Leader #1: Recognizing the urgency for change in his organization, this leader applies the pressure in team meetings. He grills team members, asking tough questions in the moment about progress on action items. When they appear to be tongue-tied, he takes it as an indicator of incompetence or resistance. In actuality, there is a biological reason for their hesitation. Their brains are flooded with emotions, inhibiting their ability to give thoughtful and accurate responses. In his efforts to create a culture of accountability, this leader has unwittingly created a vicious cycle of self-fulfilling prophecy. The more he pushes, the less people are able to change.

Leader #2: On her team of 7, this leader has 2 stars and 5 average performers. She has learned to rely on the 2 stars to do the bulk of the work, which sometimes creates resentment on their part (although they also enjoy the status accorded to them). As a result of recent competitive pressures, the staff must begin to perform at a higher level, both individually and as a team. When she approaches her 2 stars about raising their level of performance, she gets blank stares. They are confused about why they are no longer receiving unqualified accolades. And the 5 average performers seem to be stuck in the mindset that average performance is all they are capable of.

Leader #3: This leader meets one-on-one with his team members on a quarterly basis to review progress on personal and professional development goals. Whether the employee is a star compared to other team members is not the point to this leader; he expects everyone, including himself, to be continually learning. It would not be fair to say that this leader has created a stressful, perfectionistic work environment; he recognizes that employees need down time to regroup after achieving a new level of performance. But the culture he has created sets a high value on persistent effort over pure talent.