High-performance is everywhere – but what does it really mean for your business? And how can you authentically build it into your culture?

We recently brought together a group of leaders to discuss a topic many businesses are grappling with: what is high-performance culture? And how does it show up within organisations? We all agreed that the concept is everywhere, but what’s missing is a consistent definition.

High-performance culture doesn’t look the same across all organisations, it doesn’t mean the same thing to different leaders and teams, and it’s not being implemented with the same goals across the board.

How it’s spoken about differs too. Some organisations are shouting it loud and proud – it’s high performance or bust and they’re not shy about articulating those expectations. Other businesses are intentionally building towards high performance cultures but shying away from naming them such; and some of the teams and businesses already performing at top tier don’t use the term at all within their vocabulary, although it aptly describes them.

Can we cut through the nuance and define what high-performance culture is?

At its simplest high-performance can be viewed in two ways. As an expectation on your people, a requirement to consistently deliver and add value. Or as an expectation on your organisation, a responsibility to provide a culture that enables, incentivises and supports employees to perform.

Like every element of culture, whilst there are commonalities, there are also distinctions in how each business interprets their need for high-performance and the factors that drive it. A common goal we see right now is to build agility and change readiness within the workforce – viewing high-performance as the ability to flex, be nimble, and succeed in an environment of rapid change.

High-performance is also undoubtedly about pace, energy and growth. These aren’t new elements, but rather represent a refocus and rearticulation of the things that matter most to successful organisations: staying competitive, creating value, delivering for customers and getting the best out of their people.

Importantly, it’s not a one-way deal focussed solely on value for the business. There are also opportunities and benefits for employees. Codifying high-performance crystallises what is expected and required to succeed, creating an environment where it can act as a career accelerator.

How can you authentically build your own high-performance culture?

There’s no one size fits all, but there are a couple of simple places to start when considering how high performance could play a part in your organisation.

First, get clear on your current culture and even clearer on the future culture that’s going to enable success. Culture change needs to be informed and intentional. Start by looking at existing capabilities and identifying where and how to focus on high performance to achieve strategic business goals, then codify the shifts needed and plan how to effectively communicate and activate those shifts.

Second, whilst AI has undoubtedly changed the landscape of businesses in the last year, organisations will only ever be as good as their people. Delivering and embedding high-performance into a culture relies heavily on its people at all levels. So, consider your Employee Value Proposition. Is it working hard enough to attract and retain the right people to power a high-performance business? If not, think about where it’s falling short and how to bridge that gap with the next iteration of your people promise.

If you’d like to learn more, or you’d like to discuss the role of high-performance culture within your organisation, please get in touch at [email protected]

Written by Alice Ellis

Senior Strategy Consultant

Alice is passionate about building the strategic foundations that allow organisations to thrive and drive sustainable success. In a complex and crowded marketplace, she wants brands to be equipped to shine both on the inside and out. Alice’s area of expertise spans brand building and positioning, proposition and identity design through to culture and EVP work. She has led global programmes for diverse sector leaders such as Apple, IHG and Cunard alongside work for smaller start-ups and challenger brands.