and organizational levels. Leaders that are strong in this thinking dimension earn people’s respect and followership. They take a tribal view of the organization. Understanding individual, team, and organizational needs, they motivate, encourage, equip and develop people and teams to contribute their best toward the organization’s strategy and mission.

A foundational knowledge of these three thinking perspectives provides the platform for practical application. Some good questions to ask in assessing your organization include:

1. Where are you strong/weak as a leader?
2. How can you utilize the strengths of teammates to compliment your strengths?
3. Where is your team strong/weak?
4. How can you leverage certain members of the team or bring in additional talent to supplement this weakness?
5. Where is your organization strong/weak?
6. How can the organization’s weakness be strengthened (e.g., leverage/develop those that demonstrate strength in your weak area or hire it in from outside)?

The first step is recognizing that although your organization may be experiencing success today – you could move to the next level of success by bolstering your weak area. Effective leaders are always searching for ways to improve their organization, internally and externally. The combination of these three perspectives provides that opportunity. Insights into which of these three perspectives are already mastered, and which may need more attention can easily be identified by doing the above self-assessment (or Talent Journey can conduct the assessment for you). The goal is to honestly answer the questions posed above and seek resolutions. In this new year, with ideals of economic revival, moving forward with a balanced thinking perspective will grow your opportunities for maximum success throughout the year.

Here are some competencies/talents that demonstrate strength for each thinking perspective:

Strategic/Systems Ability
• Strategic Planning
• Customer Acumen
• Product/Service Portfolio Decision-making
• Conceptual and Integrative Thinking
• Managing Change
• Establishing Organizational Culture
• Continuous Learning

Operational Excellence
• Accountability for Results
• Goal and Performance Performance Management
• Infrastructure Development
• Problem Solving
• Continuous Improvement
• Resilience
• Metrics and Reporting

Relational Intelligence
• Authenticity
• Building Trust
• Communication Skills
• Interpersonal Ability
• Influence
• Leading Others
• Developing Others
• Team Building
• Conflict Management

In seeking ways to further an organizations success and maximize its assets, starting with a realistic picture of what exists is critical. A very successful tool that is underused is the 360-degree survey, which we explore and highlight in this article.

The 360-degree survey is a request for feedback about performance from managers, direct reports and peers of the individuals being evaluated. Since the feedback comes from sources above, below and at the peer level, it is commonly referred to as a 360. This tool is designed to give individuals rich and broad feedback about specific strengths and weaknesses in their performance.

This is a simple tool to implement for immediate results. The growth of computerized systems make this administration tool very inexpensive and efficient. More importantly, 360-degree surveys help address some of the performance management time constraint issues that emerged with the down-sizing of organizations. The tool provides a vehicle for identifying and addressing performance strengths and gaps, leading to better performance achievement and development discussions. Finally, the 360-degree survey has become more prominent as leaders realize new levels of collaboration and alliance are required both internally and externally to the company. This tool captures the strength (or weakness) of those skills and reinforces the necessity of them.

Designed properly, 360’s identify and measure the 7 – 10 most important competencies (see Talent Journey’s June newsletter for definition of competencies) needed for business success. The unique strategy and culture of an organization are cornerstones to identifying the most relevant competencies. For this reason, “off the shelf” 360-degree surveys rarely fit the specific needs of an organization. It is to the benefit of the organization to customize the 360-degree survey to reflect its unique business success factors.

There are many advantages to utilizing a 360-degree survey. They include:

More Accurate Feedback. Multi-rater surveys are more balanced and accurate. Without this type of instrument, it is at the discretion of the supervisor or manager to evaluate an employee’s contributions to the organization. This can lead to either over or understated assessments of performance. Multi-rater input provides assurance that no single individual’s perception “speaks alone”. It is beneficial for both managers and employees to get this performance feedback from a variety of people with whom the employee interacts in order to convey an accurate assessment of the individual.

Varied Perspectives. Multi-raters ensure the overall feedback is more comprehensive. Perceptions of behaviors often times differ across personality styles and work groups. The same behavior exhibited in one scenario can be perceived in a positive light and be deemed less attractive in another scenario. Often, these differences reflect the personality style of the person giving feedback or the departmental culture. For example, a manager may view the competency of “customer focus” differently than a colleague or customer would. The perception depends on the expectations, personality style, and type of exposure each rater has with the individual being rated. The opportunity to receive performance feedback from a variety of participants provides a more well-rounded view of the individual’s competency.

Approach Eases Anxiety and Engages Participation. A carefully designed and communicated 360-degree survey provides anonymity and a collegial feel for participants. When designed well, much of the typically anxiety associated with evaluations can be partially diminished. The individuals being evaluated, as well as those providing feedback, are positioned to be treated fairly and objectively. This results in a safe learning environment where all parties have the opportunity to grow and develop without punitive repercussions.

Opens Up Dialogue. The 360-degree survey tool provides companies with a launching pad to continue, or begin honest and caring discussions. Open dialogue emerges when feedback is treated as a learning opportunity and conversations are bathed in care, sensitivity, and truth. Though most employees can be somewhat nervous about their 360-degree results, they are also curious and interested. The majority of employees want to grow and develop and will respond well to feedback delivered in a positive environment. The dialogue can be even more successful and objective when the results are not tied to performance reviews and merit, but instead are leveraged as a pure learning and development tool.

Appropriate performance and career development. The 360-degree survey adds perspective in assessing an individual’s competency and career advancement potential. We have all seen examples where employees were promoted and precious dollars were spent training an individual for a job they were not well suited. The 360-degree survey can help corporations better position their employees for success. Taking it one more step, the 360-degree survey can be used to help place stellar employee in increasing responsible positions to advance the company’s success. Development plans written in response to the 360-degree survey results motivate employees to grow, develop and stay dedicated to the firm.

Assesses Strengths and Gaps in Teams. In addition to evaluating individuals utilizing a 360-degree survey, the results can also be tabulated to evaluate the strengths and gaps of a team or department. This analysis provides information to help assign projects and goals consistent with strength areas within the teams. The information can also be used to develop a group training plan. In both cases, resources (whether people or training budget dollars) are utilized more intentionally and effectively when objective multi-rater performance data is collected.

Communicating Business Expectations. One “by-product” of instituting a 360-degree survey is that all participants clearly understand the company’s core competency expectations. A 360-degree survey powerfully communicates these expectations to all participants. As Demming states, “we improve what we measure.” Backing up a step, the actual process of defining and narrowing the core competencies generates consensus and alignment among the leadership team. The power of this discussion should not be underestimated. Through the 360-degree survey design and implementation process, everyone in the organization becomes acutely alert to the key performance drivers within the organization.

Although the main advantages are explored in more detail in this article, the trickle-down effects can also be beneficial. It is advantageous for corporations to use information gleaned from the 360-degree process to update job descriptions, improve internal relations, and bring teams back to the mission and goals of the organization. Implementation of this type of survey is for everyone. It clarifies strategy, improves performance and grows the competency of your people.

Worldwide Copyright TJ Associates, LLC Diane Brown