ongoing, dynamic balancing act between four interdependent performance dimensions as shown in Figure 2 (opposite page, top), according to which the four interdependent dimensions of the Leadership Performance Excellence Balanced Scorecard are:


• Dimension 1: A thriving, sustainable organisation


• Dimension 2: Effective leadership execution • Dimension 3: Leadership talent growth – Own and Others


• Dimension 4: Stakeholder legitimacy/ credibility The four interacting dimensions revolve


around a centre piece made up of four elements, namely (1) the Context in which leadership has to act; (2) the Intent the leadership has – what the leadership wants to achieve; (3) the Actions that the leadership take to realise their Intention; and (4) the Outcomes they achieve.


The outcomes flowing from Leadership Intent and Actions in pursuit of realising shared goals are multi-dimensional: Intended/ Unintended, Positive/Negative and Tangible/ Intangible as illustrated in Figure 3 (opposite page, bottom). Leaders must ensure that their performance radar screen and performance feedback bandwidth are sensitive and wide enough to pick up the full dimensionality of outcomes resulting from their Intent and Actions. Very often the performance radar screen and performance feedback bandwidth of an organisation’s leadership only pick up the Positive, Tangible, Intended Outcomes. The Negative, Intangible, Unintended Outcomes are undetected. At the most unexpected times these undetected Outcomes surface to the detriment of the leadership concerned. Each of the Leadership Performance dimensions depicted in Figure 2 is next discussed in turn.


84 Management Today | March 2012


Dimension 1: A thriving, sustainable organisation


This Leadership Performance Excellence dimension pertains to the Intent pursued by the leadership, the Actions taken by them to realise their Intent, and the Outcomes achieved with respect to the performance of their organisation relative to the context in which their organisation is operating. This Performance Excellence dimension includes the typical interdependent Balanced Scorecard dimensions (Kaplan & Norton, 1992): (1) the Financial Performance of the organisation; (2) Internal Process Efficiencies; (3) Growth and Innovation around markets, clients, products/services, people and resources; and (4) Customer Satisfaction. A critical enabler of Leadership Performance Excellence with respect to this dimension is the ability to build and use a dynamic, integrated “theory” which is used to analyse, explain and predict how the world works with respect to their business. Figure 4 (page 82) gives an example of such a strategic map for an airways company (source unknown).


Dimension 2: Effective leadership execution


“You cannot manage men into battle. You manage things; you lead people.” — Grace Hopper, Admiral, US Navy (retired) Leadership either builds or destroys the human fibre of their organisation in pursuit of making their organisation a thriving, sustainable entity. This Leadership Performance Excellence dimension pertains to the humane execution of the Leadership Process. Excellent leaders establish and maintain a productive and healthy leadership process – one that strengthens, nourishes and grows the people of their organisation. An exemplary leadership process with its commensurate components is given in Figure 5 (page 82).


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