The Performance Factors
The Essential Elements for Safe and Efficient Performance
Great performance in any task; whether you are playing a sport, selling a widget, or working in a dangerous profession requires Four things: Will, Skill, Systems and Culture.
“Will” is the “want to” factor. It is about having mind and body ready for action and up to the challenge.
“Skill” is the “can do” factor and refers to the knowledge and ability to do the job, whether that means dribbling a ball, negotiating a contract, or running a piece of machinery.
“Systems” are the “how to” factor and refer to the tools, processes and support you need to succeed. Systems refer to the rules of a game, processes for executing work, required personal protective equipment (PPE), or software used to get things done.
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When Systems Are Poor or Missing Altogether
Systems answer the "How" question, and if the "How" changes based on who is in charge that day, the results are bound to vary. When systems don't provide for how to execute a procedure or which tools to use to get best results, then people will probably improvise. The result is often lost time an unnecessary exposure to risk. When systems don't clarify risks and mitigation measures, the results can be tragic.
Highly motivated (Will), highly Skilled team that lacks Systems will often figure something out in the end, but their work is typically inefficient, and their work products are inconsistent, and suboptimal.
When Skills are Poor or Missing
If you ask a highly motivated (Will) team that understands the business (Systems) to do a task for which they lack the necessary Skills and competencies, they will probably give it their best effort. If the task is simple, they will probably learn something, and will be better at it if called on again. However, when the work is complicated or poses a lot of risk, the lessons learned can come at great expense.
Leaders undermine employee engagement when they throw people in over their heads and expect them to sink or swim. Imagine calling the centerfielder from your kid's baseball team in and tell them they have to pitch today. They want to win, and they know baseball, but may be terrible at pitching. The result is only frustration for the individual and the team.
Worse still is the case where leaders undermine their own, as well as the company's commitment to safety when an employee is injured doing a task for which they were not competent. Such actions create a perception that "we do safety as long as it is convenient."
The Result of Low Will
What kind of performance would you expect if you had a Skilled team that knew the game plan and had the right equipment (Systems), but they all had food poisoning and weren’t up for the challenge (Will)?
Mediocrity –they know what needs to be done and how to do it, but their mind or body are not playing along.
How We Help
Using the Performance Factors as a framework, we can help you identify where you can have the greatest impact on performance and provide the tools and skills needed to close the gap.
In the middle of these factors is culture, which is simply defined as “how we do stuff around here.” Culture has the power to amplify or diminish all of the other factors. You can train people to use a skill, but if the culture dictates continuing to do things the old way, the culture will always win!
Leaders can shape culture to create an organization where safe and efficient operations are just the way you do things!
Great performance on any task requires Will, Skill and Systems, and a culture to support all three.