Page 47 - Performance Leadership

36 • Part I A Review of Performance Management

that job or activity and hence have implications for the motivation of
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behavior. Unfortunately, even in the academic world little empirically
based research exists that has attempted to understand the relationship
between performance management and, for instance, management
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styles. In daily practice even less attention is paid to the subject.
It would be important to know up front which behaviors can be
expected when introducing performance management. We know, for
example, that introducing metrics is a very political exercise. Not every-
one is interested in having deep insight into their own performance,
and being open about it. This is particularly the sentiment felt in mid-
dle management. The position of middle management in many large
organizations is not easy, being squeezed between the workforce and
senior management. Middle management uses the lack of transparency
to protect its position. So when we introduce new targets and per-
formance indicators, we can expect elegant evasive behaviors, strong
passive-aggressive reactions, and sometimes even sabotage.
The problem is that the behavioral consequences of performance
management are usually not taken into account when designing,
implementing, and using performance indicators. Typically, it is a top-
down process.
From the top down you make sure everyone understands the cor-
porate objectives. What are the short- and long-term targets the organ-
ization needs to meet? The next step, based on that knowledge, is a
long list of performance indicators. Which indicators can be defined
that describe to which extent the objective is met or is in the process
of being met? Then, based on what data are available, you are able
to define what is relatively easy to measure versus what best describes
the objectives, and a short list of performance indicators is selected.
This short list is finally implemented. The way people will behave
when these indicators are implemented is typically not discussed, nor
part of the design and implementation process. It will remain a sur-
prise, although we all know that measurement drives behavior.

Let the Games Begin!

Metrics can tell you anything you want. For every event, metrics can
be found that present different, even opposing, conclusions. My per-
sonal experience, which I shared when opening this chapter, is a good