FOUR WAYS TO ENSURE LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY

Guest post by: Richard Lepsinger
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The Truth About Performance Management: Four Insights on Making Your System Work - By Richard Lepsinger

A new study of 400 leaders found that 40% report that employees are not being held accountable for results. Research on top performing companies identified five actions that have the greatest impact on an organization's ability to increase leadership responsibility.

Use goal setting to facilitate strategy execution. Translating strategy into department goals and clarifying priorities increases the likelihood that implementation plans will focus on high-impact outcomes. It also facilitates individual goal setting which enhances leadership accountability.

Clarify expectations to drive performance management. Effective leaders use three techniques to enhance responsibility; clarify exactly what needs to be done, establish a specific date for when the task needs to be completed, and agree on checkpoints to review progress. These actions are based on three fundamental premises of performance management:

- Never assume people know what's expected of them.

- Don't just talk about ideas without agreeing to actions and ensuring responsibility.

- Don't ignore when someone has dropped the ball. Coordinate and follow up on progress. Coordinating and monitoring activity is a critical aspect of strategy execution and is an essential ingredient for building a culture of accountability. It's how companies keep people focused on high-priority goals and actions. The most effective leaders are ruthless in monitoring goals and reinforcing appropriate behaviors.

Provide accurate and timely information. This involves clear communication about strategic priorities as well as ongoing dialogue between managers and their direct reports. Goal setting and coaching are key elements of performance management systems, yet too often, this is viewed as an administrative, HR-driven activity, rather than a tool to help enhance business execution. When managers view performance management as a tool to drive results they are more successful in building accountability among their direct reports..

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The Truth About Performance Management: Four Insights on Making Your System Work - By Richard Lepsinger

About the Author: Richard Lepsinger

RSS for Richard's articles - Visit Richard's website

Rick is President of OnPoint Consulting and has a twenty year track record of success as a human resource consultant and executive. He was a Founder and Managing Partner of Manus, a human capital consulting firm, which he sold to Right Management Consultants in 1998. At Right, Rick was the Managing Vice President of the Northeast Consulting Practice where he was responsible to 55 professionals and grew revenue from $7 million to $20 million.

The focus of Rick's work has been on helping organizations close the gap between strategy and execution. He has served as a consultant to leaders and management teams at the Astra-Zeneca, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Citibank, Coca-Cola Company, ConocoPhilipps, Eisai Inc., Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, Merck & Co., the NYSE Euronext, Northwestern Mutual Life, Pfizer Inc., Pitney Bowes, Prudential, Siemens Medical Systems, and Subaru of America among others.

Rick has extensive experience in formulating and implementing strategic plans, managing change, and talent management. He has addressed executive conferences and made presentations to leadership teams on leader effectiveness, strategy execution, performance management, 360ï¿½ feedback and its uses, and developing and using competency models.

Rick has authored or co-authored five books on leadership including Closing the Execution Gap: How Great Leaders and Their Companies Get Results published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley, Flexible Leadership: Creating Value by Balancing Multiple Challenges and Choices, (co-author with Dr. Gary Yukl) published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, The Art and Science of 360º Feedback, (co-author with Toni Lucia) published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, and The Art and Science of Competency Models, (co-author with Toni Lucia) of published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. His newest book is Virtual Team Success: A Practical Guide to Working and Leading From a Distance published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

Click here to visit Richard's website.

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