What Is The Performance Paradox?
The performance paradox is the counterintuitive reality that if we focus only on performing, our performance suffers.
Many of us have a vague, misguided sense that to improve we just have to work hard at getting things done. But in fact, that’s not the way to improve. There are two different kinds of hard work and they’re both essential.
To improve or innovate, we can’t spend all our time doing things as best as we know how, trying to minimize mistakes (I call this the Performance Zone). We have to also engage in the mental state and strategies to go beyond what we know (I call this the Learning Zone). When we do these together, we’re Learning While Doing.
The most successful individuals, teams, and organizations habituate the two zones.
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