22. The myth of high performance
Hanz & Franz made it their mission to “pump you up” — but, there are easier ways to measure and enhance performance than steroids and grimacing.
Main ideas explored:
Staff competencies grow faster with the support of responsive systems
Survey the “forest” before the trees, roots, or leaves
Share data that is easy to use & hard to ignore
Choose data that resonates (the right fit) for your audience and its core values
Shine a light on the “stepping stones” to reduce guesswork and increase ease
Post (4 min read, 843 words):
Here’s an intriguing thought.
There is a common misconception that top performers work harder, know more, or are more motivated than everyone else.
Organizational psychologist, Thomas F. Gilbert (1927-1995) reached this conclusion after observing the performance of thousands of individuals from many different types of organizations.
He ended up writing a whole book on the topic called Human Competency.
Gilbert defined human competencies as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that contribute to individual and organizational performance. He defined performance as achieving a worthy accomplishment that advances human interest (e.g., equality, well-being, sustainability).
Next, let’s take a look at one of Thomas Gilbert's simplest formulas and how it can illuminate performance within different types of organizations.
What’s a PIP?
A PIP (Potential for Improving Performance) is a simple formula that he created to quantify the difference between typical and higher performers related to a worthy accomplishment (e.g., graduation rates, health outcomes, or reducing environmental waste).
PIP = exemplar performance/typical performance
So, if top performers in an organization contribute 100 % per year and typical performers contribute 50 % the PIP score = 2.
Very simple.
A PIP of 2 or above is considered high and anything around 1 is low (assuming costs and quality are held constant).
Gilbert calculated and shared PIP scores with individuals and organizations over several decades across thousands of workplaces.
What do PIPs reveal about organizations?
He found basic patterns that make intuitive sense.
In competitive, higher-skilled, or routinized workplaces, PIP scores were on average LOWER. There were smaller differences between the top and typical performers in these industries (e.g., airline pilots, competitive athletes, safety inspectors). This is very good news if you are planning to get on an airplane!
Whereas, in workplaces with broader standards of practice and less precise procedures and policies, PIPs were generally HIGHER (e.g., education, law, sales). For Gilbert, higher PIP scores indicated more room for improvement — and signaled opportunities to unleash the untapped potential locked within these organizations.
At first glance, I wondered whether performance is harder to quantify and calibrate in workplaces like schools or courtrooms. It seems harder to pinpoint the relationship between a teacher’s performance and a student's grades or graduation rates versus on-time arrivals for a pilot or airline.
Also, I’ve found mandates and strict protocols typically don’t go over well in places where autonomy and independence are highly prized. Although, many school districts have adopted standards-based approaches.
Measuring the unmeasurable
“Yes,” I could hear Gilbert chiming in, “but, if you want worthy accomplishments you need to measure performance over time.”
Gilbert took jobs or tasks that seemed unmeasurable and drilled down to identify the stepping stones or specific tasks needed to help individuals reach short or longer-term organizational outcomes.
He viewed himself as an engineer, tweaking aspects of training, policies, and practices to make workplaces more efficient, effective, and engaging environments for employees and leaders.
Gilbert’s ideas contributed to the growing field of Organizational Psychology which today uses more sophisticated methods than PIPs — but, the same principles apply.
According to Gilbert, many of us are not clear on how we perform relative to others because we don’t get precise or timely feedback or because we measure the wrong things. Employees are asked to engage in tasks or activities that have little to do with producing valued outcomes. For example, Gilbert railed against “workaholic” bosses who equated hours at the office with boosting staff performance and questioned whether “unmotivated” staff just lacked the right incentives.
Insights on high performance
All of these observations led to a big insight.
Top performers didn’t necessarily work harder, know more, or were more motivated than everyone else — instead, they often worked in organizations that enabled them to work more efficiently and effectively to generate worthy accomplishments in less time and with less effort required.
Gilbert also noticed that exemplary performers did things with more ease than others around them.
Gilbert insisted on calculating PIP scores for leaders and managers before assessing the performance of front-line staff or middle managers. He found this was a far more reliable and accurate predictor of worthy performance.
Gilbert also recommended translating PIP scores into something that resonated with different stakeholders (e.g., growth scores, desired outcomes, or a return on investment). He pioneered simple data metrics to compel and enhance individual and organizational performance.
Key takeaways:
People’s competencies grow faster with the support of resilient, responsive, and agile organization systems (e.g., onboarding, leadership development, HR)
Assess the “forest” before trying to make sense of why individual trees, roots, or leaves are thriving or wilting (e.g., audits, walkthroughs).
Make data too compelling to ignore and too easy not to use. Gilbert developed PIPs and other metrics that were self-explanatory and conveyed a simple & clear message.
Make sure the metrics you share resonate with your audience. (Most) Teachers care about students, pilots care about safety. and inspectors care about accuracy/safety. Data should reflect people’s core values.
Shine a light on the “stepping stones” to help achieve worthy outcomes with more ease and less guesswork.
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I am excited to feature a new voice on HIPS this week.
Introducing Eve Bastable, my youngest daughter & a burgeoning podcaster!
Eve recorded this short piece on the meaning of NO.
My key takeaway. Say YES a bit or a lot more often 🤣.
Enjoy.
P.S. HIPS will be on vacation for the rest of August. It will return in September. Look forward to seeing you then.
As always you can reach me at eoinbastable@gmail.
Be well and stay curious.
Thanks, Eoin.