The Capability–Performance Gap

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥?

I recently came across an interesting article by Avilasha Sarmah in People Matters on the "Practice Gap" based on a conversation between Jeanette Lim (President, Singapore Insurance Limited) and John Cherian (CEO, enParadigm). 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Why doesn't capability always translate into performance?

The article talks about strengthening capability through experiential learning, continuous practice, feedback and reinforcement. I completely agree. These are essential for helping leaders grow.

As I was reading it, another thought crossed my mind.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞?
Imagine a leader responsible for converting large strategic accounts. He has the knowledge, experience and capability to do the job. Yet, every time he begins working on an important client proposal, he freezes. He over-analyses every detail, doubts his own thinking, compares himself with a more successful colleague and delays taking action.

The organization sees slow execution, weak proposals and inconsistent performance. Naturally, they nominate him for programmes on proposal writing, business case development or faster execution.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But what if the capability already exists? What if the real challenge lies beneath the surface?
Fear of failure.
Fear of being judged.
Low self-worth.

These emotional patterns quietly influence how the leader thinks, decides and performs, especially when the stakes are high.

This is where I believe we need to complement Leadership Development with a different perspective.

𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞.

At SAMAKSH, we have been working with leaders individually to help them understand the emotional patterns influencing the way they Think, Feel and Lead. We are now ready to take this thesis to organizations and help leaders consistently express their capabilities by strengthening their Emotional Fitness.

𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭: How often do we assume a leader has a capability gap, when the real opportunity for growth may lie in understanding the emotional patterns quietly influencing that capability?

#EmotionalFitness #EmotionalFitnessLens #LeadershipEvolution