2 Performance Consulting: The Mental Model and Logic

He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards a ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.

—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)

Unlocking individual change starts and ends with the mental maps people carry in their heads—how they see the organization and their jobs. Just as actual maps guide the steps people take on a hike through the Himalayas, mental maps direct people’s behavior in daily organizational life. And if leaders cannot change individuals’ mental maps, they will not change the destinations people pursue or the paths they take to get there.

—J. Stewart Black and Hal B. Gregersen (2003, p. 2)

Interesting, isn’t it, that da Vinci lived centuries before Black and Gregersen, yet their thoughts are so comparable? Clearly, the need to develop a mental model to guide our behavior is a powerful truth that has resonated through time. A mental model provides the logic and framework used to interpret information and to determine appropriate responses to new situations. It guides your perceptions, decisions, and behavior. Bottom line: the mental model and logic you use in your work is integral to your success!

Imagine this: You just received a call from the director of technology, who reports to the chief information officer (CIO). The director wants to meet with you to discuss some type of incentive bonus for project managers within his area. Project managers are expected to lead projects for new and updated information systems, bringing them in on time and within budget. Currently, more than half of the projects are completed late, resulting in increased costs. When a project runs behind, project team members work overtime. This delay frequently requires that additional team members be brought on board, adding to costs. This director’s operating expenses are currently 6 percent over budget.

The goal is to complete 95 percent of projects on time; only 58 percent of projects are meeting this goal. This situation is also resulting in user dissatisfaction. When projects do not meet their deadlines, there are repercussions for the operating divisions such as delayed launches of new products and systems.

The director of technology wants to discuss a project-based incentive bonus plan, believing that an incentive bonus will encourage project managers to work harder to complete projects on time and within budget. The director envisions that the bonus paid to project managers will be in addition to their current salary. Fifty percent of the incentive would be earned if the project is completed on time, and 50 percent if the project is completed within budget. The director wants your help in designing this project-based incentive bonus.

This is a situation that calls for a performance consulting approach. Why? Because the problem is having a significant, negative impact on the business. There can be a true payoff to the investment of time needed to obtain information about the root causes of the problem and the interrelationships of factors affecting the situation. We need to avoid the jump-to-solution approach, especially a solution that involves compensation. What if that solution does not work? It is hard to take back a compensation package. To make sound decisions in this situation, you will need more information. But what information is required—and from whom? This is where the mental model of performance consulting is beneficial. The two components to this mental model are the Need Hierarchy and the SHOULD-IS-CAUSE logic.