For many managers and business professionals, greater effort does not necessarily lead to better results. As expectations rise, turning experience and expertise into measurable outcomes can become harder. A recent survey by research and advisory firm Gartner, involving 2,947 employees and managers, found that 47 percent of managers felt more was expected of them and that they were working harder than a year earlier.
Yet only 41 percent of employees said their manager helped them prioritize their work. The disconnect extends beyond workloads. Experienced professionals can spend years developing knowledge, skills and relationships without translating those strengths into greater productivity or economic value.
Inefficient processes, unclear objectives and organizational structures can prevent them from making full use of their experience. The issue is not simply how hard people work, but whether their working environment allows them to deliver meaningful results. Matthew Davis, professor of organizational psychology at Leeds University Business School in England, told Newsweek that even highly capable professionals can struggle when their environment creates obstacles.
"You can recruit the most amazing talent, but if you put them into a business that puts excessive bureaucracy, poor communication, inadequate technology or conflicting goals, it’s not surprising if they don’t then reach their potential," he said. Davis noted that employees can spend valuable time "navigating approvals processes, fighting a culture where they feel unable to challenge or voice ideas, [and] chasing arbitrary performance metrics rather than focussing on collective success." He recommends asking workers directly, "What gets in the way of doing your job or doing it better?" For some workplace experts, those barriers help explain why increased effort does not always lead to better performance. Luis Pinate, founder of Agile Consulting Group and author of Monetize Who You Are, says that many professionals fall into what he describes as the high performance trap, a point at which working harder no longer produces proportionate returns.
"Preparation can create potential, but potential alone is not performance," Pinate said in an interview with Newsweek. He argues that professionals need to look beyond their individual capabilities and identify what prevents them from making the most of their experience, knowledge and skills. His Exponential Performance System (EPS) is designed to identify factors limiting an individual's performance and address them through a structured 90-day development programme.
It assesses six areas: Clear Objectives, Emotional & Mental State, Environment & Culture, Structure and Processes, Skills and Capabilities, and Compensation and Benefits. The assessment combines an individual's self-evaluation with feedback from their direct supervisor and an independent EPS consultant. The three areas with the largest performance gaps are then prioritized in an individual development plan incorporating mentoring, practical exercises, daily activities, assignments and performance indicators.
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