Becoming An Enterprise Contributor Final

CEB Corporate Leadership Council
Employee Guide: Becoming

an Enterprise Contributor
February 2013
Becoming an Enterprise Contributor
How to use this guidebook:

Audience:
This guide helps employees understand CEB Corporate Leadership Council’s model for top
performance: enterprise contribution.
How to Use:
This guidebook was written to be beneficial to employees at all levels and jobs functions. It
explains the changing nature of how they need to evaluate their own performance in the new
work environment.

© 2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. 2
EMPLOYEE GUIDE: BECOMING AN ENTERPISE CONTRIBUTOR
The Changing Understanding Becoming an

Work Enterprise Enterprise
Environment Contribution Contributor

Widespread changes
THE WORK ENVIRONMENT HAS BECOME
in the organizational
environment
MORE COMPLEX
fundamentally change Your Colleagues are More Dispersed More Stakeholders are Involved in Your Work
the way you perform Change in Amount of Work with Coworkers in Another Change in Number of Individuals Involved in Decisions
your work. Location in the Past Three Years, by Percentage of in the Past Three Years, by Percentage of Employees
Employees
■ You and your
colleagues increasingly 5% 7%
Decreased
work across multiple Decreased
57%
time zones, cultures, Increased
and customer
50%
segments. Increased
38%
■ You are having to Stayed 43%
report to an the Stay
Same the Same
increasing number of
managers,
complicating your
work flow.
■ An abundance of You Have Access to a Higher Volume of Information

information can improve Change in Time Spent Finding and Reviewing
your performance, but also Data and Information in the Past Three Years, by
Percentage of Employees
complicates decision
making and distracts from 6%
work priorities. Decreased
18%
Stayed
the Same
76%
Increased
Source: CEB, CEB Corporate Leadership Council High Performance Survey, 2012.

Greater complexity at
WORK IS MORE INTERCONNECTED THAN
work means your
performance is more
EVER
dependent on Your Work Requires More Collaboration with Others
collaboration with Change in Amount of Work That Requires Collaboration
with Others in the Past Three Years, by Percentage of
others.
Employees
30%
Stayed
the Same
67%
Increased
3%
Decreased
You Work With More People on a Day-to-Day Basis

Number of People Involved in Day-to-Day Work, by
Percentage of Employees
40% 30%
0–9 20 or More
30%
10–19

COLLEGUES BEYOND YOUR MANAGER
Colleagues outside of AND TEAM INCREASINGLY INFLUENCE
your team, and even
your company, impact YOUR PERFORMANCE
your performance to
a greater extent than Manager Immediate
ever. Team
• For example: Your

performance may
depend on a supplier in
another country
shipping needed goods
or documents in a
timely manner.
• For example: A
colleague on another
team might be working
with you on a joint
project.
• For example: Your
company may be
partnering with another
to gain a lucrative
contract.
• For example: Your Coworkers Outside Your Team External Partners
company recently
Those outside your team that can Those outside your company that can
opened a new office in
impact your performance include: impact your performance include:
another country and
you are asked to ■ Different Teams ■ Vendors
educate the new team ■ Different Job Levels ■ Customers
on company culture ■ Different Locations ■ Suppliers
and procedures.
■ Professional associations
■ Alumni networks



Given today’s more
TOP PERFORMANCE LOOKS DIFFERENT
interdependent TODAY THAN IN THE PAST
workplace, your
performance is no
longer based on
individual tasks alone,
but also on your CEB Corporate Leadership Council’s Model of High Performance
network performance.
Individual Task Network Enterprise
■ Taken together, these two
Performance Performance Contribution
performance types are
known as ‘enterprise An employee’s An employee’s An employee’s
contribution.’ effectiveness at effectiveness at effectiveness at his
achieving his or her improving others’ or her individual
individual tasks and
assignments
+ performance
and using others’
= tasks, contribution to
others’ performance,
contributions to improve and use of others’
his or her own contributions to
performance improve his or her
own performance

There are many BENEFITS OF BECOMING AN ENTERPRISE
benefits to becoming
an enterprise CONTRIBUTOR
contributor.
Why should you seek to become an enterprise contributor?
 Increased recognition from management for investing effort into bettering the
company overall, not just in your own role.
 Learning different people’s expertise and task ownership will help make your
work easier since you will be able to identify whom to seek assistance from right
away.
 A willingness to help others in their jobs will make them more willing to help you
when you need it from them.
 You will be able to better manage your work if you are able to work better with
your colleagues spread across geographies and departments.
 You will gain from introducing more efficient and improved working processes
and tools.

HIGH PERFORMANCE TODAY INVOLVES
Enterprise contributors
succeed in both BOTH FORMAL AND INFORMAL
individual tasks and
activities based on ACTIVITIES
collaboration and
contribution to others’
work. Indications of High Performance in the New Work Environment
Individual Task Network Performance
■ Some activities Performance Consists of outcomes
represented in network Consists of outcomes such as…
performance are such as…
conducted informally,  Introduction of Enterprise
rather than through improved
official lines of
 High output per
hour worked + processes = Contribution
communication,
including improved  On-time task  Implementation of
completion new product or
working methods and
service ideas
transferring skills and
 Error-free work
knowledge.  Improved working
 High-quality methods,
work processes, tools
 Transfer of great
ideas from other
parts of the
organization
 Transfer of skills
and knowledge

© 2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.
10
PERFORMANCE WORKSHEET
Only 17% of employees
today are enterprise
contributors. Are you
one of them? In the worksheet below fill out tasks and activities you complete as part of your regular
duties, whether part of your formal job description or not, to assist you in thinking about
the two types of performance which make up enterprise contribution.
CEB Corporate Leadership Council’s Model of High Performance
Tasks I do which count Tasks I do which count

towards Individual towards Network
Task Performance Performance include:
include:
Enterprise

+  = Contribution
 
 
 
 
 
 



BECOMING AN ENTERPRISE
Interacting more with
others will not improve CONTRIBUTOR DOES NOT ONLY MEAN
your network
contribution and make COLLABORATING MORE WITH OTHERS
you an enterprise
contributor.
■ To achieve high enterprise Distribution of Time Spent on Individual and Group Tasks
contribution, you must
balance your time Enterprise Contributors Average Employee
between your individual
task performance and
network performance. 45%
Individual 48%
Tasks Individual
Tasks
■ Most importantly, to
become an enterprise
contributor, you must
focus on four key
competencies:
o Prioritization 55%
o Teamwork Working 52%
o Organizational With Others Working
With Others
Awareness
o Problem Solving
Enterprise contributors do not spend much more time working with others than the average employee. Rather, the
difference between enterprise contributors and average employees is found in the way they perform four key
competencies:
o Prioritization - Prioritizes activities based on organizational goals and self-directs work
o Teamwork - Coordinates one’s work and performance with that of others to achieve mutual outcomes
o Organizational Awareness - Understands the informal structures and decision-making processes of the
organization
o Problem Solving - Identifies problems and opportunities for changes and implements solutions when
appropriate

FOCUS ON FOUR KEY SHIFTS TO BECOME
To become an
enterprise contributor, AN ENTERPRISE CONTRIBUTOR
you should shift your
approach to fulfilling
four key competencies. Conventional Approach: Enterprise Contributor:
Prioritization
■ Prioritize work 1 Prioritizes Tasks
by the contribution it Prioritizes Contributions
Prioritizes activities to fulfill job Prioritizes activities based on
can make to the description and manager directs work organizational goals and self-directs
organization, not just
work
what their job
description says.
Teamwork
■ Understand peers’ 2 Builds Connections Understands Peers’ Motivations
workflow, objectives, Increases the number of, and Coordinates one’s work and performance
and challenges, rather maintains strong, personal with that of others to achieve mutual
than only getting to relationships outcomes
know them personally.
Organizational Awareness
■ Understand the context
that surrounds 3 Knows Formal Organization Understands Organizational Context
organizational decisions Understands business basics and the Understands the informal structures and
and operations, not just formal structure and mechanics of the decision-making processes of the
formal structures. organization organization
■ Identify problems and

Problem Solving
initiate necessary
4 Receptive to Change Initiates Change
changes, not only
express willingness to Displays openness and willingness to Identifies problems and opportunities
change behavior in response to new for changes and implements solutions
change based on others’
situations when appropriate
recommendations.

EMPLOYEE ENTERPRISE CONTRIBUTION CHECKLIST
Use this guide to identify areas where you can concentrate your efforts to become an enterprise contributor
Prioritization Organizational Awareness

Prioritize activities based on their contribution to the organization, Understand the informal decision-making processes of your
rather than completing tasks based only on fulfilling job description. organization, rather than just the formal reporting structures.
Speak with colleagues to understand the key talents and

Speak with your manager(s) to better understand organizational
  responsibilities in your division in order to identify the best person
priorities and how your role relates to those goals
to ask for assistance or bring concerns in certain instances
Seek out ways to make broader impact outside of your formal Use your informal interactions with colleagues to get a better
 role, for example by organizing skill workshops or assisting  understanding of the challenges your division or organization is
other teams with your experience and knowledge facing and consider how you can help
Identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as additional skills
Ask your manager(s) to explain the reasoning behind
  of team members when considering division of labor on team
organizational decisions, not just the decisions themselves
projects
Teamwork Problem Solving

Coordinate your work with that of others to achieve mutual outcomes, Proactively identify problems and opportunities for change and initiate
rather than just maintaining personal relationships with colleagues. solutions, rather than only responding to changes made by others.
Shadow colleagues outside of your direct team to gain better Meet periodically with peers in other functions to discuss common
 perspective of their accountabilities

challenges and share best practices
Proactively serve as a resource for new hires rather than having Include at least one proposed solution when escalating a problem
 
them approach you with questions first or challenge
Use your extended network including alumni networks, vendors, Avoid becoming complacent with existing practices by periodically
 etc., to advance other teams in your company, rather than only  reviewing procedures to identify alternative methods that may prove
using them to benefit your team more efficient


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CEB Corporate Leadership Council

Employee Guide: Becoming

How to use this guidebook:

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

The Changing Understanding Becoming an

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

■ An abundance of You Have Access to a Higher Volume of Information

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

You Work With More People on a Day-to-Day Basis

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

• For example: Your

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

The Changing Understanding Becoming an

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

CEB Corporate Leadership Council’s Model of High Performance

Tasks I do which count Tasks I do which count

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

The Changing Understanding Becoming an

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

■ Identify problems and

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

Prioritization Organizational Awareness

Speak with colleagues to understand the key talents and

Teamwork Problem Solving

CEB Corporate Leadership Council

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