“If you work hard and deliver results, you are well rewarded here. But if you don’t work as hard and don’t really produce, you are also well rewarded.”
Leadership behaviors like these erode the performance and value of organizations.
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As strategic advisors and partners to large companies and nonprofits, we have been dismayed to see behaviors like this become not only more common, but also more celebrated, despite its consequences.
Be good, not nice
If excessively “nice” leadership erodes value, what does good leadership look like?
1. More accountability, especially for higher earners
For an organization to stand out, it is vital to hire and retain the best talent possible. This usually requires hefty compensation. But paying more should also mean measuring and demanding high performance.
Of course, setting clear expectations and taking accountability for meeting them seriously can result in the departure of committed, well-intentioned people who fail to achieve the required level of performance.
Leaders will need to spend more time managing performance, ensuring goals have clear metrics and tracking these indicators not just once a year, but on an ongoing basis.
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2. More candid feedback
Providing feedback effectively makes a real difference to organizational performance.
Ironically, however, more empathetic managers often feel more uncomfortable giving feedback early on, which can lead them to sugarcoat it to the point of making it unclear. Giving difficult feedback directly, in a tone that employees can hear and turn into action, is a skill that can be developed.
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3. Less focus on retention per se
Retaining high-performing employees is absolutely vital to organizational success. At the same time, this should not be an end in itself. This is especially true today; Younger workers no longer spend their entire careers at a single organization. We need to normalize being able to move forward when people and their roles aren’t the right fit.
This does not mean, however, discarding people without considering their livelihood. Generous severance pay, letters of reference and active help in finding a more suitable position are the ethical way to deal with these situations, as well as reassuring the remaining staff that both performance and people matter.
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4. Tighten strategic focus: saying “no” more often
It is also essential that leaders keep their talents focused on what really matters. Strategy is saying “no” to a million little things so you can say “yes” to the most important ones.
Of course, refusing some projects runs the risk of interrupting something that could prove relevant in the future. But doing too many things—or the wrong things—just to keep everyone happy makes it less likely that anything important will actually get done.
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Getting started
There will be natural resistance to raising the bar on these four fronts, especially from those who have already become comfortable.
Changing the culture and expectations to be good, not just good, will require courage and persistence.
This also requires a collective effort — you can’t be the only one demanding excellence and making difficult decisions.
As a senior leader, part of your role is to develop a like-minded leadership team capable of spreading this way of working across the organization and making it part of the operating culture.
c.2026 Harvard Business Review. Distribuído pela New York Times Licensing
