Home » Latest » Global Boardroom »
Have you ever reflected on the cultures that brought out your best work? Was it the one with the highest bonus? The most aggressive targets? The most pressure? I ask this question in every workshop I run on workplace culture, and the answers are remarkably consistent.
The stories differ, but the themes rarely do. The bar was high. Someone believed in them. They knew what they were working toward. They felt like they belonged. The work meant something. And they were safe to make mistakes.
Then I ask a follow-up question. When you were in that culture, the one that helped you grow, were you lazy? People laugh. Across hundreds of groups, from executive teams to emerging leaders, the answer is unanimous. Absolutely not. They worked hard, cared deeply, and did some of the best work of their careers. That moment exposes something most organisations haven’t reckoned with yet. When people grow, they perform. You don’t have to choose between the two. You just need to get the order right.
Why high performance cultures eventually fail themselves
Most organisations have it backwards. The traditional high-performance model, the one most leadership teams still default to, pushes harder, sets stricter targets, monitors output, and leaves little room for error. It can work, for a while. People hit targets, the metrics look good, and everyone congratulates themselves on running a tight ship. But over time, those same systems erode the very performance they were designed to produce. Pressure becomes tension, people stop experimenting, creativity narrows, and teams optimise for safety instead of progress.
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 report shows employee engagement declining while stress continues to rise. In Australia, productivity growth has slowed to its weakest level in 60 years according to Treasury and Productivity Commission analysis. At the same time, the wellbeing investments most organisations reach for aren’t solving the underlying problem. A 2024 study published in the Industrial Relations Journal found that individual-level interventions, the apps, the resilience programs, the wellness perks, have limited measurable impact when workplace conditions themselves remain unchanged. The most effective way to improve wellbeing at work is to build healthier systems, not help people tolerate unhealthy ones.
What high performance sport has already learned
Business borrowed the high-performance model from elite sport, and sport has already moved on. Sports psychology research has repeatedly shown that performance-centred coaching, focused heavily on outcomes and comparison, is associated with increased burnout, poorer mental health, and lower long-term performance. Athletes who develop in environments focused on personal growth, individual skill mastery, and the ability to make mistakes perform better and sustain performance longer. Business is following the same pattern. It’s just slower to admit it.
Cultivating an experiment mindset
During the COVID pandemic, technology engineer James Galdes led the team responsible for building South Australia’s digital COVID response systems. Systems that would normally take years to build, contact tracing, pathology integration, quarantine monitoring, exposure tracking, had to be operational within weeks. “There was no time for perfection,” James told me. “We just had to get it working, and then make it better every day.” So they did. They shipped quickly, observed outcomes, adapted in real time, and improved continuously. South Australia’s successful technology response was later adopted nationally.
But what stayed with James wasn’t the speed. It was the culture that speed required. Clarity of purpose, autonomy to act, and an environment where learning mattered more than blame. People weren’t paralysed by the fear of getting something wrong, they were focused on solving the next problem. Removing paralysis, not pressure, was what made the difference. When the crisis passed, many organisations reverted. The committees returned, experimentation slowed, and layers of approval crept back in. But James made a deliberate decision not to lose what that period revealed to him. In his next leadership role, inside a far more traditional organisation, he kept the same philosophy: test, learn, adapt, improve. And create the cultural conditions that allow the team to do the same.
Building a high personal growth culture using three levers
To build a high personal growth culture, leaders need to shape the three conditions that drive human behaviour: Environment, Psychology, and Physiology.
Environment is about creating clarity, context, community, and courage. People need to understand what matters, where they’re heading, and feel safe enough to contribute honestly along the way.
Psychology is about building agency, mastery, and meaning. The strongest cultures don’t make people feel managed. They make people feel trusted, capable, and connected to work that matters.
Physiology is about protecting safety, wellbeing, and the cognitive capacity required for high performance. A team running on chronic stress and exhaustion will always default to self-protection over innovation.
When those three conditions exist together, people stop protecting themselves and start contributing at their highest level. The organisations that will adapt fastest are not the ones with the tightest processes. They’re the ones where learning is normal, experimentation is safe, and people feel proud of who they’re becoming through their work. That’s not a softer way to lead. It’s a smarter one.
Written by Tamsin Simounds.
Have you read?
Why Employee-Centered Leadership Is a Competitive Advantage.
The Hidden Organizational Problem Slowly Destroying Your Business.
Why Great Leaders Master This Overlooked Skill.
AI Can Analyze Data—But It Can’t Replace Leadership Judgment.
The New Operating Discipline Every Private Company Needs to Master.
CEOWORLD magazine on Google News
Follow CEOWORLD magazine on: Google News, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
Note: The views expressed are solely those of the authors and not of CEOWORLD magazine, its Editorial Board, or management. This informational content is provided “as is,” may include monetized links, and does not constitute advice. We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines. Reproduction requires prior written permission.
For media queries, please contact: [email protected]. © CEOWORLD magazine LTD
Trusted Insights for Global Executives
© 2026 CEOWORLD magazine LTD | Phone: +1 3479835101 | Email: [email protected]