STRATEGIC CLARITY

HIGH PERFORMING 
CULTURES

DIFFERENTIATED 
TALENT

Best Practices
White Paper

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 6 Manage
M ement Practice
P es that Make tthe Diffference
e
between Effectiv
E ve and Extraordinary y

Superstars in the manaagement arena arre rare.

But when they emergee, they have an enormous impact
i not onnly on their ow
wn teams but also on the
departments and organnizations that their protégéés go on to leaad. High perfo
formers are tyypically two to
o
three time
es more produ
uctive than their peers. Th hey are able tto get results while simulta
aneously attra acting,
developing and engagiing the next generation
g of leaders.

What is it that they do to

t get high pe
erformance th
hat the rest off us miss? That is what we
e set out to
discover.

Person
nal Attrib
butes of Great
G Man
nagers
After two plus decades s in the field of
o leadership development,
d , here is whatt we have com me to understtand
and appre eciate. Great managers are e self-confide
ent and authe ntic; they are creative and willing to takke
risks; they
y are competitive but alway ys act with inttegrity. These
e are their perrsonal traits.

Get Aligned. Stay Aligne

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A copyrights, tradema
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nd product names are copyrights, trademarkks, service marks, or rregistered trademarks of LSA
Global or its Parrtners.
What mak kes them truly y remarkable,, however, is that they are extremely su
uccessful at atttracting and
nurturing top talent along the way.

Six Pra
actices th
hat Make the Diffe
erence
The truly great
g manageers follow these practices when
w it come g, selecting and grooming
es to attracting
talent for high performa
ance:

1. Great
G Man
nagers Ne
ever Setttle
Great
G managers hire only th he best and th he brightest, nnot necessariily the most q
qualified. High
h
pe
erformers are e noted for the eir ability to le
earn, adjust a nd create inn
novative new ssolutions to
prroblems. The ey consistentlly show flexib bility when thin
ngs go awry aand have the intelligence aand
discipline to prrioritize and fo
ocus on what really matterss most.

Great
G o consistently identify emplloyees with unusual gifts a
managers are able to and are willingg to
ta
ake a chance on putting the
em in positionns of merit evven if they lacck the more “tyypical” experiience
annd credentials
s. They inves
st the time to always hire ttop talent.

2. Great
G Man
nagers Modify
Great
G managers feel obligatted to change e job descripttions and role
es to squarelyy fit the specifiic
ta
alents and des sires of their high
h performeers. This goess counter to the convention nal wisdom o of
neever changing g a company “for the peop ple.” But smaart leaders andd coaches kn now that their “A”
ntribute far more if given an assignmentt that takes a
pllayers will con advantage of ttheir strengthss
ra
ather than beiing forced to work
w within th
he constraintss of what the jjob is “suppossed” to be.

By playing to strengths,
s great leaders ac ormance and create loyal employee
ccelerate perfo
ad
dvocates williing to give moore discretion
nary effort.

3. Great
G Man
nagers Va
alue Quality
Great
G managers understand d that high pe
erformers thrivve best when
n working at a fast pace witth
otther high perfformers in a way
w that introdduces new ch hallenges in th
he areas thatt they love. T
They
allso understan
nd that top talent often movves on to takee advantage oof outside pro
omotions and
op
pportunities.

Great
G leaders don’t try to im
mpede the proogress of theirr protégés. In nstead, similar to college spport’s
co
oaches who must
m recruit new
n talent eacch year as theeir players gra aduate, greatt managers fo ocus
onn what is best for their peoople (internally
y or externallyy) while consstantly looking
g for fresh new
w
ta
alent.

4. Great
G Man
nagers De
elegate
Beyond assign ning tasks effe
ectively, greatt managers trrust in their fo
ollowers’ abilitty to deliver. T
They
do
on’t need to hover
h over the
eir employees s or have timee to microman nage. They give their top
em
mployees spa ace to grow and
a learn.

They map out exactly what they expect, ensure a commmon understtanding of success and faiilure,
ga
ain a clear co port and ensure accountab
ommitment, prrovide the necessary supp bility.

Get Aligned. Stay Aligne

ed. 800.889.64
452 2
©LSA Global. AllA Rights Reserved. All
A copyrights, tradema
arks, service marks an
nd product names are copyrights, trademarkks, service marks, or rregistered trademarks of LSA
Global or its Parrtners.
 5. Great
G Man
nagers Ex
xpect Mo
ore and R
Reward More
Great
G managers consistentlly model the way w while exp pecting and reewarding high h performancce.
This means cle
early defining both success s and failure iin a way that is clear, unde
erstood, fair,
ac
ccurate, poss
sible, transparrent, inspiratio
onal and mea aningful.

To inspire extra effort from their

t top work anagers also ensure that the greatest sshare
kers, great ma
off rewards are distributed to
o the highest performers in
n a way that iss meaningful and proportio
onal.
Because of this, their “A” pla o accomplish the extraordiinary.
ayers strive to

6. Great
G Man
nagers Mentor
Great
G managers thrive on th
he success off those they ccounsel and e encourage. Th hey excel at
ha
ands-on guidance and insppiration and build
b life-long relationshipss with those th
hey mentor.

The Bo
ottom Lin
ne
If you asp
pire to reachin
ng superstar status
s as a maanager, these
e six practicess make the difference betwween
merely efffective managgement and extraordinary
e managementt. Try one or ttwo at a time to see if it ma
akes
ce for you and your team in terms of hig
a differenc gher performaance, increassed engagement, improved d
retention or
o a decrease e in employeee relations iss
sues.

Get Aligned. Stay Aligne

ed. 800.889.64
452 3
©LSA Global. AllA Rights Reserved. All
A copyrights, tradema
arks, service marks an
nd product names are copyrights, trademarkks, service marks, or rregistered trademarks of LSA
Global or its Parrtners.
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STRATEGIC CLARITY  |  HIGH PERFORMING CULTURES  |  DIFFERENTIATED TALENT
© LSA Global.  All rights reserved.  www.LSAGlobal.com  800.889.6452