Kit BarberOwner, Kit Coaching · Business Coach and Mentor

70% of Team Performance: It's All About the Leader

6 Aug 2026 · 0 min

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In this opening segment of Kit Barber's talk, he references Gallup research showing that managers are responsible for roughly 70% of the performance gap between the best and worst teams. He emphasizes that the primary factor distinguishing a high‑performing, target‑smashing team from a struggling one is the leader, not the product, market conditions, or staff composition.

Before we get into it though, let me just give you a little bit of context. Gallup found that managers account for around 70% of the difference between your highest performing teams and your lowest performing ones. And think about that for a second. The difference between a team smashing their targets, another one constantly struggling, is usually the person leading them. Not the product, not the market, not the staff. It's just the leader.