The performance perception gap

The study from HR and payroll software provider MHR, reveals a stark contrast in how different organisational levels define and measure high performance. While business leaders prioritise operational excellence and fast-paced environments, employees focus on team skill levels and financial outcomes as key performance indicators.

Perhaps most notably, 91% of employees consider their teams to be high performing, while only 51% of leaders share this assessment. The disparity raises questions about performance benchmarks and expectations in an era increasingly shaped by AI and technological advancement.

Leadership Challenges and Future Outlook

The study unveils concerning statistics about leadership alignment:

• 25% of leaders report their CEO lacks a clear understanding of high performance
  
  
• 27% indicate their CEO doesn’t actively support performance improvement initiatives
  
  
• Only 41% of UK business leaders express confidence in their organisation’s ability to achieve high performance in 2025

The confidence gap extends beyond leadership, with 66% of employees maintaining optimism about their organisation’s performance potential this year, contrasting sharply with leaders’ more cautious outlook.

Additionally, 49% of leaders express concern about maintaining high performance through 2025, compared to just 31% of employees sharing similar worries.

Generational and Cultural Barriers

The research identifies several key challenges to achieving high performance. For leaders, primary concerns centre on organisational culture issues, productivity challenges and limited access to critical information and data.

Meanwhile, employees highlight different obstacles such as skills gaps, inefficient processes and lack of clear leadership vision.

The study also reveals significant generational tensions, with 47% of leaders believing multiple generations in the workplace hamper creativity and innovation. Meanwhile, 51% cite intergenerational communication gaps as a barrier to performance.

Technology as a Unifying Factor

Despite these divisions, there is near-unanimous agreement on technology’s role in driving high performance, with 100% of leaders and 99% of employees recognising its importance. This alignment suggests a potential foundation for bridging other organisational gaps.

Anton Roe, Chief Executive Officer at MHR, emphasises the urgency of addressing these disconnects: "Our findings shine a light on the organisational forces at play which are causing friction and inhibiting high performance. Right now, we are seeing a great performance divide between leaders and employees in what high performance is and how to achieve it."

Economic Pressures

Both leadership and employees acknowledge the challenging economic environment, with 45% of leaders and 48% of employees agreeing that current economic conditions will make achieving high performance more difficult in 2025.

The research suggests that while leaders may have a more comprehensive view of organisational risks and targets, employees might be underestimating the potential impact of AI and other transformative forces on future performance requirements.

The study emphasises the importance of developing unified performance metrics and expectations across all organisational levels. Business success in 2025 will require alignment between leadership vision and employee understanding of high performance, supported by clear communication and shared goals.