The Performance Challenge

Businesses of all shapes and sizes constantly struggle to balance the immediate demands of the market and shareholders against the cost of investing internally in the long-term development of their employees. And though many organizations draw up eloquent mission statements and proudly proclaim that ”our people are our greatest asset,” in practice they fail to make the commitment to employees in favor of meeting short-term goals. The net result is a failure to achieve a consistently high level of performance.In The Performance Challenge, Jerry W. Gilley, Nathaniel W. Boughton, and Ann Maycunich draw from their extensive research, teaching, and consulting experience to present a comprehensive approach to performance management that will help executives in any organization lear to establish a dynamic balance among people, processes, and strategic objectives. The cornerstone of this approach is the Performance Alignment Model, which consists of seven separate but interrelated steps: conducting stakeholder valuation improving job design establishing synergistic relationships applying performance coaching conducting developmental evaluations creating performance growth and development plans linking compensation and rewards to performance growth and development As executives learn to apply these principles simultaneously, they can pinpoint obstacles to performance improvement and create an environment that successfully assesses stakeholder needs and expectations; links employees' tasks and responsibilities directly to the company's strategic goals and objectives; provides opportunities for mentoring, skills development, and feedback to enhance performance; and rewards employees for entrepreneurship, leadership, teamwork, creativity, and loyalty. In the process, managers take on new roles as coaches, trainers, and counselors, while corporate leaders reward those who contribute to collaborative, creative problem solving.Ultimately, The Performance Challenge outlines a vision of a new type of corporate structure—the ”developmental” organization—defined by its abilities to enhance the collective talent of its employees for the purposes of better serving its customers and shareholders.

Jerry W. Gilley is an associate professor in organizational and human resource development at Iowa State University and was formerly the director of organizational and executive development for William M. Mercer, Inc. He lives in Ames, Iowa.