THE THREE CIRCLES OF SUCCESS

How many times has an employee brought you a copy of their job description, claiming they do all the tasks listed and therefore should be promoted? Does it matter that they are not collaborative and make things harder because they can’t work well with others? Not to mention the resentment the rest of the team carries with them because they don’t get what they need from this employee. But the employee knows their craft well, and the clients LOVE them! So, we promote them.

If you’ve ever had the good fortune (?) of being in a meeting with me regarding someone’s performance, there is a high likelihood you’ve heard me refer to ‘circles of success,’ accompanied by a hastily drawn sketch of three not-exactly-round circles placed side by side.

My poor drawing ability notwithstanding, throughout my years in Human Resources, I’ve found there are three areas that, when all are met, equal good performance. The employees and leaders I’ve encountered who encompass all three of these areas - and do them all well - are the true superstars.?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Circle 1 is CRAFT. Simply defined, your craft is the knowledge of the tasks you are hired to do. For me, that is Human Resources. For others, it could be accounting, media planning, or graphic design. I consider this circle the basic cost of entry – without the fundamental skills of your trade, you will likely not be successful in the role. When you are new to a craft, you are shown what to do, taught how to complete deliverables, and if you are lucky, are provided context to understand why the work you are doing matters to the greater outcome. With time and experience your craft skills get stronger, and you can take on more complex tasks and additional responsibilities and typically interact more with stakeholders and clients.

Circle 2 is CLIENT. We all have clients. As an HR executive, my clients are my organization’s leadership team and employees. As we continue to develop our craft, we begin to have more involvement with - and influence upon – our clients. If you are newer to client interactions, you are typically not just thrown in without preparation or guidance. Your boss will ask to see the email before you send it, or your team will help you rehearse before you present. The relationship between you and your clients is incredibly important, and for many companies, those relationships are the life blood of the business. Unfortunately, because of this, being adept in this circle can outweigh the others.

Circle 3 is MANAGEMENT. This includes self-management, managing up, and managing others. In short, it is how you conduct yourself. Despite all the training, guidance and support we provide in the Craft and Client circles, we rarely work to ensure the employee is set up for success to take on the management part of their role, or to be held accountable to excelling in it. The strengths in the first two circles tends to lead to the ‘reward’ of overseeing a team of people. However, what got you here won’t get you there.

In a nutshell, CRAFT and CLIENT focus on what you do, while MANAGEMENT is about how you do it.

Just because you know how to keep your clients happy, which is important, it doesn’t mean you are performing successfully in your role. In this instance, the person is only meeting expectations in two-thirds of their job - craft and client.

Depending on the organization's culture, each circle might be weighted differently. In some organizations, the management circle may not be a consideration at all for measuring performance. If that works for them, fine (though I could argue it really doesn’t work for them.) However, once you hit a certain level in the organization, it is precisely the management circle that makes or breaks your success. By the time you are a director level, let’s say, it is expected you will have solid craft skills and good client management abilities – again, the basic cost of entry. It will be the management of yourself and others that will determine if you are truly successful.

We need to teach, model, and hold employees accountable for performing in all three circles well. Until employees are rewarded (or penalized) in relation to the behaviors we value, employees who are good at their function or whom clients may love - but may be toxic internally - will continue to be promoted and rewarded. And we will never have a true culture of rewarding good performance. I haven’t even mentioned the impact that seeing a poor performer get rewarded has on those who really are trying to work well across all three areas. It reinforces that it doesn’t really matter how you behave or treat others as long as the ‘work product’ is good or the clients are happy.

In an organization that weighs each circle equally, an employee who is excelling in only one circle would receive a bonus one-third the amount of the budgeted amount available. If the entire team resigns or asks to transfer to another unit and note that that person is the driving reason, it ultimately won’t matter how much your clients like them, since there will be nobody left to deliver the work.

Organizations must identify what success looks like in each area, communicate those behaviors clearly and often, and reward those who meet or exceed them. For those who aren’t performing well in all three circles, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Provide them feedback, explain the impact, and focus on helping them achieve the desired outcome. If we are transparent and consistent in defining and holding employees accountable for performing well in all three circles of success, the organization will reap the rewards.