The role of roles

For a considerable number of years I (and many others) have enjoyed attending live events in the entertainment world. Something which never ceases to amaze me is the sheer professionalism of ballet dancers, opera singers and theatre actors.

Day after day, night after night they deliver exemplary performances and whilst there is a repetition in everything they do, the audience generally always leaves feeling as though the performance was a ‘one off’ – just for them.

All premium ballet, operatic and theatrical performances have a common objective - to deliver a memorable experience to their paying customers which can only be delivered if all the ‘players’ are pulling together in the same direction.

And so too, in business, most companies are desirous of winning the hearts and minds of consumers, to give them a memorable experience and generate a level of loyalty that will deliver on-going business.

Yet, far too often in business, customer service is delivered in a clumsy fashion and even though there are great examples of business success across the world, there are equally a sizeable number of business failures and sub-optimal performances.

Why does this continue to happen in the 21st Century when we have more data, information, education, technology and experience than at any time in the modern industrial world? Why don’t business people behave in the same manner? What differentiates these actors in the entertainment world from actors in the business world?

In my attempts to find the answer to this question it has become quite clear that there is a discipline to the approach of those in the entertainment world second to none. As individuals they excel in their own particular field and demonstrate technical skills that sit in the upper decile of their chosen profession but these skills are useless if there is no co-ordination, synchronisation, storyline, direction and teamwork.

If all the artists in a performance of the ballet Swan Lake, for example, chose how they wanted to dance, when they wanted to dance and who they wanted to dance with, there would be chaos. Performance would be sub-optimal to say the least and the paying customer would walk away most dissatisfied.

But this doesn’t happen. Why? Because the producers and directors have a clear vision, objective and strategy as to what they are trying to achieve, which in turn is inextricably linked to the specific activities required to deliver the outstanding performance.

These activities are supported by disciplined methods or processes and are undertaken by appropriately skilled and qualified personnel to ensure the best outcome.

Now, most businesses I work with claim to have the vision, objective and strategy. They also profess to have skilled and talented people. Where they invariably fail is with the connection between these elements and the specific activities undertaken by their team of employees.

There is an element of strategic dissonance which miraculously continues to deliver a reasonable business result but doesn’t climb to the consistent high levels of performance that could eventuate if teamwork was optimum.

How do we get the personnel in an organisation to work in an efficient synergistic manner to deliver exceptional performance? In my view it boils down to the roles that people play in the organisation and the clarity of definition that sort the ordinary performances from the exceptional performances.

When you dig deep into the workings of the organisation to examine why dissonance occurs, often you will find there is an overwhelming lack of clarity in the roles that people perform which can result in confusion, frustration, low morale, inefficiency and poor teamwork.

This can be avoided by addressing the root cause of these issues through three fundamental human resource management principles, which are lacking in many companies:

1. Understand your role
How many people in your organisation truly understand their role? How clear are your policies and procedures, and can you identify the exact role they play in specific business processes? When I interview personnel in an organisation it’s astonishing how many times I get a puzzled look when I ask them what process they support.

I usually get a general answer regarding sales, marketing, finance, or production etc. but very rarely can they show me the specific tasks in a process, which they are responsible for supporting.

2. Accept your role
If you are diligent enough to have clearly specified the role your personnel play in the overall business operation, are you confident they have truly bought into the role and will perform it to the best of their ability?

Unfortunately it’s human nature for people to want to do something different to the role they have been employed to do.

They aspire for greater things and as the old saying goes, ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’. In the ballet scenario, not all dancers can have the lead role but if you ask each of them which role they would like, no doubt they will all want that one. Your challenge is to ensure that people don’t diverge from their core role.

3. Perform your role
Finally, if you have understanding and acceptance of a role then you need that person to perform the role at a consistently high level to deliver exceptional service to your customers.

There is no room for sub-standard performance in any part of the business operation as it will ultimately reflect on customer satisfaction. I always encourage my clients to describe how a particular role within the business will add value to the customer experience. If you can’t describe the value, then maybe the role is not required.

So, take the time to ask your people if they have embraced these principles and in the absence of an acceptable answer – take them to the ballet!