Performance- versus excellence-driven leadership2 min read

Performance-driven leadership prioritizes performance at the cost of team well-being. Excellence-based leadership, grounded in joy and care, fosters authentic growth and organizational success.

Performance-based leadership

Fear-driven leadership is often disguised as a performance drive. The desire for performance from leaders is totally understandable, but when it is over-emphasised it can end up being detrimental to your team, department, or even company. People often use the drive for performance to disguise their insecurities or feelings of inferiority, both for themselves — “I must perform or people will realise that I am not actually that good” — and for their teams — “If my team doesn’t perform well enough I’m going to look like a failure”. Wanting to look good, a performance-driven leader will drive others hard to get the most out of them, but the fear-based mindset behind their striving for performance undermines true excellence.

Excellence-based leadership

We believe there is a better way to lead, by serving others with excellence because of a fundamental belief that they deserve the best. Leaders like this create an atmosphere where their team members and colleagues do not need to perform to be accepted, but can instead operate from a foundation of belonging. This kind of leader still challenges others, but instead of fear-based driving to get the most out of them, they call out the brilliance from within their team members and colleagues.

A flourishing atmosphere

Performance-based leaders see achieving the goal as the ultimate outcome; excellence-based leaders challenge others to help them become the best people they can be. In the same way, rather than keeping others accountable to get more out of them, an excellence-based leader keeps others accountable to encourage them to stay true to what they promised. While outcomes remain important, the driving force is to help their team members grow in character and authenticity, motivated by joy and care. This approach typically results in an atmosphere of joy and care where good work and successes are celebrated, and failures are acknowledged without shame or guilt and used as opportunities for growth.

People (team members, team leads, managers, and CEOs) flourish in this kind of atmosphere and are able to grow into their potential and serve others with their best. How can you start to cultivate a joy and care atmosphere in your company where excellence and not performance become the norm?