Page 68 - Performance Leadership

Chapter 4 Performance Leadership Framework • 57

In the words of Covey, the four dimensions of personal develop-
ment are about “preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you
have—you.” Performance management is exactly the same thing,
preserving and enhancing the organization. Analogous to Covey’s
dimensions for personal development and his application of those to
the business world, I have identified four dimensions of performance
management: the operational; the analytical; the social; and the value
dimensions.

Operational Dimension

Organizations need to be healthy and to have energy for development.
Day-to-day operations need to be in good shape, and ambitious goals
need to be set in order to reach and stretch and become faster and more
agile and have more capacity. But we also need to give the organiza-
tion some rest so as not to overstress. We allocate enough time for our
people and our processes to recuperate and do the necessary mainte-
nance, or we provide feedback to reflect and innovate. The operational
dimension matches the “first loop of management,” monitoring how
we are doing against established goals. Performance indicators in the
operational dimension are by definition very transactional in nature
and measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the daily work of vari-
ous business domains. In physical terms, it’s important to keep the body
healthy so it can function, and there are general rules about healthy
living. There are many best practices for operational management, and
it makes sense to put a benchmarking program in place to compare
parts of the organization with other parts or other organizations. Even
the performance indicators can largely be standardized.
If we have swift and agile management processes, we can quickly
detect changes in our environment and our own performance. We can
act immediately and prevent or correct before any potential issues
become a wildfire. There is a need for integration points between the
first loop and the second loop of management, and some real-time
management information. Managing the day-to-day operation never
stops. We can never take our eyes off the ball. In Covey’s words, “This
dimension is about discipline.”