CSO Insights’ Barry Trailer posed the question in a recent blog about the relationship of high performers to the company you keep titled Are Your Friends Making You Unsuccessful? The academic premise is that if your friends are big downers and slackers, you might become one too and they can affect your health, happiness, etc. (a little humor there but the premise remains the same). Behind the academics is the practical question: is there a correlation between top performers and their ability to network? And is there a correlation between top performers and the quality of the company they seek?
Most of us have a wide range of friends, some of whom are more central to our daily lives because they live near us, work with us, etc. But distance aside, many of us carry friendships over decades and they serve a purpose in our lives as well as a history. All that to say, if you look at the high performing sales reps in your company, also look at the company they keep. The quality of their network tends to drive them to greater accomplishments and results.
Most top performers seek each other out in an organization, and they feed off of each other. They tend to shy away from negative influences in an company and keep in constant contact. There are often competitive undertones but the drive and desire to perform fuels idea generation, feedback, and best practices. They see the potential, not the obstacle; they find productivity vs. activity, etc—in essence, they are the practical translation of the premise that certain social behaviors are contagious and drive behavior and thinking in others.
One other thing I’ve noticed is that the relationships are genuine which increases ownership and interest level. That key element plays a significant role in how they interact and as a result, how they perform.
What is your view on the element of “social contagion” in the workplace? Does high energy, strong performance and drive breed similar behavior? Can a company inadvertently squelch drive and positive behavior? And how does an organization cultivate the right environment to encourage success versus defeat?
In my opinion, market leaders know they must define or redefine their value in the context of their customers. Since different types of customers buy different kinds of value – low cost, convenience, cutting edge products etc. To produce unsurpassed, ever-improving value requires a superior, dedicated model whereby the culture, management systems, core processes, organization and information technology must support the value discipline.
For example, companies with a product leadership market discipline need employees who are concept, future driven with an ‘out of the box’ mindset and a go-for-it attitude. Management must be decisive and risk oriented, rewarding individuals’ innovation capacity and with a deep understanding of product life cycle profitability. If employees do not fit the required cultural criteria even a normally high-performing individual will under perform, become frustrated and possible undermine the success of the whole team.