There is no substitute for performance. Your fundamental responsibility at work is to be really good at your given duties. You can’t suggest ways to improve the process unless and until you begin to master that process. And your ability to perform is one of the most important things people want to know about you when they evaluate your trustworthiness.
The most important thing they want to know is your intentions toward them. Because we simply don’t trust people that we think don’t have our best intentions at heart, there is no substitute for caring. If you can’t build trust, you can’t lead, and if you don’t care about your followers, they will never trust you.
But caring is a luxury for those that can’t perform. When I first started teaching, I was basically thrown into the classroom. I honestly didn’t care too much about my students because I just wanted to survive the semester. It was only as I began to master my new job that I developed the capacity to care about those I had been given the privilege to serve.
Leaders, master your jobs, then help your people move up the learning curves at work and master their jobs. Without performance mastery, they will have little capacity to care about what they do, who they do it with, and who they do it for. As they become purposeful performers that care, the work they do will become more meaningful to them and they will become more satisfied with and committed to you and your organization.
You will reap the benefits of better task performance, less withdrawal behaviors (e.g. tardiness, absenteeism, turnover) and more interpersonal citizenship. Don’t just tell them to get better and to care – help them develop the capacity to make it a continuously developing reality.
Leadership is caring about how well your people perform and being really good at helping them perform better.
Related Posts:
Bad Employee Attitude. Really?
New Evidence Of The Negative Effects Of Bad Politics At Work
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Hey, Bret. Great post as usual! How true it is that when leaders don’t care about their people, what would those people have to care about them and their organizations? On the other hand, leaders that show respect and care for others before their own do get the most out of them as well as help them perform better. With that being said, leaders nurture healthier working relationships that will eventually mark a major breakthrough in the process. Thanks, Javier!
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
May 13th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Concur, Javier. Our job as leaders is to help our followers get to where they can care more. One of the best ways to do that is to help them perform better. Thanks! Bret
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Bret —
It’s not quite as beautiful here in Toronto — a bit rainy and cold actually. I’ll have to enjoy the weather vicariously
It’s so true! You can easily tell the difference between people who care and are engaged and those who don’t and aren’t. Reminds me of Marshall Goldsmith’s story about two stewardesses on a flight: one i engaged in her task, friendly, and a pleasure to be around. The other clearly wants to be anywhere but where she is. He says the first has mojo and the second nojo
A follow up question: what are your top 3 tips for leaders who want to help their reports move up the performance chain?
Looking forward to your reply!
Jay
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
May 14th, 2010 at 7:33 am
Welcome, Jay! Good question about performance. I think too many leaders don’t clearly understand the performance/behavior they need to see. They can’t describe it clearly themselves, so they have no way of helping others achieve it and holding them accountable. So the first step is to clearly understand your group’s goals and the behaviors it is going to take from everyone involved to meet those goals. Then you have to communicate shared expectations. Tell folks clearly what you expect from them; tell them clearly what they should expect from you. Set up a system of shared accountability and make it work. If accountability is random it won’t work. Finally, be ready to learn from failure. Make accountability about learning and change not punishment.
Hope that helps. Your thoughts?
Thanks! Bret
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Jay Goldman Reply:
May 14th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Bret —
I really like your emphasis on making failure an accepted part of the routine. We’re all way too quick to point fingers when we should see it as a learning opportunity!
It would be great to flesh out HOW to do the first step. Understanding your group’s goals can be tricky and requires good communication up and down the chain (i.e.: what does your manager expect from your team? What does your team hope to achieve?). Sometimes those goals can be hidden by political shenanigans, so you might need to really dig into ulterior motives and not accept surface answers.
Would love to continue the conversation. Maybe we can turn it into a quick how to post and cross-post to both blogs?
Jay
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
May 14th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Great idea, Jay! If you have some ideas on how, I’d be glad to share them with my readers. Thanks! Bret
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Rightly pointed out. People are not machines who would demand only performance! They are humans…and they need care.
Thanks.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
May 14th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Indeed they need care, but we must perform. Those two are not mutually exclusive. Thanks! Bret
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Nice post Bret – I believe that compassion towards others directly affects one’s level of passion in what he or she does, and great leaders possess both!
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
May 14th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
We really should have compassion on those not performing, but more than that, we have to help them do better. Thanks, Kathy! Bret
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Hi, Bret
I was checking out the blog of Dan Ariely and there’s an interesting link to another fellow’s video there that dovetails with this subject.
http://www.predictablyirrational.com/?p=759&date=1
I don’t know if you’re familiar with Dan Ariely, but his book “Predictably Irrational” is a fascinating investigation into human behavior. He’s got a new follow-on book coming out in a couple of weeks.
-David
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 7:40 am
Have not seen that book yet, David. Thanks for sharing. Bret
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Hi Bret,
Great post really the bottom line is results without it everything else is “noise”.
I am being promoted to a Sales Manager position, and this is going to be exactly my main challenge how can I perform thru others?
As an Account Manager – I only had to manage ME, my performance has been great.
So your post hits the nail on the head: I still have to perform by leading people and more importantly I have to care for them well.
Leadership = Performance + Caring, I like this formula.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
May 24th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Thanks, Juan! Bret
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This is an excellent post Bret! I have selected it as one of my top five for the June 2010 Leadership Development Carnival hosted at my Maximize Possibility blog.
Thank you for submitting and be well!
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 8:22 am
Thanks, Chris! I appreciate the honor. Keep up the great work at your site. Bret
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