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Performance Management

Published September 2006

Modeling Behavior: The Ripple Effect of Performance Management

Sam S. Adkins

 

Gandhi is reported to have once said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world." Performance management professionals would put it this way: "You must model the behavior you want to see in the organization."

The concept of behavior modeling has been part of the workforce performance profession for more than 10 years. In that time, practitioners have collected a wealth of data to prove that performance management based on behavior modeling has a variety of ripple effects, including increased productivity, increased customer satisfaction, better business alignment, increased regulatory compliance, increased human safety and higher morale.

The Ripple Begins at the Top
Our culture is permeated with sayings such as "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" and "It starts at the top." The culture at large seems to be in consensus that authority-figure role models have a significant impact on the behavior of subordinates. This belief is very strong in the corporate world, and extensive data suggest that the behavior of executives has a profound effect on the behavior of the workforce.

Human resource departments apply performance management methods and technology to align the workforce with organizational goals. Their efforts can be very effective when the executive leadership provides a positive role model, or they can be seriously hobbled by poor role models at the top. HR professionals and organizational development professionals have long been aware of the detrimental ripple effect of senior executives saying one thing but doing another.

In an article for Salary.com, "Seven Essentials for Effective Performance Management," Bill Coleman wrote, "Performance management starts with the CEO doing a good job with the top tier of executives. It will cascade very naturally from there. It will fail for certain if performance management is deemed to be good for the masses but unnecessary for top management."

Even investment bankers are aware of this and will make investment decisions based on the behavior of executives. Guy Kawasaki, managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, wrote a blog entry in April called "The Art of Customer Service" in which he said, "The CEO's attitude toward customer service is the primary determinant of the quality of service that a company delivers."

The impact of the behavior of supervisors on the workforce has been extensively studied in public safety organizations.

"As an employee's most influential role model, it is the direct supervisor who most shapes and molds the beliefs and attitudes of the workforce. The long-lasting effect of what an integrity-filled leader says and does is astounding," wrote Neal Trautman in his 2004 article "Bad Leadership Role Models and Officer Misconduct."

Although most performance-management professionals would agree that the example set by executives is very important, new data suggest the behavior of anyone in the organization can have a ripple effect.