Driving Government Performance: Leadership Strategies that Produce Results

1. Driving Government Performance: Leadership Strategies that Produce Results Recap of the KSG program provided for the IQC’s

2. Leadership • Not about charisma • Results count – results are outside the organization • Strategic Triangle • Have a clear purpose • Build legitimacy and support • Build capacity to perform • Manage the symbols • Commit your personal time • Make performance visible

3. Strategic Triangle Value – a compelling purpose Support from authorizing environment Capacity to do the work

4. Performance Management • Accept that there is no “secret” right way • Use a combination of leadership actions – “management by groping along” • Say what ‘better performance’ is • Make current data available • Act on the data quickly • Experiment and learn • Relentlessly follow up • Decentralize with clear direction and accountability

5. Basic Approach – 12 “better practices” • Create the Framework • Drive Improvement • Build Capacity to Perform

6. Create the Framework

7. 1. Mission, vision, values • Provide guidance to users, external observers, overseers, participants • Vision: desired end state/destination • Mission: agency role in achieving end state • Values: two kinds • professional/process • outcome-oriented • Proclaim clearly and frequently

8. 2. Focus on one issue • Identify the most consequential performance deficit - what key failure is in the way of achieving the mission? • Use the value to chain to link the deficit to the results that are important to citizens • Push in all directions – even when you ‘can’t control it.’

9. Organizational Boundary Value Chain Performance Mgt Results Inputs Activities Outputs Immediate Outcomes Intermediate Outcomes Ultimate Outcomes Processes and Roles $$ Employees IT tools Equipment Facilities Statutes • Changes • In Behavior • Customer • Client • Staff • System Products and services delivered Impact on recipient Technical quality Societal impact

10. 3. Establish a specific target • Specify the next level you expect from the organization • Engage everyone • Seek and insist on other relevant comparisons (benchmarks, even when not ‘just like us’) • Use variation to learn and improve • Keep pushing • Authorize experimentation • Use theory AND data to learn

11. Land-based artillery Better Best Practices 1.03 x our best Our best gunner Just like our gunship Nothing like our gunship Us last week Next best gunship to us Worse Incremental Change Revolutionary Change Complacency

12. 4. Link target to mission • Decide where along the value chain to focus • Show how meeting the target accomplishes the mission • Make the mental model explicit • Make a commitment • Understand who the customer is – adapt the balanced scorecard model

13. Public Value and Benefit Financial Management Customer/Client Service Internal Process Management Organizational Learning and Growth Balance your scorecard – adapt the model!

14. Drive Improvement

15. 5. Monitor progress • Publish the data so that: • Everyone knows how they are doing • Everyone knows how others are doing • Everyone knows that everyone knows how everyone is doing • Monitor data frequently, publicly, personally • Push the data horizon out

16. 6. Build operational capacity • Give your teams what they need • Make it your business to know what they need – manage by walking around

17. 7. Recognize small wins • Find ways to dramatize accomplishments • Publicly recognize accomplishments

18. 8. Create esteem opportunities • Be careful about ‘pay for performance’ • Find out what would be meaningful to individuals • Give everyone a chance to contribute toward the organization’s success • Give everyone a chance to build their own esteem and the esteem of others

19. Build Capacity to Perform

20. Build Capacity to Perform9. Check for ‘cheating’ • Anticipate some form of ‘cheating’ or goal distortion • Verify that targets are being met in a way that does not undermine the mission • Clarify the constraints – measure them as well – but keep the focus on the target • Turn the energy into improving performance, not meeting targets • Don’t hesitate to call ‘foul.’

21. 10. Analyze many indicators • Use qualitative and quantitative data • Create a balanced scorecard, but fit the model to the organization • Use analysis to triangulate on conclusions • Continuous improvement needs continuous data collection • Use data to link causes and effects • Use variation to learn how to improve

22. 11. Act on the learning • Adjust mission, target, monitoring, capacity building, esteem opportunities, rewards, analysis as needed

23. 12. Report successes • Report back to authorizing environment • Use success to obtain resources • Use resources to build capacity