What motivates high performers?

I have always wanted to write about certain subjects and a lot of times am flooded with thoughts and the required energy but somehow it has never materialized. I recently read an article by Jack Welch titled

"Do you have a Jerk Problem"’

and I could not agree more with what it had to say. As a tribute to Jack (to say the least, I am a 24 year old Welch fan, have identified with Jack and Suzy’s management principles for a while now) I am starting my blogging career with this short note.

The purpose of this post is to throw a question out, open in the air.

What motivates high performers?

After having worked across countries and differently sized organizations, following are my conclusions.

Recognition

Newton’s 3rd Law of motion- For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When a senior person pushes people with threats in the form of condescending escalations in order to get the work done faster, I have seen great employees retaliate and lose their will to outshine and outperform.In a permanent escalation mode, employees eventually lose their sense of purpose, processes constantly go back and forth, come out with major quality defects and the lowest levels identify with each other and rise to a level of incompetency and mediocrity together.

On the other side, gratitude and gratefulness never does anybody any harm and contrary to popular belief does not result in complacency. Instead, it has helps organizations make stars out of underdogs.

High performance and recognition are highly correlated.

Cultural fit with company and people

I can tell from first hand experience that an underrated yet a very important factor is the cultural fit to the organization. If a high performer's style and passion does not match with the firm's he or she is bound to end up frustrated unless of course he or she undergoes a drastic transformation. This is typically a situation where the company in isolation is a great one (that's how these people ended up there in the first place) but because there is a mismatch in the sense of purpose, high performers often take the hard decision of moving on in a short time.

Freedom to innovate and work in Agile mode- NO Micromanagement

High performers often spend extra hours learning new things, innovating new methods and going beyond what is asked of them. This is how they always remain on top of their game. If you provide them with flexibility in their roles or independence to run their own initiatives, it works wonders for them and the company. On the other hand, robot-like instructions on what needs to be done and what is expected out of them is definitely a no-no.

Workplace transparency and shackle-free hierarchy

There is a reason why great firms like Google put so much effort into making the workplace more transparent and friendly. Their belief in breaking all barriers and shackles of formality is the way forward. Some hierarchy is essential but hierarchy which delays projects, creates endless loops by complicated reporting structures and which does not let recognition from the highest levels percolate down is unnecessary and puts high performers off.

Compensation and Monetary Incentivisation

Some high performers often leave for better pays.It is some sort of a value assessment for them. Period.

Ownership and Absolute Accountability

I have seen people with less relevant skill sets(to the job at hand) deliver great results. This has been when they have been entrusted with a job and own it completely. A genuine sense of responsibility is what drives them to go to the extra mile. According to a friend in a property listing portal in India, an online start up with average age of 25 in the management team, they believe in giving their employees complete end to end ownership of tasks.This management style has definitely worked for them, they have clocked a phenomenal growth month over month last year.

I now want to end this post by inviting all of you in my network to join me in this conversation- What motivates high performers?

If you had to choose one thing, what would you go for? Freedom, Money, Culture, Recognition or something else?

What feeds your Appetite?