The Four Stages™ of Contribution Model.
If you have ever wondered what the critical differentiating factor between companies is, then consider this;
it is - how effective they are at recruiting, developing, motivating and retaining people.
The difference is contribution and capacity.
The Four Stages™ provides a highly effective model, strategy, set of competencies and processes for helping companies develop and motivate their employees. It is based on the understanding that in today’s market, performance, contribution and capacity building are more important than job titles and career ladders.
When employees understand how they fit into the organisation, how they can contribute and be valued, whatever their position, they become engaged and more successful. And organisations should want and need high performing employees who contribute in greater, more meaningful ways.
Pioneering research
The Four Stages™ of Contribution Model, based on research pioneered by former Harvard Business School professors Gene Dalton and Paul Thompson, makes clear what high performers actually do and the contribution they make. This model identifies the areas or “stages” where employees contribute and describes what high performance is in each stage.
Based on more than 20 years of research, the Four Stages of Contribution is a proven framework for performance management and development. It presents a clear and effective way of thinking about employment, development, and contribution.
The Four Stages:
- Provides a clear and common language to discuss individual and organizational needs and responsibilities
- Describes what high-performing contribution is over the course of employment
- Provides a new paradigm of how people develop, grow, and contribute in organisations
- Enables organisational HR practices to get the right people in the right jobs doing the right things
- Provides a strategic framework for developmental needs and performance improvement
Careers develop in stages.
The Four Stages of Contribution explains how careers do not proceed in a straight line. Instead, careers develop in distinct stages, each different from the other and each requiring different behaviours, activities, skills, and interaction. Success in a given role or stage requires specific behaviours.
Transitions are difficult.
Ever wondered why someone succeeds in one role and then fails when promoted?It's because they need to behave differently and don't know how. The Four Stages explains why. Movement from one stage to another is a complex and often difficult transition.
It requires a renegotiation of expectations and relationships with others and a significant internal shift within an individual. This renegotiation is called a “Novation.”
Most employees transition from Contributing Dependently to Contributing Independently as an “expert.” However by far the greatest need facing firms is to get more staff to Contribute through Others. To leverage their work by contributing as a coach, informal mentor, idea leader, or manager.
The final critical area of contribution is provided by those trusted to lead the strategic direction of organisations; who Contribute Strategically.
Do you have enough Stage 3 and Stage 4 operators?
Each stage of contribution is needed; however, it is the Stage 3 and 4 contributors who drive their companies’ competitive advantage and innovation.
Most leaders we speak with complain that they just don't have enough people demonstrating these behaviours
And we think we know why.
Which is why we have developed a number of bespoke and tailored programmes that enable organisations to apply the concepts, language and behaviours described in the Four Stages Model. And boost their competitive advantage.
Please contact us for more information.