Result-based Management

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Management vs. Leadership Managers, as they say, are more concerned with managing their employees, while leaders realize a vision with them. When you are at the helm, it is not always necessary to take control of everything. It is important to remember that your employees are capable of making great decisions. Fostering an output-based culture allows for that possibility.

Trust is essential in an output-based management.

Do not simply prescribe how the work should be done.

Instead, set the goals and the criteria that should be met to provide your employees a clear direction towards achieving them.

This gives your employees enough freedom to come up with ideas and solutions that best match the criteria you have set.

Focusing on outputs proves to be more beneficial as customer and clients become central to the process.

Employees have the freedom to communicate and collaborate with clients and develop creative solutions based on the feedback that they will receive.

As a result, this creates an output that will be tailored to their needs and tastes.

Moreover, when employees feel they are counted on, the more they feel accountable and driven to producing great outputs.

This increases their appreciation of their work and feel more satisfied.

A result-based culture is an environment of success.

By building a culture that focuses on output, you will be able to bring out the best from your employees.

Strategies for Building a Result-based Culture

In an output-driven culture, leaders are more focused on achieving results rather than just letting their employees put in the time and effort to accomplish a job.

However, setting up a company culture that is geared towards delivering results may not be as easy as it sounds.

Dave Ulrich, a Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan and a writer of many books on Result-based Leadership, considers seven things that help build employee commitment. He calls this VOI²C²E.

V is for Vision Employees need to know exactly what they are supposed to do and why they should work towards it. Giving them a clear meaning and purpose in their work will give the motivation to work hard.

O is for Opportunity Employees also need to know what they can gain from the process, and this only means that they should see the work as something where they can learn, grow and become better.

I¹ is for Incentives There is no denying the fact that money is an effective and powerful motivator. This, along with other forms of recognition and rewards, can drive long-term commitment as long as it is tied towards achieving company goals.

I² is for Impact When employees see the impact of their work and how it fits into a bigger picture, the more they see their job as meaningful and rewarding. This helps increase not only their motivation but also their likelihood to participate in organisational initiatives.

C¹ is for Community Building a sense of community among your employees make them feel more engaged and more enthusiastic to work towards their goals.

C² is for Communication Employees are more committed to their goals when goals are communicated clearly. This also helps reduce noise and misunderstandings that might hinder their performance.

E is for Entrepreneurship This refers to the the flexibility of work-life. When employees have enough flexibility and control how to get their work done, the more they are committed to take the reins.

It is important to remember that employees may react or desire parts of the VOI²C²E model differently. For instance, some would initially be more motivated by Opportunities but would later on look for Impact to find a deeper purpose for their work. Leaders in a result-based culture should always ask: What part of the VOI²C²E framework can we provide to employees to help them stay committed?

Which of these is not part of the VOI²C²E model:

Measuring Performance and Progress

Instead of using indicators that what you feel is easy to measure, choose only the ones that you think will matter.

Doing so will help your employees know what performance indicators should be prioritised.

Set clear targets.

Baseline values should be set and collected for each indicator. This will help identify what specific results should be achieved and when it will be accomplished.

Look for trends, surveys and benchmarks to establish a realistic and achievable baseline.

Monitor and evaluate performance through data collection Routinely collect information to assess whether the targets are being met, and make sure to evaluate and analyse the results. Are the goals achieved? If yes, what contributed to that success? If not, what factors hindered your employee from achieving them? What results were unintended? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation process? What lesson can we learn from it and how can we use it to improve future projects?