Creating Higher Levels of performance – Believe it and it can happen!

How do you get people with talent to realise their potential?

How many times have you had this experience? You are sitting in a job interview being inspired by the person you are interviewing. You loved the way they greeted you. They answered your questions with wisdom and eloquence, and you just had to have that person! About six months later you are having a couple of challenges with that individual. You are not finding it easy to align their ideas with yours, they are not always meeting your expectations, and most interestingly they are inconsistent translating ideas into action….and results. Questions are starting to be raised!

Have they changed? Have you as a manager dropped your bundle? Or is this just the normal course of events? More often than not this is just the normal course of events. When we employ people we are in a questioning frame of mind wanting to learn about the person. This process cannot help but create enabling mindsets. When we get back to the daily grind of our job we can often find that the questions being asked are more closed and judging.

Our mindsets are determined by the questions we ask. Some questions have the potential to catalyse breakthroughs and inspire transformations. Others lead to stagnation and demoralization. The enabling mindsets for individuals and teams is sourced from the structures in which you meet, discuss and decide on future actions.

So when you think about how you can contribute to a team as a manager or team member, keep it simple, start by asking open questions….and the enabling mindsets of your peers will deliver the desired performance.

Recognising that an enabling mindset is part of the story below are the five performance principles 10kHR recommends to focus on to deliver improved decision making and sustained levels of high performance.

Performance Principles:

1. Check your mindset to manage your reactions and decision making

2. Questions reveal more information than statements

3. Individual preparation gets you ready to contribute constructively to conversations and decision making

4. You need to talk about it (targets etc) to maintain focus

5. Time is limited so focus on the issues that will deliver the outcomes

If you want to explore any of the points highlighted in this article contact Damien at damien@10khr.com.au