Cultivating excellence in top employees is key to success in a tough economy

When 80 percent of productivity comes from 20 percent of the workforce, how can business leaders thrive in spite of a down economy?

“Build excellence in the top 20 percent,” said business psychologist Dr. Tim Lynch at a presentation to local business and civic leaders at the Hendersonville Morning Rotary on Wednesday, September 29.

Best known locally for his work as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Lynch is the founder of The Lynch Group, an executive coaching and leadership development consulting firm that leverages the power of psychology to help senior executives transform behavior, align efforts and improve results. Dr. Lynch has spent the last 25 years helping senior executives lead more effectively, respond to challenges more skillfully and achieve objectives more consistently.

“What we know about human behavior has skyrocketed in the last few centuries,” said Dr. Lynch. “Unfortunately, business leaders’ desire to confront problem employees hasn’t changed all that much.”

Dr. Lynch believes that the way managers confront derailing employees can be compared to the way one might deal with a boulder rolling down a hill. “Would you rather try to stop a boulder at the top of the hill before it starts rolling or near the bottom when it’s coming at you full speed?” he asked, noting that most executives ignore insensitive and volatile behaviors from potential leaders and then wonder why turnover is high.

When the average company spends $330,000 to replace a potential leader who derails, confronting performance problems can be a source of significant savings. “Eliminating what stands in the way of the top 20 percent achieving maximum potential can be the single most important thing an executive can do to improve results,” Lynch added.

Freeing the top 20 percent to achieve is even more important given today’s business climate, which Lynch calls permanent whitewater. “The command-and-control, micromanaging approach to leadership that characterized the Industrial Age is out,” said Lynch. “Leaders in today’s Information Age must be able to coach, collaborate and facilitate. Agility is important. You need the right people in the right seats with the right values.”

Lynch believes that Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the pilot who made a flawless emergency landing in the Hudson River in early 2009, is an excellent example of an employee in the top 20 percent. “When the engines failed, he knew exactly what to do because he had practiced it thousands of times,” said Lynch. “When I go to New York, that’s who I want flying my plane.”

Developing the skills of the top 20 percent involves using 360-degree feedback, coaching and accelerated development strategies to build competencies such as mental agility, interpersonal finesse, emotional intelligence, change mastery and goal orientation. Self awareness is also important. “90 percent of all people think they are above average,” Lynch said, adding that assessment tools like Johari Window help leaders see themselves more realistically and lead with greater authenticity.”

Lack of emotional intelligence is one of the most common causes of turnover, according to Lynch. “The majority of people who quit their jobs do so because they believe the boss doesn’t understand,” said Lynch. “In most cases, the problem is lack of empathy, a key component of emotional intelligence.”

Lynch acknowledges that most executives give more thought to planning for the acquisition and maintenance of physical assets than they do their workforce. “Going to the junkyard will alter your perspective,” he said. “Almost everything we want ends up there. Executives need to realize that their company’s greatest wealth is not in its equipment or its inventory. Your greatest asset leaves the workplace each night to go home to dinner. With the right development programs, any leader can make the top 20 percent eager to come back.”

The Lynch Group serves clients nationwide from offices in Hendersonville, Tennessee. For more information, call 615.504.4357.