The Iceberg of Human Performance
by Christian Recknagel
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In the years I have worked in the field of individual effectiveness and organizational development, I have realized that there is more to improving performance than meets the eye. There are as many approaches to improving performance at an individual and organizational level as there are business schools to perform research. What I find interesting is that for each approach there are also as many people who find success with the approach as those who find only short term spikes in improved results before falling back to past performance levels. Many of my colleagues and I have identified a possible reason for this. I call it the "Iceberg of Human Performance." It is an analogy comparing the nature of an iceberg to the nature of human functioning and performance. It is generally understood that over 85% of an iceberg is submerged under the water's surface. This means that what is visible above water is less than 15%. My contention is that 85% of why people perform the way they perform is "below the surface" or not apparent to those around them or even to themselves. Since we can only approach things that are apparent to us, we naturally create performance improvement interventions that address the "tip of the iceberg" i.e.: actions and behaviors, skills and abilities (top of diagram 1 below). So we guide people and teams to; make eye contact when talking, don't fidget when public speaking, use "I" statements, stop typing emails when an employee is asking for guidance, ask people how they feel about a decision that has been made (Actions/Behaviors) or develop effective listening skills like probing and paraphrasing, become proficient with Excel or Power Point, learn how to keep a calendar and a daily planner, analyze budgets and financial reports, conduct performance appraisals, write a proposal, create a strategic plan, negotiate effectively (Skills/Abilities). We find that approaching performance improvement at this "surface" level has minimal long term impact. We find that many people, learn and implement the skills, yet dramatic performance improvement is unrealized.
Diagram 1: Human Performance Iceberg
(Adapted from the work of Dr. Ken Manning)
So we decide to dig a little deeper or venture "just below the surface" to see what may be driving some of these behaviors and abilities. Just as the first few feet of the iceberg below the surface is slightly visible if distorted a little, people's values and attributes, which include their conditioned beliefs and attitudes about the world around them (refer to diagram 1), are somewhat visible if we do a little discovery and exploration. Our interventions at this level are; personality type indicators, leadership style inventories, core value surveys, behavior based coaching designed to make observations about behavior and than inquire about what values or conditioned beliefs might produce such behavior, etc. These types of interventions tend to have stronger "staying power" in terms of long term behavior change, but also tend to be very dependant on the amount and intensity of follow-up and reinforcement. Self directed continuous improvement tends to occur randomly and infrequently even when we intervene at the level of values and attributes. We have still only explored about 20% of the iceberg. But, just like icebergs, the majority of what drives human functioning is invisible even to the person seeking improved performance. So what lies beneath?
We have found there is a pool of potential, innate to all human beings, that provides the sustenance for performance and success. It has been referred to by many names; spirit, inner energy, fire, chi (Chinese), ki (Japanese) battery, etc. I like to use the term capacity (refer to diagram 1). We all have an innate capacity to perform at high levels, to lead, to be successful, to achieve results. This capacity is what enables us to implement and express our capabilities (actions/behaviors, skills/abilities, values/attributes) just like this lower portion of the iceberg enables the "tip" to stay afloat. Where the analogy breaks down is where human functioning enters the picture. An iceberg does not have the ability to cut itself off from, and reconnect to its "capacity to stay afloat." People, on the other hand, have the ability to "get in our own way" and cut off the flow of innate resources which inhibits, not only our performance, but our ability to learn new actions, behaviors, skills, abilities, values and attributes. So, when we address only the tip of the iceberg of human performance, we neglect the very essence that enables people to express those capabilities. It is a lot like looking at an iceberg from a cruise ship and thinking that is all there is. The gashes that sunk the Titanic were 20 feet below the waterline. Many things caused the tragedy of the Titanic, yet it is interesting that the damage done by the iceberg was "below the surface." The challenge of approaching the complete picture of human performance, just like the difficulty of taking a photograph of an entire iceberg, is that this capacity is invisible. It is operating behind the scenes. We must address it from an intuitive perspective rather than from an analytical perspective.
The easiest way for me to understand this is to consider two easily observable circumstances to which most people can relate. First, consider a 14-36 months old baby. This is generally when babies begin to stand, walk, use their fingers and hands to grab and draw, say simple words, recognize familiar faces, sounds and surroundings. Now, ask yourself where the baby gets the confidence to stand and walk. Where does the baby get the determination to continue to get up and try again even in the face of people laughing at them? Where does the creativity to draw pictures come from? Where do they get the courage to step away from the person holding their fingers? Do they really learn to be happy about playing hide and seek or watching mom or dad make funny faces? It seems to me that courage, creativity, joy, determination, openness to explore and learn, and many other qualities are innate in human beings. We don't need to learn them, we naturally express them. We don't teach children to be confident enough to stand on two feet, they are born with it! Now, think about a time when you were not performing very well.
You had a bad day or made an unusual amount of mistakes. Did your lack of performance occur because you forgot the actions/behaviors, skills/abilities, or values/attributes that had historically enabled you to achieve success? Did your ability to spell, do simple math and link sentences together really drop out of your head when you prepared that last monthly report? Not likely. What makes more sense is that, for a time, you had cut yourself off from accessing your innate capacity for success by worrying about some personal situation, being disappointed about your future prospects or just being distracted. You lost connection to the very energy source that enlivens your capabilities.
What my colleagues and I have found is that when people are introduced to the key principles that govern human functioning, they than realize the power they have to change their mindset, access their innate capacity for success in the moment, and begin to create more success for themselves and higher performance in their organizations. Their personal realization about how their performance functions from the inside-out enables them to drive continuous improvement with less intense and less frequent reinforcement and follow-up.
©2006 Christian Recknagel
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