If there’s one desire leaders have of others, it’s that they “perform.” But what is performance really? An online dictionary defines “perform” as “to carry out; execute, do.” While there’s nothing to dispute about the getting of results, the skill sets that underlie performance change with the times. Performance in this era of global disruption is defined as mental flexibility and emotional balance.
The idea of defining what performance looks like came to the fore over the past century with the advent of the management sciences, which endeavored to make leaders more rigorous, scientific, and quantitative with tools and research instead of guesswork, personal judgment, and personal experience. All this resulted in efficiency and cost savings in quality, inventory control, continuous improvement, and financial management.
