The right tension for optimal performance

 
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Business is about finding the right tension. What’s ‘tension’ in this case? It’s the trade-off between profitability versus growth; short term gains versus long-term goals, outsourcing versus employing more staff.

You face competing voices when solving problems. On one side there is a call for more freedom and flexibility, and on the other a demand for more controls to meet compliance requirements.

Avoiding tension is not the answer – all that happens is unresolved problems stay embedded in the business and opportunities are lost. Competing tensions are what businesses have to manage, not unlike when driving a car using the accelerator one minute, then the brake the next. If we want to get to our destination over difficult terrain, then we need to make decisive calls where there is a natural tension to accelerate or brake.

The right tension is lost if too much autonomy has free reign, or over-the-top demands impose unnecessary constraints for no clear reason. Such imbalance or absence of the right tension can spiral into unwanted behaviours; indecision, lack of direction, blame, anger and dissent that kill motivation and success.


Importance of processes

Leadership is about empowering the right sort of behaviour to make the right tension work across competing demands. The right tension needs healthy, functioning processes and clear business rules to guide management decisions.

The following questions will help you gauge if your business has healthy processes:

  • How aligned are your processes and automation practices to servicing your customer needs?

  • Are your business processes aligned to recognised industry frameworks, standards and baselines?

  • Are processes aligned to support the business policies?

  • Is there strong ownership and accountability across key processes?

  • Are role tasks and responsibilities clearly defined?

  • Are processes streamlined and automated to get from A to B without unnecessary delay?

  • Are the obvious questions of what, where, how, when and who being addressed?

  • Have the right control systems been built into processes?

  • Are performance measures included to monitor progress?

  • Do feedback loops exist in key processes so process owners can make improvements quickly and seamlessly?

The right tension is achieved using effective processes and automation capability. This results in:

  • Clear goals being shared

  • People know their responsibilities

  • Business rules are set

  • Automation of repeatable, complex tasks

  • Goals are achieved

  • Satisfied customers and staff

Without healthy processes the risks of dysfunctional business behaviours are high.

It is not surprising then that in one survey:

  • 82% of organisations sees digitizing core business processes as the challenge that lies ahead

  • 75% of organisations view process automation as either important or very important.

Source: AIIM “Digitizing Core Business Processes” (August 2018)

So the question remains: are your processes driving optimal performance?