Have we got the conversation wrong about performance?

Have we got the conversation wrong about performance?

As leaders, we all want our people to perform well. This is demonstrated by the vast sums of money organisations spend on L&D initiatives to improve performance.

However, do people really want to perform? Or do they simply want to do their job well and be successful? Performing implies something we do for others whereas success is something we want for ourselves.

I may be playing with semantics a little however we need to recognize that we can’t make people perform or change their behaviour. It is a choice they make and them alone.

So what can we do to encourage people to make choices that lead to them ‘performing’ better or doing things in ways that give them a better outcome?

✅ Firstly, we need to educate people about performance – what it is and what it isn’t. We also need to equip people to overcome the natural human tendency to make choices that limit performance – most of which happen unconsciously.

✅ Build the willingness of people to make ‘performance choices’ – L&D cannot do this alone. Yes, they can help position the benefits of adopting new skills and behaviours in generic terms but building the willingness to change comes down to the conversations leaders have with their people about ambition, expectation and success.

✅ Create the conditions that support performance – this comes down to how we lead people and the processes and systems we put in place. Often leaders unconsciously act in ways that undermine the likelihood of their people making ‘performance choices’. We have to make sure leaders understand the pivotal role their actions and behaviours have on the likelihood of their people choosing to up their game. We also need to ensure our systems and processes nudge people in the right direction rather than encouraging the opposite!