1. The Performance Imperative and the Year of Mercy
Denise San Antonio Zeman
Keynote Address, October 10, 2016

2. A Call to High Performance in the Year of Mercy

3. The Seven Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy
Corporal Works of Mercy
Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead
Spiritual Works of Mercy
Admonish the sinner
Teach the ignorant
Counsel the doubtful
Console the sorrowful
Bear wrongs patiently
Forgive all injuries
Pray for the living and dead

4. Why the Performance Imperative for Catholic Organizations?

5. The Seven Pillars of High Performance

6. DEFINITION OF HIGH PERFORMANCE

7. PILLAR 1 – COURAGEOUS, ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP…

8. 1: COURAGEOUS AND ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP
Meaningful, measurable, sustainable results
Strong, assertive governors and stewards
Mission clarity
Recruit, develop, engage, and retain talent
Marshal external partners and resources
Passionately push
Seek and act on feedback
Assess what the organization should stop doing
Clearly define roles
Model thoughtful, clear, informative, and timely communications
Leadership is the preeminent pillar

9. PILLAR 1: CENTER FOR VIOLENCE-FREE RELATIONSHIPS
“Who is responsible for making sure the baby does not become the fourth generation of victims? It was my responsibility. But I had no way of knowing if we were moving our clients closer to that goal.”
Matt Huckabay, Executive Director

10. PILLAR 2 – DISCIPLINED MANAGEMENT…

11. 2: DISCIPLINED, PEOPLE-FOCUSED MANAGEMENT
Meaningful, measurable, and sustainable results
Excellence
Data-informed decisions
Talent recruitment, development, retention
Staff sees themselves in the work
Accountability systems
Continuous feedback
Commitment to improvement
Make tough personnel decisions when needed
Discipline drives good execution

12. PILLAR 2: WINGS FOR KIDS
Photo: WINGS for Kids
Wings leader Juan needed to improve on four out of five core skills. Thanks to disciplined coaching, he completed the school year, stayed on for another year, and was even promoted.

13. PILLAR 3 – WELL-DESIGNED PROGRAMS/STRATEGIES…

14. 3: WELL-DESIGNED PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES
Clear on target population or audience
Program designed on sound analysis of the issues, insights, and evidence-informed assumptions
Careful attention to the larger ecosystem
High-quality implementation
Recruit, retain, motivate, and learn
Invest in strong relationships
Guard against the temptation to veer off course
The foundation for performance

15. PILLAR 3: YOUTH VILLAGES
Pat Lawler was disappointed in the outcomes after kids left Youth Villages’ residential facilities.
After reengineering its program mix, the organization was able to produce twice the outcomes of comparable programs – at one third the cost.
Photo: Youth Villages

16. PILLAR 4 – FINANCIAL HEALTH…

17. 4: FINANCIAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY
Take charge
Strong systems
Results-oriented budgeting
Transparency
Nurture external financing relationships
Build their balance sheet
Understand cost structure
Use financial models
Instill an organization-wide discipline of compliance with all regulatory requirements
No margin, no mission

18. PILLAR 4: FIRST PLACE FOR YOUTH
“If you say that improving outcomes by 2-3 percentage points doesn’t matter, you’re saying that several young lives don’t matter.”
Photos: First Place for Youth
Sam Cobbs, CEO

19. PILLAR 5 – A CULTURE THAT VALUES LEARNING…

20. 5: A CULTURE THAT VALUES LEARNING
Mission and desired results
Seek to do even better
High expectations
Collect and use information
Benchmark and learn from peer organizations
Push each other’s thinking
Acknowledge when there are problems
Step back, take stock, and reflect
Culture and people are key

21. Bridget Laird, President and CEO
PILLAR 5: WINGS FOR KIDS
Photos: WINGS for Kids
“If you can get that culture going, people don't leave. They feel like they're part of something that wants to work, a culture that actually wants to achieve results. And when you see it happen, you don't want to leave that.”

22. PILLAR 6 – INTERNAL MONITORING for CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT…

23. 6: MONITORING FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Establish clear metrics
Produce frequent reports
Collection, analysis, and use of data is in the organization’s DNA
Don’t collect excessive information
Draw on lessons from like programs
Data is vital to learning and improvement

24. LATIN AMERICAN YOUTH CENTER
Isaac Castillo, former Director of Learning and Evaluation
Photo: Latin American Youth Center
“We were changing attitudes toward domestic violence in the wrong direction. If it weren’t for our data collection, we would never have found out that we were doing harm. But we did, and we were able to improve the program.”

25. PILLAR 7 – EXTERNAL EVALUATION…

26. 7: EXTERNAL EVALUATION FOR EFFECTIVENESS
Internal monitoring AND external evaluations
Strengthen programs
Match the tool to the task
Evaluate to assess positive net impact
Distinguish between outputs and outcomes
Rigorous evaluation that can assess net impact
Assessments to gauge impact in new settings
Share methodology and results
Know what we do works

27. PILLAR 7: CENTER FOR EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Brad Dudding, COO
CEO reduced recidivism by 16 to 22 percent compared to a randomized control group. None of the other programs evaluated had any effect on recidivism. 
Photos: Center for Employment Opportunities

28. THE JOURNEY TOWARD HIGH PERFORMANCE
Pillar 1: Courageous, adaptive executive and board leadership (the preeminent pillar)
Pillar 2: Disciplined, people-focused management
Pillar 3: Well-designed and well-implemented programs and strategies
Pillar 4: Financial health and sustainability
Pillar 5: A culture that values learning
Pillar 6: Internal monitoring for continuous improvement
Pillar 7: External evaluation for mission effectiveness

29. WHAT DIFFERENTIATES THE PI?
It’s collaborative
It’s rigorous
It’s comprehensive
It’s clear and succinct
It’s available at no cost

30. WHAT ARE KEY FEATURES OF THE PI?
Defines a high performance organization
Preeminent importance on leadership
Recognizes that culture and people are key to performance, continuous learning, and improvement
Blends disciplined execution, people focus, and data-driven decision-making
Identifies external evaluation as essential to operational performance
Focuses on organizations overall (not just programs)

31. BUILDING THE PI INTO STRATEGY AND PLANNING

32. REVIEWING YOUR ORGANIZATION

33. INFLUENCING PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND POLICY

34. IMPROVING GRANT EFFECTIVENESS

35. INCORPORATING INTO COURSES

36. FOR INTROSPECTION AND LEARNING

37. Pope Francis’ visit to Washington DC

38. BEING ALL YOU CAN BE FOR THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE
We hope you see “The Performance Imperative” as a North Star to guide you on a journey of continuous learning, and a tool for fulfilling Pope Francis’ call to be People of Mercy.

39. Denise San Antonio Zeman, Leap Ambassador