When leaders praise everyone equally, top performers notice they get the same recognition as coasters. Research shows 96% of employees want performance to matter, but only 22% see leaders actually differentiate. The result: 42% of companies have high performers less engaged than low performers.
Telling everybody they're doing great actually punishes your best people. It's a form of toxic positivity— leaders so committed to keeping things upbeat that they won't distinguish high performers from low performers. In one of my studies, 96% of employees, managers, and CEOs agreed that performance appraisals should differentiate high and low performers. And yet, only 22% think their leader actually does that. And it costs you. One of our studies found that in 42% of companies, high performers are actually less engaged than low performers. Think about why. Your best person works nights to rescue a project and hears, great job! The person who coasted all quarter hears, great job! as well. So the star learns that extra effort changes nothing, while the person who coasted learns that, yeah, coasting is just fine. Refusing to name low performance feels kind, but when everybody gets the same review, the people you're protecting are the ones performing worst.
