The 5 Levels of Professional Performance: Where are you? – Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous blog, we can classify today’s white collar knowledge workers into one of five distinct levels based on their performance management. Let’s look at Levels Three and Four. 

Level Three: Techno Meisters. These individuals have much improved planning skills compared to The Note Takers (Level Two). Their filing systems are much more effective, usually alphabetical. They have written, long-term goals and they do review them. They do try to plan and set priorities, although it’s hard sticking to them. They spend a lot of time in meetings, a lot more than they would like. But that’s the nature of the beast, or so they feel.

Overall they’re working too hard and running too fast. But that doesn’t bother them as much as it does their families. Even though they’re good at managing their own time, they can’t seem to integrate their system with the rest of the organization. That’s why they’re less productive than they could be.

They're really into electronic technology, and must have the latest / greatest hi-tech tool. For them time management is old fashioned. There must be a hi-tech way to manage appointments, to-dos and communications. This can be good, until they start relying on gadgets instead of on performance techniques.

Level Four: The Organized Delegators. They not only plan their work, they encourage and initiate planning and business goal-setting as a team. The golden understanding they have is that in today’s lean organization with its flattened structure, delegation is no longer a top down activity; it’s just as likely to be sideways. They are not only a team player, they also work as a team builder. Anybody with the right self-management skills can make that happen.

They’re not afraid of technology, and they’re not dazzled by it. They are very systematic in their priority and time management and routinely use their electronic tools. They have a clearly defined mission and goals, personally and professionally, and review them frequently.

They work hard and, because they are so well organized, they cover a lot of ground in a day. They recognize that time management is not an add-on, but a mission critical skill. Above all, despite the pride they take in being on top of things, they are still open-minded enough to embrace new and better ways whenever they come up.

(To be continued)