This articles is about developing extra mile people which will enable to develop & manage high performing teams

1. Secrets
Secrets of Nurturing “Extra Mile People”
urturing People”
“Extra Mile People” can bestow extraordinary performances to organizations. If we look for high performing
teams off the corporate world, still we can find such efficient & effective teams operating in our society. One
such amazing unit is a “Family”. Have you thought about the magical mechanism of getting work done in a high
performing family There can be many but let’s pick few in common.
family?
Imagine how your family worked during the last New Year or Christmas season. It is a very busy period where a
family needs to work extra. Usually in a family, mother having the expertise & experience in kitchen willing takes
up the task of cooking. Father, knowing that he is not comfortable with tools & technologies at kitchen,
volunteer to polish the floor while watching television so he will not miss his favorite cricket match. Elder
Daughter who doesn’t like to mess up her clothes in cooking or cleaning will do the interior decorations. And the
younger son, who is an entrepreneur, will be exited to clean the store room as he can find some gadgets to help
with his new invention, may be a singing robot. This very simple example imparts a profound phenomenon. In a
successful family there is room for individual preferences & their talents. This will lead for fulfillment. But this
way of working doesn’t work all the time. There can be impediments & deadlocks to deal with. In a family you
may stumble across numerous complex circumstances where members depend on each other & undertake
difficult tasks which can be cumbersome & undesirable. But family members are emotionally bound to run an
extra mile to bring the success even when the family is at stake. Therefore if I summarize the two vital factors
behind a high performing family;
Factor 1 Room for individual preferences which leads to fulfillment.
1:
Factor 2 Emotionally bound to go an extra mile until the success is achieved.
2:
These factors will indeed have a great impact when managing high performing teams in an organization too.
Let’s look how to apply the first factor in an organization.
Unfold The Hidden Treasures Within People & Help Them Glow
Manager is responsible to flourish his subordinates to high performance category as well as to maintain the
impetus of those who perform well. For that you need to identify their preferences & offer them opportunity
when ever possible. How to identify your employee’s preferences & hidden talents? Steven DeMaio, in one of his
articles published in Harvard Business Review had shared some handy workouts for managers for this purpose.
1. Turn a compliment into an interview – When an employee does an excellent job, rather confine it to a mere
praise, have a discussion on how he/she really did it. Get to know the process. So you may find hidden talents
of the employee and give him the opportunity to apply again. Also you can ask him to present his process to rest
of the team. This will share the knowledge & employee will feel accomplished.
2. Analyze how people think, not just what they do. Performance evaluations assess the achievements against
do.
the goals. But the actions of an employee towards the achievements are originated from the thinking patterns,
attitudes & paradigms. Describe those habits of mind to employee in his evaluation so he will know that the
manager have truly understood his thoughts & contribution he makes.

2. 3. Ask for the reasons behind preferences. Good managers know the likes & dislikes of employees and reason
preferences.
behind them. Managers tend to build up friendly conversations and be aware about what makes an employee
feel fulfilled. It will enable him to strategically allocate resources.
4. Inquire about people's dreams. A manager asks “John if you are given a chance to select your career once
dreams.
again, what it would be? May be from this kind of dialogue will unveil the true thoughts of John who is currently
a software engineer, but desperate to become a technical writer. Perhaps you can give him a chance depends
on situation. But you will never know this unless you ask.
Likewise plumb the depths of each person you currently manage to fish out the talents that lurk beneath. This
will offer you the key to motivate your employees.
Develop Emotional Competencies
The second factor is, a manager is has to work on developing “emotional competencies” of his subordinates
emotional
which makes them emotionally bound to go an extra mile until the organizational vision is achieved. Daniel
Goleman in his theory of emotional Intelligence based performance defines Emotional competence is “a
learned capability based on emotional intelligence that results in outstanding performance at work” Those are:
• Emotional Self-Awareness - knowing what one feels.
Self-
• Emotional Self-Management - The ability to regulate distressing affects like anxiety and anger and to
Self-
inhibit emotional impulsivity.
• Social Awareness - The competency of Empathy. It also involves the ability to read nonverbal cues for
negative emotions, particularly anger and fear, and to judge the trustworthiness of other people.
• Relationship Management - The effectiveness of our relationship skills hinges on our ability to attune
ourselves to or influence the emotions of another person.
GOLEMAN’
DANIEL GOLEMAN’s FRAMEWORK OF EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES
Self (Personal Competence) Other (Social Competence)
Self Awareness Social Awareness
Emotional self-awareness Empathy
Accurate self-assessment Service orientation
Recognition Self-confidence Organizational awareness
Self Management Relationship Management
Emotional self-control Developing others
Trustworthiness Influence
Conscientiousness Communication
Regulation
Adaptability Conflict management
Achievement drive Visionary leadership
Initiative Catalyzing change
Building bonds
Teamwork and collaboration
If managers can mold their organizations to present a warm reception to dreams of employees & breed
emotional competencies within them, it will yield you with the power of nurturing “extra mile people”.
By Janani Liyanage MBA, B.Sc IT (Special Hons)