Adam Grant posted the following recently: “2/3 college students say "trying hard" should be a factor in their grades. 1/3 expect at least a B just for showing up.”

I had to read this twice because I was surprised. This isn’t good. In the real world, you get paid for the results you deliver. The justification for your role or headcount is primarily based on your results.

Your performance rating in the workplace shouldn’t be based primarily on your effort. Instead, it should be based on you delivering the outcomes your employer needs to be successful now and in the long-term.

Yes, it takes energy, talent, and time to be a good performer. It takes years to master something and be exceptional consistently.

But thinking that trying hard or your effort are the basis for a high-performance rating is not aligned to the best interests of your employer.

Feedback on your performance should be based on the work you performed or “what” you delivered. And in the performance conversation you should also receive feedback on how you did the work. The “how” is your attitude, effort, relationships with others, and self-awareness.

Each of us is an expense to our employer unless we provide results that are valued above our cost. Think about your total expense or base pay, bonus or sales commissions, long-term incentives, and benefits received. What results are you delivering that are valued above this number?

Continuing to deliver the right results is key to maximizing your income, because many employers base their pay decisions in part on performance. Yes, try hard and put in the effort but never forget that your results are what are valued by the people making the pay decisions.

#pay #compensation #performance #compensation #compensationconsultant #performancemanagement #feedback #hr #humanresources #incentives #results #effort #adamgrant