“When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight.”Jack Welch.
Did you know that a team in any organisation comprises of 30% star performers, 60% good workers and 10% slackers?
Kenya’s 2010 TOP 100 SMEs convened at Strathmore Business School during a breakfast sponsored by Sage Pastel themed ‘Developing a Winning Team’ on Thursday 15th March. The keynote speaker Gladys Ogallo, CEO and Founder of Virtual HR sought to engage the participants with tips on developing the winning team that will take their organisations to higher levels.
What do employees want?
Employees want to be encouraged to reach their potential and also be given opportunities for advancement. They want their talent and feedback to be highly esteemed and till then will they return the care about the company to its customers.
Why is there a shortfall in talent?
Research on leadership transitions have indicated that nearly 40% of internal job moves by “high potential” employees ends in failure. In addition, a large percentage of the “high potentials” are actively searching for a new job which suggests that when a new offer comes along they will grab it hence a shortfall in mid-sized companies.
The mistakes that companies make
Developing a winning team can be achieved by first understanding the mistakes an organization makes and the truth about managing people.
Some of the mistakes commonly made include the assumption that “top performers” are highly engaged. This is a fallacy according to the Harvard Business Review 2010. It indicated that 1 out of 4 top performers intends to leave the company within the year, 1 out of 3 admits to not putting all his/her effort on the job, 1 out of 5 believed his/her personal aspirations are different from what the organisation has planned for them and 4 out of 10 have little confidence in co workers and even less confidence in the management team. This negativity is caused by outsized expectations whereby most employees set a high bar for their organisation and therefore expect the organisation to treat them well.
What attributes define high performance
The attributes that define high performance include the ability which comprises of the intellectual, technical and emotional skills to handle increasingly complex challenges, the level of personal connection and commitment that an employee feels towards the firm; its mission and the aspiration/desire for recognition as well as future rewards.
How to develop a winning team
• The senior management should double their efforts to keep their staff engaged
• They should explicitly link their individual goals to the corporate goals
• Allow the employees to help solve the organisation’s biggest problems
• Hire people who will fit in the organizations culture.
Gladys concluded by reminding the participants that leadership is all about trust. She stressed that this is the underlying ingredient of a winning team.