Comments on: Expert Urges Employers to Overhaul Performance Management Systems http://www.dubaichronicle.com/business/exhibitions/expert-urges-employers-to-overhaul-performance-management-systems-16766 The latest news and comprehensive coverage of major stories, issues and events from across Dubai and from around the world. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:56:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jim Gilchrist http://www.dubaichronicle.com/business/exhibitions/expert-urges-employers-to-overhaul-performance-management-systems-16766/comment-page-1#comment-3167 Jim Gilchrist Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:49:25 +0000 http://www.dubaichronicle.com/?p=16766#comment-3167 I fully agree with Mr. Buckingham that performance management systems need to be continually evaluated and redesigned in order to attract and retain talented managers and staff. This is a global necessity, and not limited to any region. I also agree that “…a person grows more in their areas of strength rather than in their areas of weakness”. This happens simply because most people gravitate towards activities that they are good at, and they enjoy doing, rather than towards tasks that they are less capable of performing or that they dislike, particularily when they are under performance pressure.   But I have to disagree with the statement that “The best way to enhance performance is to build on a person’s strength instead of focusing on their weakness.” Simply because, in the wrong situational context, a person’s performance strength quite often becomes a performance weakness.   Take, for example, a person who is highly analytical and strategic. In situations requiring this skill they will perform quite well but, when under pressure, they are more likely to gravitate towards this same “comfort zone” whether the situation demands it or not. Hence we can see “paralysis by analysis” and subsequent slow decision-making in times when it is more important to take action. Similarly, a person who is strongly action-oriented may wrongly rush to making mistakes in situations that would have been better served by strategic thinking and analyitical problem solving. The key point is, your performance strengths can be a performance liability when mismatched to the wrong situation.   I would argue that it is most important to identify and understand a person’s performance strengths and weaknesses (we all have them) and then to create, or manipulate, situations that will respectively maximize and minimize their impact. By knowing how a particular person will react under pressure (strengths that they will gravitate towards and weaknesses they will avoid), we can then help them to develop the proper response that will be appropriate to the specific situation –strength or not.   Whether hiring new staff, or evaluating current performance, taking the time to honestly identify situational matches (or mismatches) between the person’s performance capabilities and the requirements of the task, the position, the manager, the team and the overall work environment is a key component to above-average performance sustained over time. Jim Gilchrist President CAES  Career Advancement Employment Services Inc. www.careeradvancement.on.ca I fully agree with Mr. Buckingham that performance management systems need to be continually evaluated and redesigned in order to attract and retain talented managers and staff. This is a global necessity, and not limited to any region. I also agree that “…a person grows more in their areas of strength rather than in their areas of weakness”. This happens simply because most people gravitate towards activities that they are good at, and they enjoy doing, rather than towards tasks that they are less capable of performing or that they dislike, particularily when they are under performance pressure.
 
But I have to disagree with the statement that “The best way to enhance performance is to build on a person’s strength instead of focusing on their weakness.” Simply because, in the wrong situational context, a person’s performance strength quite often becomes a performance weakness.
 
Take, for example, a person who is highly analytical and strategic. In situations requiring this skill they will perform quite well but, when under pressure, they are more likely to gravitate towards this same “comfort zone” whether the situation demands it or not. Hence we can see “paralysis by analysis” and subsequent slow decision-making in times when it is more important to take action. Similarly, a person who is strongly action-oriented may wrongly rush to making mistakes in situations that would have been better served by strategic thinking and analyitical problem solving. The key point is, your performance strengths can be a performance liability when mismatched to the wrong situation.
 
I would argue that it is most important to identify and understand a person’s performance strengths and weaknesses (we all have them) and then to create, or manipulate, situations that will respectively maximize and minimize their impact. By knowing how a particular person will react under pressure (strengths that they will gravitate towards and weaknesses they will avoid), we can then help them to develop the proper response that will be appropriate to the specific situation –strength or not.
 
Whether hiring new staff, or evaluating current performance, taking the time to honestly identify situational matches (or mismatches) between the person’s performance capabilities and the requirements of the task, the position, the manager, the team and the overall work environment is a key component to above-average performance sustained over time.

Jim Gilchrist
President
CAES  Career Advancement Employment Services Inc.
http://www.careeradvancement.on.ca

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