Work
Let’s Change How We Relate To Future Success
Right now, my new faddish pastime is LinkedIn Answers (I’m a renaissance soul so give it a couple of weeks…it’s likely to change). I dig how some fairly simple questions can generate some interestingly diverse opinions. I’ve been posting some questions and receiving some responses that I’ll likely incorporate into upcoming blogposts.
Recently, someone asked this question:
Does past performance guarantee future results? If not, why it is so often used as a criteria for raises and promotions?
I was surprised by the responses. Many opined that there are no guarantees, yet the past usually indicates the future and this is the only option we have. To which, I must call bullshit. This sounds an awful lot like a collective “that’s just they way things are.” Really? I just can’t accept that. Here’s the answer I offered:
No and this is exactly why the structure used for raises and promotions is flawed. Our own successes often get in the way of future success. See Marshall Goldsmith’s book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
However, I think what the responses here show is that few organizations have figured out how to build in raises and promotions. So, we’re still dealing with an old system that may no longer work. Here’s an idea…scrap past performance as the key indicator for whether someone gets a raise. Make it based on the number of new ideas conceived during the year, the number of innovations to improve processes, etc. Something that actually is forward-looking rather than backward facing. And let’s change the idea of promotion. What’s a promotion…change from line employee to manager? How about adding work that fits the strengths of that employee rather than just giving a title promotion.
So, am I on to something here? Completely full of crap? What’s your take? And if you’ve managed to change the criteria for compensation and professional acknowledgment, what’s your story?
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Amen, brother! In terms of promotions, I think of the W.L. Gore system, where leaders are elected by the staff–if people like the way you are leading, they invite you to lead the team. It’s not about title, it’s about leadership that works. As for raises, I agree that the current system sucks, but since I only work for myself, it’s easy for me to criticize. I just don’t know how to quantify individual work and then match it to a specific dollar amount. My one suggestion, though: make all salary information completely transparent. I’m not sure the secrecy really serves us.
Hiya Jamie…love how W.L. Gore deals with promotions. Let folks who want to lead actually lead. And find other ways to highlight and acknowledge other employees. The saddest thing is when a really great engineer (or designer or salesperson or etc…) is elevated to management as the only way to promote them. And they hate it, but what other choices do they have? Instead, give them more work that fits their strength, more visibility to accentuate their work, or more freedom to find that next great idea. Elevating someone should be about freeing them, not binding them.
As for raises and the like…I’m still out there looking for ideas on how to improve this. Until someone can prove to me that the current system is the best of all possible options, it’s going to be yet another pet cause of mine.
Oh…and I totally agree with salary transparency. This is one organizational secret that contributes to an erosion of trust and fairness.