I had to do some research for a class in grad school. This is a boring start to a story that really became a GAME CHANGER for me! I graduated from grad school in 2008 and I still pull out this tool regularly.

I have sat with employees, fellow leaders, interviewers, consultants and spoken to regional user groups using this tool. I will try my hardest to keep this simple to deliver the point well, but please know how much this can be talked and talked about!! I think you get the point, I really like this tool.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you; The Performance Pyramid!

I did not create this, I give full citable reference to Wedman & Graham

Great - pretty slides, why should you care?

Look at the top picture of the pyramid. I firmly believe, and believe that Wedman & Graham would agree here, the bottom three squares are what we as leaders must lay as a strong foundation. Then the top three squares are what we do well to expect our teams to bring to the vision.

This looks simple but I found it wonderful. And when I sit down with employees, new or long-term, it creates an open playbook for us to keep working together. For those who come from a place of wanting to do well and wanting to grow, this has unlocked a lot of opportunities for us both!

“Expectations & Feedback”

This is where leaders must take an intentional approach to share what is expected of the team’s mission and their individual work. This might be a seasonal task like a project go live or keeping up the requirements of everyone’s job descriptions. The feedback part is where I see leaders are slower to share. This is where I often tell the story of watching my son grow in his basketball career. I would be the parent who went to all the games, saw him recruited to play AAU ball and interact with a lot of talented coaches. But I also saw him get spoken to, yelled at, encouraged, corrected, etc. As much as that was difficult for me to watch, I learned a lot during that period of his life. I took note that if the talented coaches weren’t talking to the players, there wasn’t a lot of potential, but when the coaches were talking to the kids, yelling or encouraging, I saw them as investing in the player having potential that either supported or failed the strategy. I am similar in that I like giving and receiving feedback that keeps our work energy focused. Work offers a tangible opportunity to see progress. It is ideal to achieve a work relationship where all players in the scheme have the same vision.

Stating the expectations are easy for most of us, where we all need to balance that is serving our team in communicating how it is working out. Feedback does not all have to negative. Positive reinforcement really anchors groups into sustaining the best performances.

“Tools, Environment, Processes”

Another area that is the leader’s responsibility is providing these three items. And where I believe we often trip people up is believing that these things are working when they aren’t. Yes, we should know the general way that a tool works, but go look at it in operation. Hang out with the best staff who really care. Watch them use the tool. I cannot tell you how often I see the reports showing data that is less than what was expected. I go hang out with the high performing staff and see what is off; whether it is the tool, the training staff received of the tool or any combination of it all. Regardless of where the less than optimal piece is, the leader has both the opportunity and the voice to get it fixed.

Environment is huge. This covers everything from the literal space where work is to be done, to the atmosphere/culture of how people get along, to the way the team works with other teams, to factors that come in without notice (think Covid!) that impacts the bigger picture. Leaders are responsible to be informed and see the risks/benefits to the team and the goals they are working toward.

Process is fun. Process is fascinating. Process is incredibly informative! Do you know it? Have you outlined it or sketched it out? Are you able to own your process? I believe many leaders really believe they know what is happening, but I also believe that for a number of reasons, it often changes. On the full spectrum of why; there are people who think they don’t have to do it, to the high performers who see a better way and do it. Extremes like these impact performance. With everything leaders have on their plates, it is easy to establish a process or operating procedure and walk away from it because of all the other things that must be addressed. Revisit process. Keep it relevant. Talk to your people.

“Rewards, Recognition & Incentives”

There are many angles, ideas, concepts, opportunities to discuss with this one. We could discuss, read, create and share. That would be fun!

Here is where we can go just to get started; this is a great way to get to know your people. I have used one on one conversations to find out what matters to them in this category. I have seen people on my leadership team use 5 question surveys on what kind of candy they like, what do they like to drink and how they most like getting thanked. Yes, there really are people who hate being publicly acknowledged. Lead and Proceed with Caution!

Incentives can be tricky because there are a lot of definitions of this and I see you leaders who work in some of those tricky union situations and I know it is difficult to figure out what you can and can’t do. But get started, talk about this.

Now taking it really abstract, I will share with you what an employee told me years ago. For a lot of employees, the fact that leaders really work on “Expectations & Feedback”, “Tools, Environment & Process” can often create a work place where staff know they are cared for and THAT is rewarding!!!! That blew my mind! I learned so much from that one employee that day.

In Part 2, we will discuss what the top 3 boxes represent and can mean for the team in getting the work done.

Thanks! Work Hard and Be Nice to People!

The Leadership Plan: Performance Pyramid Part 1

The Performance Pyramid: Part 2