The Lost 20 Percent: Engaging the Almost-Great
by Craig Mindrum
In every workforce, there is a group within a group. On the surface, its members seem underwhelming. Some may misconstrue their contributions as mediocre and relegate them to similar status. But with some personal attention and the right developmental investment, this group of almost-greats can fulfill hidden potential.
A well-known saying tells us some people are born to greatness, others achieve it and still others have greatness thrust upon them. But there is also a fourth category.
Call them the "almost great" - those who need a guiding hand or a deeply personal interaction from a mentor or someone they respect to achieve the greatness that dwells within.
A great deal of attention is paid to the top 20 percent of an organization's workforce - the high fliers. Talent managers also focus energy on remediation or removal of the bottom 20 percent - those whose performance lags too far to the left of a standard bell curve. That leaves the bulging part of the bell - the 60 percent of employees who are average performers, or just slightly above or below average.
Neither hot nor cold, these employees do their jobs without distinguishing themselves in any way. But within the group dwells another roughly 20 percent who deserve attention. This group has as much raw talent and smarts as the top-tier or the high-potential group, but it does not rise to the performance level it could attain. Some of these employees are mired in a personal crisis or have introverted personalities in a workplace of sparkling stars, and they struggle to be noticed. Or perhaps they just need a few additional skills, a bit more self-confidence or someone's understanding to soar.
Quite often this 20 percent is lost amid the noise of daily tasks, celebrations of the stars' accomplishments and the million other things competing for talent managers' attention in the workplace. This group does not include employees who only perform well when someone is holding their hand. But there are probably millions of people walking around today who could have been great for their organizations, but their supervisors were too busy or preoccupied to give them the personal attention they needed to take their rightful place among the top performers.
Tap Into the Power of the Lost 20 Percent
Turning an average performer into a great one doesn't always involve long hours of training, performance reviews and the like. In fact, many turnarounds come down to defining moments. For example, Paul Massih, vice president of supply chain management for Shell International Exploration and Production, said early in his career, when he led a large global organization, there was a man on his staff in his late 50s. A staff veteran and a great raconteur, the man carried himself in an "I've seen it all" kind of way, and as retirement loomed a few years away, his work started to deteriorate.
"All of a sudden I started getting complaints - not only from his project managers but from customers, as well," Massih said. "He was coming in late, missing deadlines, and his work was shoddy." Massih followed the right protocol, speaking to the man's supervisor in an attempt to assess the situation and rectify it.
Finally, as the complaints mounted, Massih called the employee into his office. "I had all the background paperwork prepared ahead of time, and the first thing I said to him was, 'If you want to leave the company, if you're ready to retire now, I've got the papers right here; all you need to do is sign them and we'll shake hands and part ways.'" Massih had the man's attention.
"But then I let him know he actually had two doors in front of him, and he could choose which one to walk through. Leaving the company was one door. But then I said, 'The other door is if you're willing to talk to me about what's causing you to act this way and to let your work deteriorate like this. If you pledge to make an effort to fix things, I promise you we'll work through it together, and we'll put you back in the saddle.'"
He chose the second door and decided to confide in Massih. The man was having a number of family issues, which had exacerbated a drinking problem. "I told him we'd give him some time to work on the family issues and that we had counseling services as part of our company benefits that would help him deal with alcohol dependency. But I also told him that I would meet with him once a week, every week, until we turned this situation around," Massih said. "It took four or five months, but finally the reports started coming in: This guy was back to being one of our solid producers."
Why make such an investment in the "almost great"? Even in a difficult economy, the value of good talent is undiminished. Organizations can no longer afford to ignore such workers because they are a great untapped source of productivity and competitive advantage.
"I've always been a firm believer that it is much simpler to try to understand what is preventing an employee from reaching his or her potential and then helping them, instead of managing their career down a spiral and then eventually out of the company," Massih said.
Provide the Right Support at the Right Time
Mike Allison is director of learning services for Cerner Corporation, a health care information technology solutions provider. He said he has had several experiences where additional attention and effort made a difference to employees he saw as "diamonds in the rough."
In one case, an employee on Allison's team was suffering not from poor performance so much as an unacceptably low level of confidence. "This employee always had a great work ethic, but when I first observed him he was fumbling through an intern interview," Allison said. "He was nervous and clearly struggling with his communication skills. He also wasn't sure of his place on the team."
Training in communications and public speaking as well as opportunities to shadow more experienced managers helped the employee's confidence grow steadily. "We took him out of his comfort zone on some things - public speaking, networking with key executives, client engagements and so forth - and he worked on those skills so diligently they eventually became some of his greatest strengths," Allison said.
Invest the Necessary Time
Leaders should be willing to invest more than the minimum amount of time to guide employees' work and to help them realize their potential. Investing time in top-performing subordinates is comparatively easy for good managers. Only rarely, however, do leaders receive the training and behavior modeling necessary to provide effective guidance to the lost 20 percent, and that group needs personal interaction the most.
There is a misunderstanding by executives who not only do not have the patience to deal with less stellar performers, but who actually see that attitude as a virtue: that it's their job to provide tough standards that produce exceptional performance. Executives may feel it's not their job to play armchair psychologist with employees. But this is not about being a counselor. It comes down to being honest and constructive in relationships with employees.
If talent leaders are to successfully mine the productivity of a group of performers they are currently ignoring, they need to identify those performers and provide the right guidance. Consider the following:
1. Measure the right things.
If significant portions of the workforce are not measuring up, is the measuring stick still accurate and relevant? Does it measure multiple important things and not just a single factor? If a company only emphasizes short-term performance, which the lost 20 percent might be weak on, it might lose out on long-term benefits if it terminates those people.
2. Consider role fit.
Many managers have experienced a situation where an underperforming employee has "found" him or herself, when it was actually a case of finding a job role that was a better match for the employee's interests, background and thinking style.
3. Evaluate career choice.
People sometimes make career decisions for all the wrong reasons: parents' wishes, dreams of wealth, pursuit of an immature dream. Counseling a person out of an organization might be just the shock needed for them to find a job that matches their deeper interests.
4. Measure and reward leadership mentoring and development activities.
Any organization is going to say it prizes its senior leaders' dedication to developing people. Yet, few organizations hold these leaders accountable for it. At performance review time, what dominates is financial performance; most everything else takes a backseat.
5. Realize not everyone can be turned around.
It's important, to the organization and to the individual, to save as many underperformers as one can, given that they have the ability and have demonstrated at some point the potential to deliver. But at the same time, Massih said, "Some people just don't cut it. You have to have the respect for yourself and for your organization to help boost those you can, but also to counsel others out of the organization, where they might be able to find a career path that matches their true desires and interests."
Relationships with co-workers and with those in authority are key to enhance employee engagement and performance at every level. Relationships take on a special power, however, when it comes to motivating and engaging the lost 20 percent.
6. Relationships entail both promise and challenge.
Because a relationship by definition is deeply personalized and unique, relationship building cannot easily be taught. This puts the burden on organizations to model those behaviors from the top down - from the boardroom to the everyday interactions a manager has with the newest hire.
At the same time, effectively developing second- and third-tier players is not only in the hands of individual managers and executives. Organizational structures and performance management approaches and tools can help create an environment where more people have a greater opportunity to live up to their potential.
[About the Author: Craig Mindrum, Ph.D., is a strategic talent management consultant.]
