Page 159 - Performance Leadership

148 • Part III Principles from the Values and Social Dimensions

Table 9.2
Group versus Individual Focus

Individual Focus
Group Focus (the (the needs of the
needs of the group individual come
come first) first)
Management Process Consultative Directive
Key performance indicators Bottom up, composite Top down, optimizing
metrics to reflect balance single goals, cascading
of objectives into more details
Feedback Organized by the group, Privacy-sensitive, numbers
for the group; no broad not public
rankings
Rewards Group-based, overall team Personal rewards for each
performance team member’s
performance
Dysfunctional behavior Ignoring imposed metrics, Inertia because “I am not
gaming the system, appreciated here”
misrepresentation

In the end, meritocracy and aristocracy lead to the same result: status
based on the size of the operation the manager commands. However,
the difference in how this success is achieved is vital. In a meritocracy,
the best professional may earn more than the manager; in the aristoc-
racy this is not common. Performance indicators in an aristocracy are
based on continuous improvement; they are not zero based.
Implementing aristocratic performance management in a merito-
cratic environment will lead to disastrous results. To protect themselves,
people will start building little empires to gain power, leading to sub-
optimal results. Others will become unmotivated, as they are not able
to make the career progress they desire. Information and knowledge
will not be widely shared because it is the only source of power the spe-
cialists have against the established order. Conversely, a meritocratic
system will fail in an aristocratic environment. Managers will start to
discredit the system, and to downplay the importance of the system if
the actual performance is disappointing. If their direct reports can earn
more than they do, they will find alternative ways to show their contri-
butions of the past, instead of just their results for the most recent
period. See Table 9.3.