Leadership through assessment: The Key to High Organizational Performance

Tina Downing, Senior Director and Lead of AIS Business Solutions, Russell Investments

Tina Downing is the Senior Director and leader of Russell Investments' Advisor & Intermediary Solutions Business Consulting group. With 34 years in financial services, Tina has transitioned from a successful advisor to a strategic consultant, focusing on business planning, practice optimization, and leadership development. Her expertise in critical thinking, program management, and executive consulting supports advisors and firm leaders in enhancing their practices.

Through this article, Tina emphasizes that effective leadership goes beyond mere management and compliance, focusing instead on mentoring and coaching to foster growth and inspire excellence. Understanding individual behavioral styles and intrinsic motivators is crucial for aligning roles with strengths and enhancing productivity.

Leadership is pivotal in setting the tone, direction, and operational standards that drive an organization toward sustained high performance. Building a strong culture, empowering employees, and clearly setting, communicating, and reinforcing expectations are essential. However, leaders often focus too much on managing employees—ensuring compliance with rules and procedures. While management is crucial, it alone won't fuel long-term success. Instead, mentoring and coaching must become integral to daily leadership practices, fostering growth and inspiring excellence.

Effective coaching and employee development hinge on understanding each individual's behavioral style and intrinsic motivations. By recognizing these elements, leaders can align roles and responsibilities with employees’ natural strengths while communicating expectations and feedback in a manner that resonates with them.

A common mistake is projecting our own assumptions about what drives success onto others. For example, in the financial industry, it's often assumed that advisors are primarily motivated by money. However, this oversimplification overlooks the diverse factors that truly inspire and sustain high performance.

Understanding Behavioral Styles

When coaching and developing teams, I focus on four key communication styles: dominant, influential, steady, and compliant. Each style offers unique strengths and poses distinct challenges within an organization. The goal is for employees to bring their authentic selves to work. When forced to adapt excessively, employees may experience declines in productivity and engagement.

Dominants are task-oriented and thrive in fast-paced environments where results are the priority. They take ownership and drive progress with urgency, but their direct nature can sometimes come off as aggressive. When working with a dominant, be brief and direct in communication, ensuring their focus aligns with organizational goals.

Influencers excel in collaborative settings, bringing optimism, creativity, and strong teamwork to the table. However, they may struggle with details and focus. When working with influencers, understand their perspective and offer positive, constructive feedback. Help them prioritize tasks and set clear deadlines.

Steady types are your organizational stabilizers—people-oriented yet introverted. They are loyal, patient, and focused on completing tasks, often working quietly behind the scenes. Their introversion can make it difficult to gauge their satisfaction, and they may seem to resist change without clear guidance. Building trust through non-confrontational communication and providing specific examples when setting expectations helps them feel secure and understood.

Complaints are task-oriented and introverted, with a strong focus on accuracy and order. They are analytical and conscientious but may struggle with ambiguity and may overcorrect for mistakes. When communicating with compliants, focus on facts and clear expectations rather than emotions. Encourage them to accept that sometimes 'done' is better than 'perfect' to avoid paralysis by analysis.

Most employees exhibit a combination of these behavioral styles, often defaulting to their most prevalent style under pressure.

Recognizing Motivators

Understanding behavioral styles is crucial, but so is recognizing what truly motivates employees. Six key motivators influence today’s workforce:

1. Knowledge: The drive for truth and understanding.

2. Utility: The focus is on return on time, energy, and resources.

3. Aesthetic: The importance of experience and personal growth.

4. Social/Altruism: The desire to alleviate pain and suffering in the world.

5. Power: The drive to control one’s destiny or impact others destiny.

6. Tradition: The adherence to rules, principles, or traditions.

Understanding where employees fall on these spectrums helps align their roles with their intrinsic motivations, boosting satisfaction and productivity.

Don’t guess; assess. Leveraging insights for success

Combining insights from behavioral styles with motivators in leading, managing, and coaching your employees might seem daunting, but the effort is worthwhile. Effective leadership requires time, focus, and the right tools. Assessments that provide insights into your team’s motivations and behaviors can be invaluable. However, simply ordering a report isn't enough—follow-through is essential. Consider hiring a professional to debrief the report with you and help integrate these insights into daily interactions and decision-making across all levels of your organization.

In today’s competitive landscape, the success of an organization hinges on its ability to align leadership practices with the unique behavioral styles and motivations of its employees. By investing in a deeper understanding of what drives your team and tailoring your approach accordingly, you can create an environment where employees thrive, leading to enhanced productivity and long-term success. Embrace the power of assessments and seek expert guidance to fully leverage these insights. The time and effort you invest in understanding and developing your team will pay off in a more engaged, motivated, and high-performing workforce.