Performance: It’s more than just numbers

‍Start with the end in mind

One of the most powerful shifts we help leaders make is to stop focusing on activities and start focusing on impact. We always ask: What outcome are you actually trying to achieve?

It’s surprisingly easy to get stuck in leadership development that feels worthwhile - working on feedback, coaching, collaboration - without tying it to a clear, specific business goal.

Instead, we encourage leaders to step back and ask:

• What’s the business impact I need to create?

• What will great performance look like - in behaviour - to deliver that?

When leaders start here, everything else becomes clearer. When leaders start here, everything else becomes clearer. Research from the Center for Creative Leadership has consistently shown that programs aligned to business outcomes are more likely to deliver meaningful results.

Performance = Potential – Interference

This idea, from Sir John Whitmore, is one we come back to again and again:

Performance = Potential – Interference

Most people have the potential to succeed. What gets in the way is interference - barriers that stop them from performing at their best. That might be unclear priorities, clunky systems, low confidence, or simply too many distractions.

The leader’s job? Not to push harder, but to remove that interference - to coach, support, and simplify.

And it works. According to Gallup, leaders who remove barriers and clarify expectations significantly improve employee engagement and performance outcomes. That’s not theory - that’s impact.  

Behaviour: The missing link in performance conversations

Ask most leaders about performance and you’ll hear about KPIs. That’s fine - but KPIs are the result, not the cause.

What often gets missed is this question: What do I actually need my people to do or say, every day, to move the needle?

That’s what we call behavioural performance - the real, observable actions that drive outcomes. Without it, you’re relying on chance.

• KPIs tell us what happened.

• Behaviours tell us how it happened.

And if you want consistent results, you need consistent behaviours. While the specific impact on retention varies across organisations, multiple studies show that behaviourally aligned leadership improves employee satisfaction and team cohesion.

Coach the swing, not the ball

Here’s how we explain it: performance is like golf.

• The swing - stance, grip, posture - is behaviour.

• The flight of the ball is the KPI.

Once the ball is in the air, it’s too late to change it - no matter how hard we crane our neck. The leader’s influence happens before that point.

So, stop watching the scoreboard and start coaching the swing. It’s upstream, not downstream, where performance is made.

Creating the conditions for people to perform

Leadership is not about having all the answers. It’s about designing the environment where people can succeed.

That means focusing on three key elements:

1. Clarity – Are people clear on what success looks like and the behaviours that will best achieve it?

2. Climate – Do they feel safe to try, learn, and grow and do they have the right supporting systems and processes?

3. Competence – Do they have the skills, knowledge and mindset they need to consistently demonstrate the right behaviours?

When one of these is missing, performance suffers. Not because people don’t care - but because the conditions aren’t right.

Deloitte’s Human Capital Trends reports continue to highlight the growing importance of leadership that fosters adaptive, high-trust environments. Leaders who intentionally shape these conditions outperform those who rely solely on performance pressure.

Performance is a shared responsibility

New leaders often ask: “Where does the responsibility for performance sit; with me, or my team?”

Our answer: "it's both - but you have specific roles to play"

Performance is co-created. Leaders set the tone, the standards, the environment. But team members must own their part too.

We find this works best as a partnership:

• Leaders offer clarity, coaching, and support.

• Individuals step up with effort, insight, and responsibility.

The key to unlocking this dynamic? Regular, honest, coaching-style conversations - not top-down control.

The underrated power of curiosity

If there’s one behaviour we consistently see driving great leadership and high performance, it’s curiosity.

Curious leaders:

• Ask better questions

• Listen without jumping to conclusions

• Invite others to share ideas and solutions

They don’t assume they know best. They stay open - and in doing so, they learn, adapt, and lead more effectively.

Research published in Harvard Business Review suggests that curiosity supports innovation and helps teams respond more effectively to complexity and change. It’s a key enabler of adaptive leadership.

Curiosity isn’t soft - it’s a performance driver.

Final thoughts: Design performance, don’t just measure it

Real performance doesn’t come from luck or pressure. It comes from intention. From leaders who:

• Begin with the end in mind

• Focus on behaviour, not just results

• Remove interference

• Create the right conditions

• Share ownership

• Stay curious

At LIW, we help leaders do exactly that. Because when leadership is designed for performance, results follow.

If you’re ready to build that kind of leadership, we’d love to talk.

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