This April, we commence a 5-part series on one of our highly recommended strategies for driving a culture of peak performance – The Evolution of Performance and Impact Measurement. Last week, we discussed 6 steps to implementing an excellent performance management system. Today, we bring the concluding 4 the effective implementation of performance management systems.

7. Integrating Employee Feedback

Just as it is with corporate goal setting, collaboration for effective performance involves integrating a system that gives employees the opportunity to engage or provide feedback. This is critical because most of the operations in the workplace and more direct interactions with customers are made by employees on the lower rungs of the corporate ladder. Some of the famous tweaks in the production model of successful organizations were made by mid-level and low-level employees who see opportunities that top management might be tone-deaf or oblivious to. These insights are invaluable because they offer perspectives that can increase the form utility of what is being produced. This is because the business cycle is not complete until the goods or service is delivered to the customer and feedback received. This also enhances job satisfaction for the employees because they see themselves as part of the big picture.

8. Instituting An Improvement System

This largely speaks to trainings but improvement is holistic. Training here applies to both managers and subordinates because it takes two to tango; the lack of training can sabotage productivity because one ignorant fellow with power can lead an organization down to ruins. Leaders and team members must constantly upskill because competence on one level can quickly become incompetence on a higher level. These could be owing to changes in within the organization or outside the organization. For example, after an organization secures new funding from investors or become quoted on a stock exchange, it has effectively become a different organization because its scope of operation has widened and the scale of production has to be increased owing to the new demands imposed on it by new stakeholders. Training interventions should be data-driven and vision-inspired; in response to the current needs of an organization and a preparation for its future. 

9. Recalibrating The Performance Management System Itself

For organizations that are actively learning and growing; they know that it is never what they started with that they continue with – changes are a part of their success story. Tweaking a performance management system doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not productive or yielding the desired results, it’s because little changes can have huge consequences. Sometimes, managers need to relax certain timelines because the strategic priority of an organization might have changes from speed to accuracy, thus the focus might be more on qualitative outcomes than just quantitative outcomes. This happens mostly when organizations are expanding and have gained significant notoriety, it means that they come under more scrutiny for compliance from regulatory authorities, investors and the business community.

For example, ¹Tesla is not necessarily focused on mass producing electric cars so that the markets are flooded with them; owing to the highly technical nature of the car which includes self-driving features. This year alone, Tesla has recalled about 200,000 cars owing to a software error that could have prevented the rear-view cameras from displaying. This came barely two months after more than two million of its vehicles were also pulled from the market for autopilot issues. It had to double down on quality control so that it doesn’t lose its reputation as the world’s leading manufacturer of electric vehicles.

10. Automating The Process

The performance management system is not a one-off tool; it’s a continuous process that never really ends – it’s an end-to-end play. If allowed to be operated manually, the performance management system would fail because it would be tiring and monotonous to start the same process all over again. Leaders should learn a thing or two on how the universe works – everything is designed in cycles, loops that are intentionally co-ordinated to such that there is really no difference between a start-point and a stop-point. 

In a performance management system where the five core components are specifying expectations, monitoring, meeting employees’ developmental needs, the use of appraisal and rewards – the last component (rewards) should seamlessly introduce the first component (specifying expectations).

Implementing performance management systems requires a lot of critical thinking and emotional intelligence because execution can be the difference between successful organizations and failing organizations. Productivity is so important that it cannot be happenstance; therefore managers should become aware of the moving parts that make increased productivity possible. 

¹https://www.forbes.com/sites/caileygleeson/2024/01/26/tesla-recalls-nearly-200000-vehicles-over-rearview-camera-software-issue/

Growth Opportunities

To further position your leaders for peak performance, you can download a free copy of the latest edition of The Peak Performer Magazine at www.thepeakperformer.africa You can also enroll your Mid-level  Leadership Team for the Made4More Accelerator Program https://abiolachamp.com/m4m-accelerator and your Senior Leadership Team for the Dr. Abiola Salami International Leadership Bootcamp MOMBASA 2024 https://abiolachamp.com/international-bootcamp/ We also have an upcoming training for leaders in public service www.abiolachamp.com/depips/

About Dr. Abiola Salami

Dr. Abiola Salami is the Convener of Dr Abiola Salami International Leadership Bootcamp and The Peak Performer^TM. He is the Principal Performance Strategist at CHAMP – a full scale professional services firm trusted by high performing business leaders for providing Executive Coaching, Workforce Development & Advisory Services to improve performance. You can reach his team on hello@abiolachamp.com and connect with him @abiolachamp on all social media.

Delta Air Lines will fly its state-of-the-art Airbus A330-900neo on nonstop service from Accra to New York-JFK effective 27 October 2024. The new aircraft will add approximately 30% more capacity between Ghana and the United States. 

Speaking to journalists at a media roundtable in Accra, Matteo Curcio, Delta’s Senior Vice President for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India, said, “Delta has worked to deliver an enhanced travel experience in Ghana. We look forward to welcoming customers onboard our A330-900neo aircraft come October, offering exciting new products and services as they travel to and from the United States.”

Matteo used the opportunity to express his gratitude to Delta’s customers, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, and the government of Ghana for their continued partnership. 

The brand-new A330-900neo aircraft will add nearly 1,000 more seats each week between Ghana and the U.S. It offers four distinctive experiences – Delta One Suites, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin – and more cargo capacity to cater for growing demand. 

Customers can expect Delta’s best-in-class service and a uniquely premium onboard experience as they travel to and from the U.S. Each Delta One Suite features a sliding door for enhanced privacy, the luxury of a fully reclining seat, accompanied by plush bedding crafted from recycled materials. Delta One customers can also enjoy more beverage options and a seasonal chef-curated four-course meal. 

Meanwhile, customers flying in Delta Premium Select will have more space to relax and stretch out, with a wider seat, deeper recline, an adjustable footrest and leg rest. Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin passengers benefit from comfortable, memory-foam seats.

All travelers will enjoy ambient lighting for a restful flight, Wi-Fi for purchase, and seat-back screens featuring 1,000+ hours of Delta Studio entertainment. Delta collaborates with diverse suppliers worldwide for in-flight products such as artisan-crafted amenity kits and beverages like Thrive Farmers Tea.

Delta continues to maintain its reputation for operational excellence. The airline has consistently been recognized for excellence in passenger experience, customer service, operational performance, and workplace culture. Recent achievements include winning Cirium’s Platinum Award for operational excellence for the third consecutive year, OAG’s most on-time airline, Air Transport World’s Airline of the Year 2024, and the Wall Street Journal’s top U.S. airline.  

Flanked by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, Paolo Moretti, Claudine Nougaret and Vladimir Perišić, the Belgian actress Lubna Azabal will award the Short Film Palme d’or and the 3 La Cinef prizes, the Festival de Cannes’ selection dedicated to student films.

The Jury will discover the 11 films in the Short Film Competition and the 18 films in La Cinef selection unveiled today.

LUBNA AZABAL – President Actress Advertisement Belgium © Dominique Charriau / Getty Images After attending the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Lubna Azabal began her acting career in theater. In 1997, she got her first role in front of the camera in Vincent Lannoo’s short film J’adore le cinéma (I Love the Movies). She went on to work with directors such as Michel Deville, Ridley Scott, André Téchiné, Nadir Moknèche and Denis Villeneuve. She was noticed for her performance in Tony Gatlif’s Exils, which won Best Director Award at the Festival de Cannes in 2004. In 2018, she returned to Cannes with director Meryem Benm’Barek’s Sofia, which won the Un Certain Regard Award for Best Screenplay. In 2019, she presented Adam by Maryam Touzani, with whom she was back in Cannes in 2022 for The Blue Caftan, which earned her a third Magritte Award for Best Actress in 2024.

MARIE-CASTILLE MENTION-SCHAAR Director, screenwriter, producer France Advertisement © Guy Ferrandis Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar began her career in the U.S. as deputy international editor at The Hollywood Reporter, then moved to Columbia Pictures to manage remake projects. Returning to France in 1994, she produced some twenty films through her production companies Vendredi and Willow. After co-writing La Première Etoile, she wrote and directed her first film Ma première fois (2011), followed by Bowling (2012) and Once in a life time(2014). In 2015, Heaven Will Wait was selected at numerous festivals, and earned Noémie Merlant a nomination for the César for Best Emerging Actress. After All About Mothers (2017), her sixth film, A Good Man is part of the Official Selection 2020 of the Festival de Cannes. Her seventh film, Divertimento, was released in January 2023. She is the founder of the Cercle Féminin du Cinéma Français and Officier des Arts et des Lettres.

PAOLO MORETTI Film programmer Italy © Angèle Marignac-Serra ECAL   Advertisement Currently director of the cinema department at the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL), director of the Grütli Cinemas in Geneva and cinema curator at the Fondazione Prada in Milan, Paolo Moretti was general delegate of the Directors’ Fortnight, the parallel selection of the Festival de Cannes, from 2018 to 2022. He worked for numerous film festivals and institutions in Europe, including the Centre Pompidou and Cinéma du Réel in Paris, the Filmoteca Española in Madrid, the Leeds International Film Festival and the Portuguese Cinematheque in Lisbon. From 2008 to 2011 he was programming advisor and deputy director of the Venice Film Festival. Between 2014 and 2019 he directed the La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival and was a member of the selection committees of the FIDMarseille and Visions du Réel festivals.

CLAUDINE NOUGARET Producer, director France © Raymond Depardon   Advertisement Claudine Nougaret is a producer and director. She started out in the film industry as a sound engineer in 1984 on Éric Rohmer’s The Green Ray. In 1992, together with Raymond Depardon, she founded Palmeraie et Désert to produce quality documentary films including Urgences, Caught in the Acts, Africa: How Are You with Pain?, The 10th Judicial Court: Judicial Hearings, Modern Life, Journal de France, France, 12 Days (presented in 2017 at the Festival de Cannes in Official Selection – Out of Competition). In 2021, she created the CST Award for best young female film technician at the Festival de Cannes, and in 2022 produced the film Feminist Riposte by Marie Perennès and Simon Depardon, a documentary about feminist collectives across France (Festival de Cannes 2022, Official Selection).

VLADIMIR PERIŠIĆ Director, screenwriter Serbia © Philippe Lebruman   Advertisement Graduated from the Fémis film school, Vladimir Perišić presented his graduation film, the short Dremano oko, in the Cinéfondation selection at the Festival de Cannes 2003. In 2009, he directed his first feature film Ordinary People, an intense war film he co-wrote with Alice Winocour, in competition for the Caméra d’Or at the Festival de Cannes 2009. He returned in 2014 with Bridges of Sarajevo, screened in Special Screenings, a collective work by thirteen renowned European filmmakers on the history of the Bosnian capital, for which he directed Our Shadow Will. His latest film, Lost Country (2023), is a critically acclaimed intimate political chronicle. In parallel, he has been one of the programmers of the Belgrade Auteur Film Festival since 2011.

Ghana’s singing Prophet, Joseph Atarah is set to rock the people of Adenta on May 19 with Atarah Praise. (more…)

Budding Ghanaian musician Agyeiwaa Stella Ofosu, affectionately called Mysstel in the music circles, has released the much-awaited video for her song Paradise.

“Paradise” written and produced by multiple award-winning Ghanaian musician and producer Kuami Eugene of Rock Star Made It fame has enjoyed massive rotation and airplay since its release recently.

The video directed and shot by Cassidy is a reliving of the lyrics of the song which urges ladies to give their male partners the treatment of a lifetime.

“Paradise” released under Oracle Entertainment, is a tale of two lovers who are geared for the rollercoaster journey into the future regardless of the challenges.

According to Mysstell, love is not one-sided, and it is about time ladies make their male partners feel special, adding that “this means going all out for him like he will do for you regardless.”

“You need to let them know you love them, they deserve to be taken to special places, let them see the best part of you, take them to your paradise,” she said.

Mysstel is optimistic she has something unique which will help her break into the Ghana music industry and later take the world by storm.

Watch the video below

Mysstel – Paradise (Official Video) finally out

By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme