Black Box or Diagnosis: how do you improve performance?

Where an employee is not meeting some kind of performance target, there are at least two approaches that can be taken.

One approach could be called the 'Black Box" approach. In this approach, the manager isn't really concerned with why the person isn't performing they are only interested in that the person isn't performing. So if, say, the worker is expected to process one item of work on average every 9 minutes and they are currently taking 12 minutes, the person is monitored and they are pressured to work faster, without any attempt being made to determine why they are not meeting the target. It assumes that the task is a single indivisible unit.There are inputs, there are outputs and what happens in between is solely the responsibility of the worker. If the worker just applies themselves then they can do better.

A second approach is the Diagnostic Approach.

It doesn't make the same assumptions as the 'Black Box' approach. It assumes that the task contains elements, that a person may be more or less skilled in each of those elements and that different workers may differ in their skill level for each component and the time it takes them to complete each component. It assumes that two people may apply the same effort and yet because of their individual differences they may achieve different levels of performance. And it assumes that by identifying what it is that the worker finds difficult and by providing support to the worker in developing their skills in that element then they can improve their performance.

For instance, suppose a worker is assigned a task which requires them to:

• use a computer system to access and process the work they are assigned
• read copies of letters sent by clients and identify the issues they are raising
• make a decision regarding the client's case based on the information provided
• compose a letter to the client advising them of the decision and addressing the issues raised

The worker might have any of the following problems in completing the task:

• they may not be very confident in using the system or may have poor keyboard skills
• their reading-comprehension skills may be poor
• they may find it hard to make the decision due to lack of confidence or a weak knowledge of the guidelines or other information necessary for making the decision.
• they may have trouble in their written communication skills

In the Diagnostic Approach, a manager would talk to the worker, watch them process and find out what problem the worker is actually experiencing in processing the work. And then they would target support to helping the worker to improve in that specific skill.

The 'Black Box' approach is equivalent to talking to someone who doesn't speak English and expecting that they will somehow understand if you speak louder or more slowly. The Diagnostic Approach on the other hand is equivalent to identifying that the problem is lack of English skills and either finding an interpreter or teaching the person basic English.

It doesn't take much effort to speak louder or more slowly, but it doesn't achieve any worthwhile results either. Addressing the actual skills deficit on the other hand may take longer but it results in genuine improvement.

More importantly it empowers the worker since they now see that it lies within their power to improve if only they can identify their barriers to improvement.

Searching for Positive Deviants

...the theory of positive deviance holds that in every setting there’s at least one person who strays from the norm—a positive deviant—someone who has found a way to buck the status quo and solve a problem despite the same odds that are stacked against everyone...Positive deviance, the authors explain, “requires retraining ourselves to pay attention differently—awakening minds accustomed to overlooking outliers, and cultivating skepticism about the inevitable ‘that’s just the way it is.’

~ Utne Reader In Praise of Positive Deviance

In a working environment, there may be individuals or workunits which only have access to the same resources as other individuals or workunits and yet thrive where others struggle.

The basic idea of positive deviance is that if we can identify such individuals or workunits then we can study them to see how it is that they do this. So far, it sounds very similar to best practice. However the positive deviance methodology goes beyond this in a number of ways.

Firstly, in many cases, it is peers who identify the positive deviants. And secondly, once the positive deviants are identified and their methods are articulated, it is generally the PD's themselves who are encouraged to share what they have learned with their peers.

This is empowering to workers. The changes that are being shared are not being imposed from above by people who do not experientially understand the realities of the job, the stresses and constraints. Instead, they are being shared by people who themselves face those same constraints every day and have found ways to deal with them. And as a result, they generate a positive perception among those who need to be influenced "Hmmm...if they can do it with the same resources I have, then maybe I can do it too!"

In other words, positive deviants show what is possible and open the way for others to do the same and achieve similar results. And in doing so they become a force for positive change.

There are a few caveats:

• You need to make sure that you have actually identified a positive deviant rather than just someone who has made an artform of 'massaging' their perceived results.
• A positive deviant may have found a better way to utilise an under-utilised resource - but if everyone starts to use that resource then any benefits may evaporate.
• There has to be an atmosphere of trust - if workers perceive that you are just going to harvest any savings or raise the performance bar then they may not feel like co-operating.
• Similarly, the positive deviant may have found a better way of doing something which circumvents the usual organisational procedures, so they may need to be reassured that there will be no negative repercussions.

Notwithstanding these concerns, the positive deviance methodology has proven to be effective in a wide variety of different contexts and seems to be under-utilised as a tool for productive change in organisations.

Those who might find this most threatening are managers because positive deviance highlights solutions that have been found at the grassroots and below the radar, solutions that have evaded those in positions of power. So positive deviance may also democratise the workplace and empower workers to find solutions rather than always look to those above them in the hierarchy for answers. This can be scary for managers since it means giving up power and trusting their employees. But it can be empowering for employees since they can feel that what they do makes a difference and that they can help one another through the solutions that they have discovered and which they may themselves have taken for granted.

So, who are your positive deviants?

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Resources

Video:

"Reflections on Positive Deviance" (Monique Sternin)

Jerry Sternin on Positive Deviance - Part 1
Jerry Sternin on Positive Deviance - Part 2

Websites:

Positive Deviance Initiative
Power of Positive Deviance (website for book below) 
Canadian PD Project

Books:

 Power of Positive Deviance (Pascale, Sternin & Sternin)
 Influencer - The Power to Change Anything (Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan & Switzler)