Performance

By David Shrum | Ascend Leadership & Development

When I was a director, I really wanted a team of high performers who would help the organization become the best EMS agency in Ohio.

Over the years, we built a great team. Our equipment reflected our commitment to exceptional patient care. Our team members genuinely wanted to do the best for their patients and for themselves. We were hitting record numbers of emergent transports per week—which, at the time, I believed was the measure of how we were becoming a crucial partner in the community.

But as we started hitting those goals, I began to experience something unexpected: resistance.

Looking back on those conversations with my leadership team, I think that resistance stemmed from a lack of clarity about what came after “being the best.”

The Tragedy of High Performance

This is the tragedy of high performers.
We reach a place where we’ve delivered—where we’ve achieved what we set out to do—and our identity becomes wrapped up in being someone who delivers.

Big visions start to feel threatening because they shake that identity.
Feedback starts to feel personal for the same reason.

We believe we’ve “become the best,” and if that’s true, what else is there to reach for—other than potential failure?

The Shift to Meta Performance™

This is why Meta Performance™ is so powerful for individuals and teams.
Meta Performance™ carries a different mindset.

High Performers ask: “How do I become the best?” 

Meta Performers ask: “What am I capable of?”

And that question—what am I capable of?—changes everything.

Because what we’re capable of, as we grow, is limitless.

If you’ve ever picked up an instrument, started a sport, or learned a new skill, you’ve experienced this. The more you grow, the more capacity you discover.

Children embody this beautifully.
In a healthy environment, they don’t yet carry the same fear of failure that adults do.
They say they want to be astronauts or presidents because their capacity is still aligned with what they believe would be a thrilling future.

The Real Question

So if you feel like you—or your organization—could perform “better,”
maybe the question isn’t:

“What do we need to do to be better?”

Maybe the real question is:

“What would you have to experience to finally discover what you’re actually capable of?”