Slower, Lower, Weaker

8 ways to deal with managers who aren’t top performers

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The Olympic motto is “Citius – Altius – Fortius”, better-known as ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’. But what about the opposite – what about those of us who might be Slower, Lower or Weaker in our potential?

How organisations regard the people in their teams and leadership positions who would never make it to the management Olympics says a lot. I believe it actually speaks volumes about the attitudes of those who shape an organisation’s culture. In particular, how they regard others (and perhaps therefore how they also regard themselves) along two key dimensions:

  • Whether the fact that not everyone will make it to the management Olympics is a Risk or an Opportunity; and
  • Whether people’s innate capacities are either Fixed or Flexible.

I’m not entirely convinced that it’s best to think of there being a right or a wrong way to regard this issue, more that senior leaders and organisations should be aware of the choices they’re making and do so consciously and strategically.


Which is your organisation’s typical response when managers might not be candidates for the Olympics?

Please leave a comment below if they’re still open at the time of reading, or tweet me @nickrobcoach

Slower, Lower, Weaker - what should you do if people in your organisation aren't going to make it to the management Olympics? Click To Tweet
2 replies
  1. Jane Harrad-Roberts
    Jane Harrad-Roberts says:

    IMHO you need a mix of ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ and ‘Slower, Lower or Weaker’s.

    Both contribute and work symbiotically together. Imbalance comes when you lack people from both, together.

    For example, an organisation full of ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ will drive it forward strongly, plan well but the doing will go wrong, no attention to detail and the direction my be wrong because there is no pull back to consider the right direction.

    An organisation full of ‘Slower, Lower or Weaker’ will keep doing the same old same old with no drive and wont be able to respond to changes outside control.

    the World is rich and diverse, organisations should be the same.

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