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Office of Human Resources Organizatino and Human Resource Consulting

Building a High Performance Culture

What is a High Performance Culture?

President Gee is committed to building a high performance culture at Ohio State. He stresses the importance of talent and building a high performance culture to advance the university goals.

The components of a high performance culture include a shared direction, world class talent, extraordinary results and bold leadership:

  1. Shared direction means that Ohio State is a single-minded institution with world-wide reach with the overarching goal to be the premier land-grant research university in the nation.
  2. World class talent means that we must invest in the faculty and staff of this university. They are our primary assets. The reputation of Ohio State faculty and staff is the reputation of the university.
  3. Extraordinary results mean that we must continue to have programs that are prominent in the national arena and on the global stage as accomplishments define this university.
  4. Bold leadership is defined by loyalty, passion, energy, enthusiasm, courage, and a sense of urgency from our top leaders. Bold leadership is necessary for the shared direction, world class talent and extraordinary results to propel Ohio State into the future.

A shared direction consists of:

  • Vision or clear aspirations. We will become not merely excellent but eminent. The Ohio State University will be the university equivalent of the Great Wall of China --- visible to the naked eye from outer space.
  • Mission will be defined through our teaching, our research, and our commitment to the public. We will be the premier land-grant research university in the nation.
  • Values are the basic principles we all agree to practice. In President Gee’s Rules of Engagement he urges us to learn to work as one team, to set aside individual aspirations and to function as one university.

World class talent is required to reach our aspirations. The single most important thing we do as a university is to hire and retain excellent people. To do that we must invest in:

  • Recruitment. We have to attract and hire the best. We have to recruit and re-recruit our faculty and staff every day.
  • Engagement. We must ensure that our talent is able to thrive. We do this by fostering risk taking and innovation, and engaging the hearts, minds and hands of Ohio State faculty and staff.
  • Retention and rewards. Rewarding the accomplishments of our world class faculty and staff will help us keep the best talent.

    • Extraordinary results are the hallmark of a high performing culture. They are brought about by:

    • Commitment to excellence. We must continue to strive beyond our past and beyond our reach.
    • Accountability. Responsibility for achieving excellence must be universally embraced. Non-performance is not acceptable. When non-performers are retained, the high performers leave, and the standards of the organization are lowered.
    • Measurement. We need to create accountability and validate progress.