Stephen Blakesley

What would be the value of finding future superior performers, earlier in their careers?

Many top performing organizations, 47 % of those survey by Aberdeen Group recently, believe it has great value. Our own research leads us to believe that superior performers are seven times more productive than average.

Interestingly enough, we have found many future stars lurking among the average. The have the talent to be a top performer but for some reason or in some way they have gotten derailed, become discouraged and disengaged. I know, it is a sad story. But, there is hope.

I have found that most people with talent want to use it, and if given the chance, they will.  Here is a strategy that is working while you are reading this article, and if you are still with me, the real value is yet to come. Our findings are: if you gather a group of average performers and give them real hope that you are going to give them tools to leverage their talent and become all they can, about 20 percent will make significant moves toward higher performance to make that effort worth the time and money.

Many talented people, simply do not know how to apply their talent, and given an opportunity to do so, many will race toward the opportunity. Here is a simple, but effective plan to help talented people get better, faster.

• Help them discover their talent and/or strengths
• Define Superior Performance, for them.
• Show them how they can leverage their talent to perform in a superior way
• Touch them regularly with focused encouragement and accountability
• Measure their results and share with them.

Help Them Discover Their Talents

Most organizations now utilize some form of assessment to help them hire good people. Some of those assessments are good and some are not. As an owner/manager it really is your job to know the talents of those you hire and make sure they know them as well. Do your homework and pick a good psychometric assessment to evaluate potential before you hire.

Define Superior Performance

Superior performance means different things to different people. Make sure your people understand what superior performance means in your organization or department.

Show Them How To Leverage Their Talents

Knowing how to apply their talent in a way that maximizes impact is a powerful tool for anyone who wants to be a superior performer. Many times talented people know they are good but are not certain other people do. Break the ice, let them know you know their strengths and show them how to leverage their strengths in this particular job.

Touch Them To Offer Encouragement

Everybody needs encouragement now and then. You be the encourager. Meet with them regularly i.e. monthly or as often as they need encouragement.

Measure Results

Everyone wants to know how they are doing. Measure results and tell them, but don’t stop there. Show them how they can improve.

“Everyone Wants to be a Star”

HELP THEM!

Self-Awareness is one of the four pillars of Emotional Intelligence. The other three are Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Social Management. In my view, you cannot be emotionally intelligent unless you are Self-Aware.

Although Self-Awareness encompasses many things, being aware of your own emotions and feelings is the first and most important step to becoming Emotionally Intelligent.

We often talk about how we feel and through any day, we experience many different feelings and emotions. These two words are sometimes used interchangeably, but there are differences. If we understand the differences, it can help us be more self-aware.

Emotions are the external expressions of an internal stimulus. Core emotions are Fear, Sadness, Happiness, Anger, Surprise, Disgust, Trust and Anticipation. Each of these emotions have different levels of intensity. For instance, a lower level of intensity for the emotion of Trust is acceptance and a higher level might be adoration.

Feelings are internal and lower levels of emotions like the example above, you might be feeling accepted because of a display of the emotion of Trust exhibited by your boss. Or, you be felling pensive because of the emotion of sadness, due to a friends death.

On the other hand, emotions, because they are often externally expressed by running, for instance, if your are afraid of snakes and you just saw one, or slamming you fist into your desk because you are so angry are easier to recognize

So lets begin building self-awareness with a three step process:

1. Begin the day with a commitment to identify emotions you experience.
2. Write down, in a journal, what emotions your experience throughout the day.
3. Identify the “Triggers” that release the emotions.

About “Triggers,” these are events the release emotions. For example, you are “cut-off” in traffic and have to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident and you get angry. The trigger is: an unexpected and seemingly total disregard for safety. Knowing what triggers your emotions is a hefty piece of self-awareness.

Once you have successfully identified several triggers, use these strategies to mitigate negative emotions initiated by them. Let’s take anger, for instance. Someone says something that angers you. What should you do?

1. Recognize the emotion for what it is
2. Pause, take a deep breath or two
3. Consider, the intent of the other person
4. Respond with in a gracious and understanding way by asking for clarification.

Recognize, Pause, Consider, and Respond works, try it. Of course, it is not the right response to all emotions, For instance, if you see a two-ton boulder racing toward you and you experience the emotion of Fear, you should eliminate steps 2 and 3. Go to step for and run, as fast as you can.