3 Developing A High Performance Culture

Developing a high performance culture
IT TAKES MORE THAN A CHANGE IN ORGANISATION STRUCTURE TO
TRANSFORM CULTURE. DAVE HANNA DISCUSSES THE FIVE KEY
INGREDIENTS OF A HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE
Managers today are anxiously looking
for ways to gain a competitive advantage
in their challenging global markets.
Some have chosen to develop a high
performance culture to deliver their
desired results.
A common approach to changing culture
is to change organisation structure.
This approach has failed many
times. High performance comes from
realigning mind-sets, processes, systems
and behaviours. Working on the
whole system is essential to transform
a culture; working only on one piece
rarely moves an entrenched culture.
Dr André de Waal of the Maastricht
School of Management has done some
illuminating research on the subject
of high performance organisations
(HPOs) (see sidebox), which has validated
five factors that characterise an
HPO. Here are some examples of Dr
de Waal’s five key HPO factors:
1. High quality management: A manufacturing
head in Germany was frustrated
with his plant managers. They were
accustomed to supervising, not leading
and coaching. High potential group
managers were chosen for a special
year-long development program that
focused on leading high performance
organisations. In time, a new generation
of plant leaders led the way to
high performance and improved business
results.
“High performance comes
from aligning mindsets,
processes, systems
and behaviours.”
2. High quality employees: Ritz-Carlton
has researched performance attributes
that predict success in the service industry.
One of these factors is “a strong
desire to help others”. Only one out of
20 applicants is hired at Ritz-Carlton,
but the chosen ones deliver the legendary
Ritz-Carlton service with commitment
and pleasure.
3. Long-term orientation: Procter &
Gamble CEO, AG Lafley, chose to be
more rigorous in evaluating product
initiatives. Lafley’s emphasis was to
do what was right for the market, not
what fit with past traditions. During
his tenure, several historical, venerated
products were sold off when market
data indicated their bleak future. But,
during the same period, the number
of P&G billion dollar brands increased
from 10 to 23.
4. Continuous improvement and innovation:
The president of a product
development division sought to align
his top 250 managers, aligning their
priorities with the division strategy
and with each other. After four days of
deep analysis and dialogue, all individual
priorities were aligned and finalised. In
the following 12 months, the division
delivered a record number of new
products.
5. Open and action-oriented management:
A senior manager in Sydney told
me one of the secrets of her company’s
industry-leading results. “We’re not like
some other companies in Australia
who turn over performance

What makes a high performance
organisation (HPO)?
management to the human resources
function. We own up to our responsibility
to manage and guide our people
to improve their performance.”
You should not assume from these five
examples that these companies did
only the one thing described here to
develop a high performance culture.
Each company also realigned other elements
of their whole system.
“In the world of culture
transformation, each
organisation’s starting point
may differ and each path to
the goal may vary”
In the world of culture transformation,
each organisation’s starting point may
differ and each path to the goal may
vary, but at some point all five HPO
factors must be in force for a real high
performance culture to emerge.
Dave Hanna is a principal at The RBL
Group, a global professional services firm
committed to creating value through leadership
and talent, strategic HR, and aligned
organisation and capability.
(From “Developing a high performance culture,” Inside HR, Issue 3 2014)
Dr André de Waal of the Maastricht
School of Management has researched
the answer to this question. His studies
of 2500 organisations worldwide summarise
the attitudes and behaviours
that deliver truly high performance. 1
HPO factors
1. High quality management: decisive;
action-oriented; strong relationships of
trust; coaching; holding others responsible.
2. High quality employees: want to assume
responsibility and excel; diverse;
complementary; flexible; resilient.
3. Long-term orientation: continuity
takes priority over short-term profit;
collaboration with others; good longterm
relationships with all stakeholders;
focus on customers.
4. Continuous improvement and innovation:
a distinctive strategy; processes
that are continuously improved, simplified
and coordinated; reporting important
and correct information; core
competencies and products continuously
improved.
5. Open and action-oriented management:
communicates often with employees;
open to change; performance
oriented.
1
de Waal, André, What Makes a High
Performance Organization: Five Validated Factors
of Competitive Advantage that Apply Worldwide,
Global Professional Publishing, 2012.