“When Performance gets Outperformed”
- Mohamed Abdelrahim
- Apr 14, 2022
- 2 min read
Performance cultures are those where people are rewarded for meeting deadlines, producing measurable results, and being efficient. Growth cultures, on the other hand, are those where people are encouraged to take risks, innovate, and learn from their mistakes.
In a performance culture, people are focused on meeting short term finite goals and getting results. They may not be concerned with how they get those results or what happens afterwards. In a growth culture, people are focused on learning and growing as individuals and as a team. They want to achieve their goals but they also want to learn from their mistakes so they can improve in the future. Furthermore it’s about feeling valued and appreciated. Employees who feel like their company is always learning and growing are more likely to feel invested in its success and less likely to leave.
A study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that employees who work in a growth culture are more engaged than those who work in a performance culture. In addition, they found that employees in a growth culture have a better experience at work.
A performance culture is often based on fear while a growth culture is based on trust. People in a performance culture may feel like they need to prove themselves at all times while people in a growth culture may feel like they can relax and take risks, because there is always room for improvement.
In a study recently published in the Harvard Business Review, researchers found that companies with a growth mindset – one that focuses on learning and growing rather than on outperforming others – have lower employee turnover rates, even when employees are offered higher-paying jobs at other companies.
It is time to change the way we think about work. We need to move from a performance culture to a growth culture and create better engagement by adopting a better employee experience.
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