The Performance Challenge: Developing Management Systems to Make Employees Your Organization's Greatest Asset

by Gilley, Jerry W.; Boughton, Nathaniel W.; Maycunich, Ann

• ISBN13: 9780738200446
• ISBN10: 0738200441
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-01-01
• Publisher: Perseus Books

Summary

Businesses of all shapes and sizes constantly struggle to balance the immediate demands of the market and shareholders against the cost of investing internally in the long-term development of their employees. And though many organizations draw up eloquent mission statements and proudly proclaim that "our people are our greatest asset," in practice they fail to make the commitment to employees in favor of meeting short-term goals. The net result is a failure to achieve a consistently high level of performance.InThe Performance Challenge,Jerry W. Gilley, Nathaniel W. Boughton, and Ann Maycunich draw from their extensive research, teaching, and consulting experience to present a comprehensive approach to performance management that will help executives in any organization lear to establish a dynamic balance among people, processes, and strategic objectives. The cornerstone of this approach is the Performance Alignment Model, which consists of seven separate but interrelated steps: conducting stakeholder valuation improving job design establishing synergistic relationships applying performance coaching conducting developmental evaluations creating performance growth and development plans linking compensation and rewards to performance growth and development As executives learn to apply these principles simultaneously, they can pinpoint obstacles to performance improvement and create an environment that successfully assesses stakeholder needs and expectations; links employees' tasks and responsibilities directly to the company's strategic goals and objectives; provides opportunities for mentoring, skills development, and feedback to enhance performance; and rewards employees for entrepreneurship, leadership, teamwork, creativity, and loyalty. In the process, managers take on new roles as coaches, trainers, and counselors, while corporate leaders reward those who contribute to collaborative, creative problem solving.Ultimately,The Performance Challengeoutlines a vision of a new type of corporate structurethe "developmental" organizationdefined by its abilities to enhance the collective talent of its employees for the purposes of better serving its customers and shareholders.

Author Biography

Jerry W. Gilley is an associate professor in organizational and human resource development at Iowa State University and was formerly the director of organizational and executive development for William M. Mercer, Inc. He lives in Ames, Iowa.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Why Organizations and Employees Fail to Achieve Desired Results	1	(18)
The Performance Challenge	3	(1)
The Performance Alignment Process	4	(7)
Developing Leadership Effectiveness	11	(1)
Creating Virtual Teams	12	(1)
Principles of Performance Improvement	12	(4)
Conclusion	16	(3)
Conducting Stakeholder Valuations	19	(18)
External Stakeholders	20	(3)
Internal Stakeholders	23	(4)
Identifying Stakeholders Needs	27	(1)
Identifying Stakeholders Expectations	28	(1)
Identifying Organizational Realities	29	(3)
Information Analysis	32	(3)
Conclusion	35	(2)
Improving Job Design	37	(16)
Organizations as Systems	37	(4)
Goals, Design, and Management	41	(8)
Conclusion	49	(4)
Establishing Synergistic Relationships	53	(18)
Synergistic Relationships	54	(14)
Applying the Synergistic Relationships Model	68	(1)
Conclusion	69	(2)
Applying Performance Coaching	71	(20)
Developing Feedback Skills	72	(2)
The Performance Coaching Process	74	(5)
Performance Coaching Continuums	79	(8)
Self-esteeming and Securing Results Through Rewards	87	(1)
Interface of Performance Coaching Competencies and the Performance Alignment Process	88	(1)
Conclusion	89	(2)
Conducting Developmental Evaluations	91	(26)
Types of Developmental Evaluations	93	(4)
Conducting Pre-review Activities	97	(1)
Danger, Danger, Will Robinson!	98	(4)
Conducting Developmental Evaluations	102	(7)
Dealing with Employee Disagreements, Excuses, and Performance Barriers	109	(3)
The Evaluation Form---A Restrictive Document	112	(1)
Conclusion	113	(4)
Creating Performance Growth and Development Plans	117	(22)
Forging a Performance Growth and Development Partnership	117	(2)
Motivating Employees	119	(2)
Creating a Self-esteeming Environment	121	(4)
Delegation as a Growth and Development Strategy	125	(4)
Building on Strengths and Managing Weaknesses	129	(2)
Designing Learning Acquisition and Transfer Plans	131	(5)
Conclusion	136	(3)
Linking Compensation and Rewards to Performance Growth and Development	139	(15)
Developing a Compensation and Rewards Philosophy	140	(1)
Linking Compensation and Rewards to Guiding Principles	141	(1)
Selecting Compensation and Reward Strategies	142	(5)
Identifying Performance Growth and Development Goals	147	(1)
Identifying Rewards That Enhance Employee Growth and Development	147	(1)
Integrating Components of an Effective Compensation and Reward Program	148	(3)
Linking Compensation and Rewards to Performance Growth and Development Outcomes	151	(2)
Conclusion	153	(1)
Developing Leadership Effectiveness	154	(17)
Leadership Effectiveness Model	154	(15)
Using Executive Coaching to Develop Leadership Effectiveness Skills	169	(1)
Conclusion	170	(1)
Creating Virtual Teams	171	(19)
Business Strategy	172	(1)
Work Groups	172	(2)
Performance Teams	174	(5)
Virtual Teams	179	(4)
Harmony and Efficiency Model of Virtual Teams	183	(6)
Conclusion	189	(1)
Beyond the Learning Organization	190	(17)
Reinventing Human Resources: Blessing or Burden?	191	(3)
Linking Employee Performance Goals to Strategic Business Goals and Objectives	194	(1)
Adopting an Inclusive Approach to Organizational Problem Solving	195	(1)
Incorporating Diversity into the Fabric of the Organization	196	(1)
Embracing Career Development Strategies	197	(4)
Adopting a Continuous Change Philosophy	201	(2)
Overcoming the Self-defeating and Dysfunctional Organization	203	(3)
Conclusion	206	(1)
Appendix: Performance Coaching Inventory	207	(26)
Manager's Self-report	211	(9)
My Manager Report	220	(13)
References	233	(2)
Index	235