Sustainable Performance Reviews

On the thread of performance reviews, it occurred to me that one key area in which sustainability is often not embedded in the organization is in the performance review.

Think about it, if your performance review is the demotivating debacle described in my previous post, in terms of valuing and respecting resources it is a barrier to building a sustainable organization. The workforce and even the executives are trapped in a Dilbert like world of double entendre, undiscussable issues and tragicomedy. This is the waste generating opposite of generating value, developing capacity for innovation & implementation and building resilience & responsiveness-let alone holding a space for people to be whole and develop presence.

So…what would sustainable performance reviews look like? In my thinking they would:

•  Inquire into the health of the employee. How are you doing in this organization? How is your manager / the organization doing for you? What do you do to take care of your self? How could your manager / the organization take better care of you?
• Have a clearly designed, defined and operable approach to sustainability. This should be done in a way that engages “the whole system” of internal and external stakeholders to help the organization and leaders see what needs to be done, who needs to do it and what competencies and capacities are necessary to make it happen at all levels of the organization.
• Make the employee a partner in sustaining the organization. What are you doing to sustain and grow this organization? How well is this organization helping you sustain your self and your family? What would it take for you and us to flourish?
• Set targets and goals that blend the following:
  • The corporate bottom line and the necessary efficiency and effectiveness to support it.
  • The employees needs and the necessary work/support, achievement, recognition & development to achieve it.
  • The values and principles that will allow both bottom lines to co-exist and grow.
  • The needs of other internal and external stakeholders that either affect the above or are affected by the above.
• Make goal/target setting and performance reviews something to look forward to. What would an engaging, appreciative, empowering and uplifting review look and feel like? Ask your self. Ask your friends. Ask your team. Ask your subordinates. Ask your mentors and leaders. 
• Be the change you all want to see.

Tags: be the change, capacity, Dilbert, generate value, goal setting, implementation, innovation, performance review, presence, resilience, responsiveness, sustainability, sustainable leadership

Sustainable Leadership-Generating Value

In this third post on the practices of Sustainable Leadership, I want to look at the process of Generating Value.

Value is generated when resources are brought together. The quality of the value created depends on the quality of the resources and the quality of the space and dynamics of the combination process. Sustainability depends on what those resources are, how their use affects the systems around them and, simply, on what value is being generated.

Generating value is a key function of leadership. The quality of the value we generate as leaders depends greatly on the quality of our practice. If we are talking about people, we want to attract the RIGHT people to help us be as effective as possible.

Who we attract depends on who we are: our presence, perceptiveness and the power of our vision and conviction.

What we can do depends on who is with us and what we, together, can create. If we are talking about creating green technological innovation we need people who not only have the knowledge, skills and experience but also share a similar sense of mission and belief in what is being created. The “green-ness” of the innovation is related to how deeply we delve into the value generating process.

Quick question: how “green” is innovation when the materials and processes to create it are damaging to the people and eco-systems involved in the creation?

It is no longer enough to be an inspirational, visionary leader. It is no longer enough to simply foster and generate creativity and innovation. It is no longer enough to be wildly profitable. It is no longer enough to simply be successful. It is no longer enough to live comfortably and provide solely for our families. 

Sustainable leadership is about quality: the quality of inspiration and vision we create. The quality of creativity and innovation we foster. The quality of our success. The quality of comfort for all that we touch and embrace. 

Look around you, what value are you generating and what is the quality of that value? Is it sustainable? How do you know? 

Tags: green innovation, green technology, presence, sustainable leadership, value generation