U-turn performance

There is a widespread illusion that if only we could get rid of all the poor performers and replace them with outstanding individuals, life (at work) would be sorted.

a) these outstanding people don’t exist, at least not in large enough quantities
b) even if they did, they’d probably want to do your job in a matter of weeks and might even be better at it
c) most people learn to become great – they don’t come pre-programmed.

So if you want to work with high performers you need to create them and that means knowing how to turn around people who are delivering below standard: how to create a u-turn in performance.

It’s often not as difficult as it sounds and, as with converts in many other fields, the result can be more enthusiasm, dedication and higher standards of delivery than if there hadn’t been a problem in the first place.