The ground-breaking Genius Project*, showed us the two key differences between the top performers and the rest. It showed us what the top performers have, what they do, and most importantly, how they think for success.
What they have: is a high degree of self-awareness; they know what they’re good at, and perhaps more importantly, they know what they suck at.
What they do: they stay true to their talents; making sure that succeeding in their roles only requires them to do what they are naturally very good at.
How they think: they ignore the conventional (ineffective) approach, and turn left instead of turning right. They adapt the role to fit their strengths.
Organisational roles are often defined positions of responsibility – the role is often the ‘job’. Roles have role requirements, and they also provide rewards. People fill these organisational roles. Historically, organisational roles are created and defined based on organisational needs. And then we look for a suitable person to fill the role.
In the new economy, roles become more balanced. Yes they are created in response to organisational needs, and we find people who are a great fit. But once the person is in the role, we then need to open up and be willing to adapt and refine the role to better fit the individual. This is what the top performers do; they fine-tune their roles to create a ‘best fit’. The role then not only serves the organisation more effectively, but also serves the individual more effectively, and importantly – enables the individual to serve more effectively – a win-win-win.
Roles need to be S.M.A.R.T. Roles
Specific – clearly defined in terms of specific competencies, skills and outcomes.
Measurable – to be manageable, it has to be measurable. Key performance indicators.
Aligned – the role has to be aligned with the organisations AND the individuals’ needs.
Rewarding – the role has to recognise the individual in the way that matters to them.
Talented – the role must only depend on the individuals talents, and not their non-talents.
Specific: Have a very clear understanding of the key role competencies
The best roles are those that are defined clearly, in terms of outcomes, and also in terms of competencies needed to achieve those outcomes easily. If you can define your role in terms of relevant competencies and skills, then your chances of finding the best person for the role are dramatically increased.
Measurable: Ensure there is a method for measuring performance
Once you have defined the role in terms of outcomes, and key competencies, you need to be able to measure a person’s performance within those key competencies. As we know, at least 78% of the value within a company comes from hidden assets, soft-skills; what we traditionally called the ‘intangibles’. Such things as empathy, attention to detail and big-picture ‘strategic thinking’. Thankfully we can now accurately measure these intangibles, and therefore manage them. Key Performance Indicators are critical – to be most effective they also need to be individualised and role/person specific.
Aligned: Ensure the role and the person are aligned
When building smart roles, we have two elements: the role and the person. The high performance outcome is where both the role and the person are aligned. The position of ‘best-fit’. The organisational and role requirements are being met, and the person feels both valued and highly competent. The benefits of alignment are vast and varied; less stress, less time off sick, a more vibrant, positive and highly engaged culture to name a few.
Rewarding: Ensure the role and rewards engage the person’s drivers and motivators
Knowing what drives and motivates a person best, enables you to both reward and recognise the person in a meaningful way. This fuels engagement too. It is the engaged and valued people who go the extra mile, who talk about what a great company this is, and who enjoy coming to work.
Talent-based: Ensure the person’s success is only dependent on their talents
The focus point of all SMART Roles, is the emphasis on natural talents. As we have seen with the Genius Project; when a role is oriented around a person’s natural talents and strengths - performance and engagement increases dramatically. This absolutely will – have a measurable and positive impact on your bottom-line.
The Problem
Are your people fully engaged? Are they able to performance at their highest level? If not – they’re likely suffering from poor role alignment, or simply poor self-awareness of how to align themselves.
Summary
When organisational roles are SMART roles – there is a viral effect. The positivity spreads, inspires, and reinforces the idea of people being valued not just for what they know and do, but also for who they are. Leaders lead better, managers manage better, and the work force works better. The organisation as a whole performs better.
With technology and social-connectivity driving change, as the emphasis shifts from an industrial economy, through a knowledge worker economy, and towards a value based economy - SMART Roles are no longer an option. As more organisations expand their focus beyond bottom-line ‘profit’ and incorporate ‘people and planet’ – the options for savvy individuals increase.
If the individuals within your organisation do not feel valued, if they do not see their work as an opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way, if you do not make it as easy as possible for them to do their very best – it’s getting easier for them to simply find and go somewhere that does.
The Genius Project *
The Genius Project was a study conducted by Innermetrix Inc. and spanned 7 years, with 190,000 individuals from 23 countries. It measured over 80 key competencies and cross referenced these with 5 levels of individual performance.
