It's not about tools
High performance is not about tools and systems. (Well, they matter but...)
It seems like it ought to be. The dominant "efficiency mindset" tells us that this is the case. If we tune up all the organisation's processes, and install the perfect project management tool, and set the right KPIs, then things will work perfectly. We will know what to do without any need for confusion or conflict or interruption.
What is wrong with this picture?
The problem is that system and tools and processes and so on do not 'come to life' on their own. They require human beings to act in certain ways. They are secondary to repeated patterns of behaviour - AKA 'culture'.
Sustained (and sustainable) high performance in the long term involves an openness to (constantly) seeing problems and (constantly) experimenting with solutions. This is why learning is at the heart of high performance. The world is constantly changing, and organisations must know how to respond to change.
But this is not about tools.
We can install all the tools we like, but we will only get to these behaviours - looking for problems and trying solutions - through, let’s be frank, a series of awkward conversations.
Building a high performance culture is hard, because mostly we want to "just get on with your jobs". We don't want to have our routines being constantly disrupted by the quest for small, specific improvements. It's irritating! This is why we need to continually invest in relationships, as an organisation, so that we have some grounding, some sense of security and connectedness, with which to face these challenges.
