3 Performance Killers Leaders Should Watch for and Stop

Performance killers are a reality, but it is up to an organization's leadership to be on the watch for such behaviour.  In fact, it is essential for managers to be trained to spot and address this destructive behaviour in order to build high-performance teams.  And herein lies the difference between teams and departments.  In teams you don't have this behaviour.  In departments that are experiencing challenging times and/or people competing to avoid downsizing, this behaviour is rampant.

As someone who has managed teams for close to 20 years, a former colleague reached out to me recently get some advice on some behaviours he was seeing in his own department.  With that in mind, I offered him the following description of what I was trained to lookout for as a manager.

Here are three performance killers that managers need to address and end:

1.  Cliques or Power Coalitions

     Coalitions frequently in group settings.  In this case, a few people align themselves with the leader and withhold praise or positive feedback outside the clique.  In fact, giving praise to other members of team is intentionally withheld and may even go as far as to persuade the leader that the other parties are not performing. 

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2.  Enforced Silos

Silos can occur in conjunction with cliques or independently of another action.  In these situations, people involved are focused on self-promotion and their careers rather than the overall good of the department and ultimately the team.  Individuals involved in these actions will ensure that information is withheld from others. Marginalization of other departmental members usually occurs.  

3.  Alienators

   In this case, Alienators work quietly at first dropping hints to the leader that other people are not doing their jobs and/or not performing as well as should be expected.  Alienators are very skilled at creating the perception that he or she is concerned about the “team’s” reputation and ultimately the leader’s reputation.  Through continued conversations, the discussions escalate to the point where the leader believes that the Alienator has his or her best interests at heart.

    Managers should be on the lookout for these behaviours, particularly during troubled times. And when he or she sees this occurring, the manager must take the bull by the horns. Staff members can't address this.  The situation for those individuals will only worsen.  Managers need to look closely at the members of their department and ask questions like:  who is always finding fault with members other than their small clique?  Who uses pass aggressive techniques to slide in negative comments?  

The only way to stop this destructive behaviour is to set the stage that team members support one another and make each member in the department look good both within the department and outside the department.  That is a true sign of team participation.  While this is not easy for many mangers, good managers make it a practice to not accept anything less, even from people with whom they have befriended in the reporting structure.

These are only three destructive behaviours that can occur.  What would you add to this list?

The Cost of Ignoring Employee Engagement

There are countless studies on employee engagement and the value that engaged employees bring to your organization.  Despite this however, not enough employers are actually taking the steps to engage their employees and there is a direct correlation between the cost of ignoring employee engagement and embracing it.  The cost is high.  Blessingwhite said it best in their findings: 'engaged employees stay for what they can give.  Disengaged employees stay for what they can get. 

According to Gallup research, companies with low employee engagement have higher safety incidents, more sick days, higher turnover, more quality control issues, etc. all costing the U.S. between $450 billion to $550 billion each year. Health-related costs alone to the employer in a suffering company are $11,709 versus $4,395 for a company that is thriving and has engaged employees.  The research has also shown that companies shedding jobs are more likely to be the ones with disengaged employees, a signal that publicly traded companies don't necessarily want to give.

The research also shows that publicly traded companies with high engagement, enjoy higher earnings per share.  So, what are some tips to engage employees?  Here are 7 tips to implement immediately:

1.  Live up to promises - Managers can greatly contribute to the engagement cycle by living up to promises and commitments made to their direct reports. 

2.  Fully utilize your talent - All too often Managers pigeon hole their employees or quite frankly don't understand the employee's full experience and education. Taking the time to understand an employees full skill set and actually using it will go a long way to engaging that employee.

3.  Career Development - Be sure to include career planning and development for your employees.  Again taking the time to know and understand the employee's interests will help guide you and the employee toward a solid future.

4.  Regular Meetings - Have regular one-on-one meetings with your direct reports.  Arrive on time and pay full attention to the employee.  Arriving late, leaving early, taking phone calls during the meeting, reading email or perpetually cancelling the meeting, without rescheduling sends a strong message that you don't care about that employee.

5.  Inclusion - Seek our input and ideas from your direct reports.  Show that their input matters and that they can contribute to the bigger picture. 

6.  Publicly recognize your Employees - Don't wait for a special occasion or the end of a project to recognize the contribution of your direct reports.  Use internal communications tools, social media and mass email to thank employees on a regular basis.  Ensure that the recognition is genuine and heartfelt.  Insincere thanks is worse than no thanks.

7. Give them Authority - Demonstrate that you believe in them by giving your senior team the opportunity to fill in for you when you are out.  Leaving no one in charge signals that you either can't trust your direct reports or that you are insecure about leaving someone else in charge.  If you have several people as direct reports that are at the same level, take turns leaving them in charge. 

These are just some things that you can do to engage your employees. There are many others.  What would you suggest a company do to ensure employee engagement?