How to extinguish a performance initiative dead in its tracks

Many complex organisations start performance initiatives only to get frustrated when they don’t get results.

Leadership wonders, “Why aren’t managers and employees coming forward with ideas?”

There are many answers, but one of the simplest is that even high-level managers are not trained or coached in how to come up with good ideas and then sell them to the rest of the organisation.

For instance, consider a complex health system. An idea to improve operations might cut across multiple units. It could involve numerous stakeholders. Very few managers – many who come from clinical backgrounds – have the skills to take that idea from start to finish. They might have a general idea, but not the skills to turn that idea into a substantive case. Even if they do, they often lack the political savvy and influence skills to get buy in for their idea.

The good news is that it doesn’t take years of training or coaching to help leaders, managers, and employees develop this capacity. It doesn’t require a black belt in six-sigma.

Best of all, once your employees have these skills, they have them forever and can keep moving the organisation forward.

What’s at stake?

-          Hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, in profits.

-          Developing leaders who can see the bigger picture and make things happen.

-          A culture that makes ongoing improvements in your organisation.

If there is one investment to make in your organisation, it is in the tools and processes for improved critical thinking. Leaders are those who get great ideas, sell great ideas, and implement great ideas. Why hold back your employees from these three crucial activities?