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ATD Blog

Shifting the Performance Curve

Thursday, September 19, 2013
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Does the great bulk of your team meet expectations represented by the center of the graph below? In other words, is the performance “standard” in comparison to others? You probably would say “yes.” 

Yet, we all recognize that some team members, day in and day out, produce exceptional results. These stars are represented by the star on the far right of the graph.

Think about it. Do you know any truly talented people who have underachieved in their careers? These are the people who bring significant potential to the table, but perform at or below an established standard. Why? Because talent is a measure of the potential to perform, not of performance. 

Businesses do not succeed because they have potential. They succeed because they produce results. Let me state this in a different way. People with high potential (the capacity to succeed) don't drive successful companies. Rather, successful companies are driven by people who routinely accomplish exceptional results.

So, the stars that make such a significant difference in our businesses are those individuals who have the potential to succeed AND make the effort to improve in their role day in and day out. The implications of this are staggering for those of us who manage individuals, teams, departments, divisions, and companies.

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If variance in the performance of people and teams is not determined simply by the raw talent you have acquired, then leadership has the capability to shift the performance curve.

The focus needs to move from inputs (talent, potential, competencies) to the outputs that matter (revenue, accomplishments, customer retention). 

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What type of employee do you think is valued the most?

  1. Employees who knew more, had greater skills and competencies, and scored higher on relevant tests
  2. Employees who were busy all the time
  3. Employees who consistently produced outstanding results that drove the corporate strategy and initiatives

Contribute to the blog and see what feedback you receive. 
For more on how to shift the performance curve, check out Paul’s previous blog article in this series.

About the Author

Paul H. Elliott, PhD, is principal consultant at Exemplary Performance, which he founded in 2004 based on his desire to improve business results by replicating the accomplishments of clients’ highest performers. His expertise is in analyzing human performance and designing solutions that optimize human performance. Elliott has worked with Fortune 500 companies including BP, ExxonMobil, DocuSign, Agilent, FedEx, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, AstraZeneca, GM, Proctor and Gamble, and Ford. Additionally, he has supported Microsoft in defining and applying techniques for optimizing individual and team performance for more than 20 years.

Elliott co-authored, with Al Folsom, Exemplary Performance: Driving Business Results by Benchmarking Your Star Performers. It was awarded the International Society of Performance Improvement’s 2014 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Performance Improvement Publication.

Elliott received his PhD in educational psychology from the University of Illinois, and his BA is from Rutgers University. He served on the of the American Society of Training and Development’s board of directors from 1993 to 1995 and was ASTD’s Executive in Residence when he crafted the organization’s strategy and approach to human performance improvement.

Throughout his career, Elliott has written extensively, including chapters in The ASTD Handbook: The Definitive Reference for Training and Development (“Linking Learning to Performance”); The ASTD Handbook for Workplace Learning Professionals (“Identifying Performance and Learning Gaps”); Moving from Training to Performance (“Assessment”); and Handbook of Human Performance Technology (“Job Aids”). He also co-authored “Helping Every Team Exceed Expectations” in TD magazine.

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So happy to see you here Paul! This is such an extraordinary strategy I had the privilege to learn from you directly and that I read in your book, twice. Thank you. Glad you are well.
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