THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT EYE CHART

Being a leader is difficult work. In some departments it is very difficult work. In others it is moderately so, but all leaders contribute to your organization’s success. Successful organizations make a great effort to match the abilities of its leaders to the difficulty of the role in which they are being placed. Putting the right people in the right roles is one of the most powerful actions an organization can use to guarantee its own success.
The Performance Management Eye Chart (PMEC) is an inclusive, incisive, broad and detailed look at an organization. Objective performance rankings are color-coded in the PMEC. The combination of color-coded ranks and specific performance measurements shows how individual departments contribute to the overall performance both accurately and at a glance.

It is hard to always get leadership alignment right, especially without help from a tool like the PMEC; the first step to getting alignment right is to recognize, then admit, when you have succeeded and when you have not. The very best way to make that recognition is through objective measurement! The second difficult challenge is taking action on the knowledge. Objective measurement gives senior leadership the confidence to take action earlier, when it can make the most difference in charting a better course for the organization’s success.

This means taking early action is an incredibly effective skill, making the Performance Management Eye Chart an extreme value. Especially in tight economic times, it is essential to not shut down performance measurement activities, but to make sure the organization invests in products that deliver out-sized value. The PMEC is the premier performance measurement tool in Healthcare, and is remarkably affordable.

Only through measurement can an organization truly determine how a broad spectrum of departments are performing and contributing to the operation’s bottom line. Through measurement, each department and leader can be held accountable and the organization’s critical leadership talent apportioned where it will do the most good. Without it, we are all, more or less, sophisticated guessers; a great game to play when things are going well and a very uncomfortable place to be when performance starts to deteriorate. You can see it, feel it, but only wonder why things aren’t quite the same anymore . . . .

ODDS OF SUCCESS CHART

What are the 7 typical appointment mistakes that organizations make?

1. Appointing a B level person into a complex management role based upon their tenure period or technical competency (clinical/financial expertise). The ability to lead others does not correlate with tenure or technical expertise. Odds of Success = 45%.
2. Appointing a lower level “supervisor” into a manager position in a bottom quartile (failing RED) department out of convenience. They are usually unsuccessful because of their lack of management experience (higher level of responsibility); they tend to be part of the status quo culture, and they are less likely to take action on the low performers or make tough decisions. Odds of Success = < 20%.
3. Not recognizing that a complex department in the bottom quartile (failing RED) will require a “Turnaround” specialist who is used to making tough decisions quickly. Most B level managers do well in maintenance roles. A “turnaround” is a completely different, very challenging situation where doing what’s right for the department and stakeholders outweighs the personal interests of an individual. Odds of Success for a B level leader = < 20%.
4. Waiting too long to act and failing to set hard, measurable target performance expectations with milestone dates on the first-year road-map for a new manager. “As goes the first 90 days, so goes the remainder of the year.” If new managers don’t make the heavy-lifting decisions, especially dealing with negative, disruptive, poor performers, immediately, turning around the department takes longer, is usually more painful, and has a lower overall success rate. Odds of Success = < 20%.
5. Not considering leadership talent or ability. Assigning a C or D level leader in any role has low Odds of Success. The average C player has Odds of Success of 30% and a D player has odds of 15%. The overall success rate for a combined C or D level leader is that they have a 25% Odds of Success.
6. Low acceptance rate of a new leader/manager by the staff because of an “old school” mindset that tenure in the department is a qualifier or even prerequisite for appointment. Some departments (and people within the departments) are unforgiving when it comes to a manager’s qualifications to lead in the role. The behavioral pattern is to “chew up and spit out” the “substitute teacher” managers as soon as possible. It can be extremely difficult for some people to handle this situation long enough to succeed. Odds of Success = < 33%
7. Ignoring Competency Alignment. Sometimes, even the most talent leaders (A players) can be out of alignment technically, business-model wise, behaviorally, or in maturity or experience. The most common situation is insufficient technical competence and/or a business-model deficiency where a competent leader in one department/function cannot be respected as a leader in a totally different area of expertise. They simply won’t know what to do in difficult situations. The other common situation is a poor cultural or behavioral fit, where the culture of the organization is too dominant for the person to adjust to or the maturity level of the leader is too low to adapt to what will be most effective. Odds of Success = < 33%.

The Performance Management Eye Chart is the ultimate tool for measuring the performance of every department in your organization and putting it on one intelligible, accessible page. It is based on multiple sources, giving it stability and accuracy. It is actionable, and it is the first step towards aligning talented leaders into your organization’s most difficult roles.

Get one for yourself! Give us a call about what the PMEC can mean for your organization. . . We love to talk about you!