VIDEO: How do I manage my team's performance?

Curious how Theo Epstein helped the Chicago Cubs win the World Series in 2016? We'll give you a hint - he knew character and behavior mattered just as much as productivity. In my short video below, I discuss the four best practices for managing your talent program. 

Transcript

Hello everyone Rob Lynch here, the question for today is “How do I mange my team’s performance?”

In the April 1st edition of “Fortune Magazine,” Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein was ranked number one in their list of the World’s 50th Greatest Leaders. Why is that? He insisted that the Cubs only acquire players with outstanding makeup. In other words, his blueprint for winning the World Series, which the cubbies did in October of last year, is that character and behavior mattered just as much as productivity. 

Successful growth companies understand this too and I want to share with you four best practices for your talent program. First, leaders should have regular ongoing reviews of their talent to ensure continuous improvement of that talent as well as removing C players from the organization. Two, you can use a simple tool adopted from the principles of top grading.

Rank what percent of the time do they live the core values and also rank what percent of the time are they productive in their role. And in terms of what percent of the time do they live the core values, I’m talking about are they role models for the core values. Now the answer to these two questions, will allow you to put your team members into three categories, A players, A potential and non-A. In an A player, is someone who is most productive in their role as well as the best role model for the core values.

The third best practices you want to avoid the C player trap. Do you know the number one reason why A player’s leave companies? Tolerance of C players. The vast majority of managers spend more time in one-on-one conversations with C players than they do A players.

Then finally as leaders, we want to learn and instinctively know what to do with our employees in the three categories. For the A players, what are we doing to retain them, for the A potential, what type of coaching are we doing for growth and for the non-A’s, what type of coaching are we doing so they can become the best B players possible or for those C players who do not respond to coaching then it’s time to move them on from the organization. Thank you.