Benchmarking The Best: Why Great Leaders Learn by Imitation

Observing Excellence, Becoming Excellence

While every highly performing school district, government agency, or organization has achieved success through a variety of methods, each of them has a hidden truth behind their achievements: they have all had leaders that have taken the time to study an individual or organization that is more successful than they are. Before department can make a breakthrough, or an agency can receive national recognition, there is first observation, intentional, deliberate, and at times, humble observation.

When we refer to innovation in the civic world, we typically think that innovations originate from imagination; however, most innovations develop from studying what others are doing. Agencies look at ways other cities decrease wait times, how another state responds to emergencies, how another district communicates with its citizens, etc. Leaders see what is working somewhere else and they attempt to replicate it locally.

Benchmarking is not simply copying others because it represents a realization that leadership develops by recognizing, examining, and replicating the patterns of excellence. Benchmarking is the distinction between speculation and informed development. And it is the most effective leaders that recognize that excellence is rarely accidental. It is consistently produced by patterns that are observable and measurable by any leader who is willing to learn.

The Neurology of Learning by Examining Others

What makes benchmarking so productive is not merely strategic, it is biological. Marco Iacoboni, a neuroscientist at UCLA, examined mirror cells, the neural networks that initiate activity in our brain when we execute an action and when we observe someone else executing the same action. Our brains produce identical activation regardless of whether we are performing the action or viewing the action being performed by another person.

Therefore, when a leader views a high-performing organization producing excellent outcomes, the leader's brain is simulating the behavior necessary to produce similar results. When a leader views a high-performing organization, the brain is mentally practicing the behaviors observed. The greater the familiarity with a high-performing organization's behavior, the greater the confidence. Benchmarking is not merely copying. It is the mental rehearsal for potential execution.

Most Successful Businesses are Refined Clones

Many people believe that the most successful organizations were created from unique and innovative ideas. However, most successful organizations were developed based on refined versions of existing concepts.

Facebook improved upon social networking. Starbucks formalized the coffee house concept. Uber transformed transportation. TikTok perfected short-form video formats.

Success was due to the combination of execution, refinement, timing, and study of competitors, not innovation, that ultimately resulted in success. Government agencies can apply the same principles: study what is working in other areas and adapt the practices for local use.

Discovering a Unique Service Area Through Mastery Rather Than Speculation

There is a sequence of stages to follow in order to achieve mastery in leadership: First you observe, then you practice, then you adapt, finally, you innovate. Benchmarking enables a faster transition through these stages. Leaders that begin by imitating the best will eventually become professionals in developing their own approach. This is the way that cities and districts create their unique programs and become models for other communities.

Benchmarking is Important for The Public Sector

Government agencies do not have the luxury of failure. The impact of mistakes can extend beyond the community where the slipup occurred. Therefore, benchmarking is a public responsibility. Benchmarking minimizes errors, conserves taxpayer money, decreases the time required to develop knowledge, increases accountability, and enhances service delivery to the public. Additionally, benchmarking fosters institutional humility, a desire to learn from others.

Leadership as a Reflection of Excellence

Most great leaders are perceived as being creative and original; however, most great leaders are actually learning from others. They study excellence until their own style of performance is distinctive. The concept of mirrored neurons reveals a timeless principle: we become what we continually observe. If leaders wish to establish institutions that are comparable to the finest in the world, they must be courageous enough to emulate the best in the world through the use of benchmarking. The process of becoming a model for others to emulate begins with emulating the greatness of others.

References

Iacoboni, M. (2008). Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Iacoboni, M. (2009). Imitation, empathy, and mirror neurons. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 653–670.

Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78(2), 78–90.

Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (1994). Competing for the Future. Harvard Business School Press.

Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2005). Blue Ocean Strategy. Harvard Business Review Press.

Levitt, T. (1993). The Marketing Imagination. Free Press.