Most companies are carrying a dangerous culture problem—and it starts with employees believing they are performing far better than they actually are.
According to our national culture study, seventy-five percent of American workers believe they perform in the top ten percent of their company or field. That math does not work. And when expectations are unclear, those misperceptions quietly become normalized inside the workplace.
Here’s what every executive needs to confront:
– Employees need clarity before they can self-correct. Without clear expectations and performance metrics, people cannot realistically evaluate their own behaviors.
– Average work becomes dangerous when it becomes acceptable. When employees believe average performance is “good enough,” high performers lose energy and momentum.
– Accountability requires visible standards. Clear communication, defined expectations, and measurable outcomes create the conditions for a true high-performance culture.
The wake-up call is simple: if leaders do not define excellence, employees will define “good enough” for themselves.
Watch this week’s video and discover why average work may be one of the most expensive cultural threats inside your organization.
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Based on our unique national study focused explicitly on culture, there are a number of statistics that you really need to understand.
Did you know that seventy-five percent of American workers think that they perform in the top ten percent of their company or of their field? And get this: sixty-eight percent think they work harder than most of their coworkers.
I think we have a problem here.
Seventy-five percent can’t possibly perform in the top ten percent, yet that’s what they think or believe. Misperceptions like these need to be addressed, and your employees must get real about what is expected of them and how they are doing in their respective roles.
If not, well, how can you ever think that they’ll perform up to your expectations? How will you ever tie their efforts into profitability for your business?
Without proper guidance, employees don’t have the tools or skills needed to evaluate and modify their own behaviors realistically.
What’s the result? Big time busyness, low productivity.
So get clear yourself and make it clear for everyone else. Now get ready for a wake up call.
This one is, or should be, more than a little scary. A recent national study uncovered that fifty-eight percent of working Americans think doing average work is acceptable. Only sixty-eight percent think that doing below-average work unacceptable. Fifty-eight percent think that too many employees strive to be average rather than excellent.
This paints a picture of the current reality in too many companies. Even when employees yearn for a high-performance culture that challenges them to become better, when people feel that it is acceptable to perform at or below average, it takes the wind out of the sails of the ambitious go-getters who are essential to a successful business.
On the other hand, when expectations are clear and well communicated, you have clear metrics of performance. This facilitates accountability, and everyone’s sales will be filled with the winds of success.
Stand by for our next video, where we will talk about the dangers of negativity and the one deadly sin you must know about how to eradicate gossip.