“The man who focuses on efforts and who stresses his downward authority is a subordinate no matter how exalted his title and rank. But the man who focuses on contribution and who takes responsibility for results, no matter how junior, is in the most literal sense of the phrase, “top management.” He holds himself accountable for the performance of the whole.”
Focusing on what one should contribute to others, to the organization, and on what others should be held accountable for in terms of contribution is what makes people and organizations effective. Drucker encourages the view that contribution consists of making one’s knowledge productive and useful for others in what they need to contribute.
Drucker recommends asking: what can I contribute to organizational results? What does your contribution require me to contribute? Where should you be held accountable for your contribution to the organization?
Focusing on what one should contribute enables an executive to rise to new levels of responsibility and rise above The Peter Principle. It forces one to think through one’s responsibility toward making a successful organization in terms of results, values, and leader development.
Drucker also identifies contribution and performance as critical for human relations in the workplace. Without it communication will become ineffective, teamwork will not occur, self-development will become misdirected, and people will not reach their potential.
(The Effective Executive, chapter 3)