How to become a high-performance organisation
In this episode of the MHR Show, hear from globally leading business theorist André de Waal as he explains some of his research into high performance organisations. He’s helped hundreds of businesses achieve high performance with his five-step framework:
- Management quality
- Openness and action orientation
- Long-term orientation
- Continuous improvement and renewal
- Employee quality
According to De Waal, when an organisation prioritises all five of these factors, it becomes a high-performance organisation (HPO). This isn't just a list of management practices; it’s about building a high-performance mindset among your employees so that your organisational culture is geared towards achieving high performance over a long period of time.
MHR’s Secrets of High Performance research report
In this episode, you’ll also hear from Maddy Gibney and Emma Reid from the MHR team as they unpack some of the numbers from MHR’s 'Secrets of High Performance' report.
The research revealed a stark disconnect between employees and leaders when it comes to high performance, with 91% of employees believing their team is high performing but only 51% of leaders agreeing. This is partly because employees and leaders tend to define high performance differently. As put by Emma, “Neither group is wrong, it’s more a case that they have different perspectives”. Essentially, employees want stability, skills and effective management, whereas leaders want agility and innovation.
High-performing women in business
MHR's research also uncovered a gender divide among leadership, with female and male leaders defining high performance differently. As Maddy highlights, our ‘High performing women in business’ report revealed that female leaders tend to take a people-first approach, focusing on recruitment, retention and employee engagement to drive high performance. Male leaders, on the other hand, prioritise operational excellence and risk taking as key drivers of high performance.
The 10 key drivers of high performance
Our report, informed by survey results and André de Waal’s research, identifies 10 key drivers that can turn any group of people into a high performing team:
- Shared vision and goals
- People given empowerment and autonomy
- Clear communication, collaboration, and feedback
- Openness to risk taking and innovation
- A culture of learning and growth
- Operational excellence
- Agility and adaptability to change
- Commitment to recruiting, retaining and developing top talent
- High employee engagement
- Future focus and investment
Once you embed these principles into your organisation, you’ll start to build a high-performance culture where employees and leaders are on the same page, working towards the same goals.
Learn more about André de Waal’s world-renowned research
Unlock the secrets of high performance with the next episode in our World of Work 2050 webinar series. Register now for on-demand access to our conversation with André de Waal where he explains his world-renowned research and gives some practical tips on how to embrace a high-performance mindset.
