High-Performing vs. Mediocre Leaders: 5 Key Characteristics That Separate Them

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For decades organizations have been suffocated by mediocre, personal-interest-driven, questionably competent leaders, creating unhealthy work environments and leaving employees frustrated and unmotivated, and the workplace unimpressive.

For everyone who values an inspiring workplace, the 21st-century brought about a change in the overall business culture and attitudes towards all things work. Today’s high-performing leader empowers employees, and values healthy personal relationships, inclusion, and diversity. Respect and kindness matter to her, and they trump arrogance, ego and superiority.

If you are an aspiring leader, or are already one, here are some things to keep in mind if you want to avoid being a mediocre leader.

Drop the ‘My-Way-Or-The-Highway’ Manner

No one likes a smart a$$, especially not at the office. Instead of adopting the last-century-favored “I know this” attitude, try  something more powerful like “do we know this?” when talking to your team.

Take your employees’ suggestions, start a two-way conversation, and engage with the people you work with, instead of making them work for you. Everyone loves to be included in brainstorming and decision-making, and when your team starts feeling inspired by your knowledge, approach, and respect, you’ll get a team that functions like a well-oiled machine.

As Kevin Kruse, the bestselling co-author of WeHow to Increase Performance and Profits Through Full Engagement put it - “ takes both the employee and the manager to create a thriving culture that fosters feelings of full engagement.”

Stay Grounded

The fact that you are a leader could mean you did something better than someone else. However, it could also mean someone in your team who hasn’t applied for the position is currently doing it better than you.

One of the crucial elements of being a high-performing leader is staying modest and grounded. You want to observe your team as a chance to build something together, challenge and inspire each other, and learn to work as one.

The more approachable and grounded you are, the more human you appear. And that means one thing: your people will treat you as a trusted leader instead of an annoying boss they hate.

Don’t Ever Stop Learning

Take a lesson from John F.Kennedy and understand that "leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."

The moment you stop learning is the time you consciously decide to end your journey to personal development, knowledge, and satisfaction.

To be the best in your field, and a leader whose judgment, advice and decision employees trust, you need to have experience that backs up your decisions. Keep learning things relevant to the technical aspects of your role, and the leadership end of the stick. Becoming better never hurt anyone.

Be Your Employees’ Support System

Employees everywhere are fed up with bully bosses who conveniently take out their frustrations on them by exercising the weird amount of power they’ve been granted by their positions. A mindful, respectful and understanding approach to handling your employees will go a long way. Give them a reason to trust you and come to you, no matter how delicate  the subject they want to initiate.

Employees who are not afraid of their bosses are the employees that build the foundation of a thriving business.

Encourage Growth

The most significant resource you’ll ever have are your people. Encourage their dreams, listen to their feedback, and be there to help them find a way (not necessarily your way). Empower everyone to give the best they can, and embrace innovation and freedom of expression as their primary business tools.

Growth happens outside the comfort zone, and it requires leaders to practice before they preach. Push yourself to grow from your successes and your mistakes.

If your actions inspire others to learn more, do more, dream more, and become more, consider yourself a great leader.

Being a high-performing leader means being there for your people through the big stuff and the everyday challenges. Mediocre leaders pretend to have the answers and end up with bruised egos when they’re challenged. Superstars find comfort in not knowing it all but in surrounding themselves with great people who do.

If you’re a superstar, you’ll accept that there will be times when you’ll be wrong or challenged, and learn how to navigate the roads on which you might not know the answers. Find inspiration in every team discussion, and respect varying perspectives.

Be the type of leader your employees would want to work for if you ever decide to move.




Simone Brown is a performance coach who helps leaders and teams increase productivity. Her approach is grounded in  behavioural and brain-based strategies. She believes success isn’t just about talents and smarts, it’s about the development of emotional intelligence. Simone is also a speaker, and talks about topics such as emotional intelligence, millennials, and the importance of purpose.

7 reasons your star-performers are quitting

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Here are seven reasons your star-performers might be leaving:

1. The company is self-centered.



2. Toxic work environments





3. Bad bosses



4. Lack of support and appreciation



  • Employee appreciation gatherings
  • ‘Star Performer of the Month’ award
  • A simple thank you
  • Conversations about their goals and how you can support their success  

5. All work, no play



6. Incompetent team members




7. Lack of safety






Bias Bit Starbucks in the Butt & Why You Could Be Next!

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Following the event that recently took place in one of Starbucks stores in Philadelphia, Starbucks officials have found themselves in some potentially deep trouble. They've received quite a lot of heat from the press. So much heat, that they decided to close all their US-based stores for a day. That's some 8,000 stores, for the record. I’ll let you do the Math on lost revenue that resulted from this.

Whether or not racial bias was the sole cause of the incident, this event has set into motion a much-necessary avalanche of deep-thinking and questions, from executives and companies across the world. One of them being:

Is unconscious bias hindering our company’s success?

Science marks subconscious bias as a negative trait, and in the context of managing people and making effective business decisions, it has significant negative repercussions. If you're a business owner or leader, you may want to examine this sooner rather than later, or you might just fall victim to what Starbucks did. 

In my work with leaders, I help them identify and mitigate multiple forms of bias. There are almost 20 biases. And every one of them messes with your decision-making ability. Until your team does a deep dive into the topic, consider these common areas of business where bias reveals itself:

  • Hiring Bias - Occurs at the very beginning of the potential work relationship. Based on the applicant’s race, skin colour, their name color or even that tattoo you happen to spot on their way in, you’re prone to bias. The people in the interview may prejudge the candidate and decide against hiring them without giving this person a fair chance.
  • Performance Review Bias - If we decide to perceive a person in a certain way in advance, we may unconsciously look for flaws in their performance at work, and emphasize the bad stuff while undervaluing the excellent work they do. Similarly, if someone favours (or owes them a favour), they’re likely to say far too many good things.
  • Promotion Bias- A person pre-labeled as faulty or possessing an undesirable personality feature is highly likely to be omitted when it’s time to evaluate them for a promotion. Watch out because you might just be overlooking someone who could get out there and create a lot more success for another company, or heck – they might even become your competitor.

Three Examples of Workplace Bias

  • Halo Effect - Occurs when we 'decide' that we like a certain person. Whether it's thanks to a positive first impression or some particular personality trait we like about them, we may end up treating a person better than anyone else. It happens due to a blurred perception, where we concentrate on the good and ignore or downplay the bad in a person.
  • Horns Effect - The exact opposite of the aforementioned 'halo effect.’ If someone makes a wrong first impression on us or makes a blunder, we may end up judging all of their subsequent actions based on our pre-made evaluation of that person. Quite unfortunate, and this can change how we perceive their abilities, skills and talent. The result – good people get missed and don’t have a chance to contribute to the success of your company. 
  • Beauty Bias – Humans rely on visual input to create their realities. It is a fundamental survival technique, but our brains have evolved over time and we now need to be mindful of the impact that visual cues offer us. Some studies indicate that beautiful people are considered to have a higher likelihood of success. On the flip side, someone’s looks may cause people to avoid taking them seriously. Women in the workplace are often conscious about people not perceiving them as “smart and capable” because they are ”pretty.” That bias also plays into working relationships with co-workers. People who are perceived as better looking might end up being the target or jealous or insecure colleagues.

So, how do you battle bias?

If nothing else, focus on these two simple strategies

  • Staff Training - As a business leader, the first step toward battling bias in your workforce is to familiarize your staff with the concept and its detrimental effects on team performance, company culture, productivity and the overall results of your business. Create space for open dialogue about this. If people don’t understand how their brains operate, they can’t change their behaviours.

Addressing unconscious bias is not just a fad. Failing to address this has a huge cost for your company (or perhaps it already has!). You might be driving away good people and promoting bad people and bad behaviours. Once staff is trained, monitor every-day habits to ensure bias doesn’t creep into their decision making.

  • Create Diverse & Inclusive Teams - Diversity has often been misunderstood. Companies need to cultivate two forms of diversity - cognitive and identity diversity. When they do this, people are less likely to display bias in their decision-making. A diverse team brings in multiple perspectives and new ways of thinking.

Diversity also teaches people the value of those who look and think differently from them. When diverse teams interact with each other, they open their brains to alternative ways and thoughts. In general, diversity is a powerful thing. Multiple studies have linked diversity to improved performance. It’s a key element in smarter and highly productive teams. It’s also a powerful way to minimize unconscious bias.

Companies may never be able to fully eliminate subconscious bias, and that’s not the goal. What companies need to focus on, is minimizing the impact of bias.

If you have a brain, you are biased. Bias helps us pick our friends, decide what we want to buy, what we’d like to wear and the types of vacations we take. Bias can help us but it can also bite us in the butt, the way it did Starbucks.

As leaders and organizations work through bias, keep in mind that this is something that happens naturally. There’s no need to crucify an employee for displaying bias (especially if he had no clue) but it is important to make them aware and have them become more mindful of their actions.

Right from the hiring process, understand the role of unconscious bias. Create structures that assess and mitigate these biases. Leaders must emphasize cooperation and nurture a merit-based workplace culture. Encourage conversations between your staff and let everyone describe their experience working at your organization. Invite your clients and customers in the dialogue (or 'trialogue,' rather), and ask for their feedback.

Bringing our unconscious to the forefront is the first step in tackling bias. Engage in conversations, educate yourself and your employees, and then start taking bite-sized steps to consciously shifting your mindset, and your actions.

Toxic Employees: How to Detect and Deal with Them

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The bully




The whiner



The yeller



The slacker


The gossipmonger



Dealing with Toxic Employees






