Managing Underperformance

🧱 How do you build accountability? Most people ask this hoping for one thing. More pressure. That’s usually the wrong lever. 🧠 The biggest misunderstanding about accountability Accountability is often treated like a personality trait. They’re accountable. They’re not accountable. Research disagrees. Organizational psychology says that accountability is a structural outcome, not a moral one. When responsibility, authority, and consequences are misaligned, accountability collapses, no matter how capable the person is. You don’t fix accountability with speeches. You fix it with design. 👀 Why accountability fails in organizations Accountability breaks when people are: • responsible for outcomes they can’t influence • measured on goals they can’t control • punished for decisions they weren’t allowed to make That’s not a performance issue. That’s a setup. Research on role clarity reveals that ambiguous decision rights are one of the strongest predictors of avoidance behavior. People don’t dodge accountability. They dodge unfair risk. 😂 The funny part everyone recognizes Every leader has heard this sentence: “I’m accountable, but…” That “but” tells you everything. It usually means: • approvals were unclear • priorities conflicted • authority stopped halfway Accountability without authority turns into reporting. Not ownership. ⚠️ Why leaders accidentally undermine accountability Leaders often say they want ownership. Then they: • override decisions late • reopen settled calls • add surprise stakeholders • change success criteria midstream Research reveals that inconsistent reinforcement destroys accountability faster than lack of incentives. People learn quickly. Owning decisions is risky. Deferring them is safer. 🏗️ What strong leaders do differently Strong leaders build accountability upstream. They: • assign a single decision owner • define what authority comes with the role • clarify acceptable risk before decisions are made • protect owners when outcomes disappoint They understand something simple. Accountability follows clarity. Not pressure. 🔍 The real test If accountability is weak, don’t ask: “Why aren’t people stepping up?” Ask: “What decision rights are unclear?” Because when accountability is designed properly: • people move faster • escalation drops • excuses disappear Not because people changed. But because the system did. That’s how accountability is built. Not by demanding it louder, but by making ownership fair, clear, & survivable. #Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #Accountability #Management #DecisionMaking #CEO #Business #LeadershipLessons

Your post flopped again? It’s not always the algorithm. Sometimes, it’s you. Here’s what I’ve seen after writing 1000+ LinkedIn posts (and reviewing dozens of profiles): 1. You’re writing to impress, not to connect Big words. Fancy intros. Zero emotional hook. 👉 Write how you speak. Say what people feel. Use clarity over cleverness. 2. Your profile looks like a confused resume If people like your post but don’t “get” your profile, they’ll scroll away. 👉 Fix your banner, headline, and pinned posts make it obvious who you help. 3. You’re sharing tips, not insight “5 tips for better productivity” = already done by 100 people today. 👉 Instead: tell me a story, add context, explain why those tips matter. 4. You post every day, but with no POV Posting daily won’t help if your content has no depth or voice. 👉 Share opinions, challenges, and lessons. Give people something to feel. 5. You never tell people what to do next No CTA. No next step. No lead. 👉 Ask a question. Invite them to your DMs. Tell them how to work with you. Want your content to perform? 🧠 Think before you write. 📌 Make it real, not robotic. 💬 Create conversation, not just content. Because good content doesn’t feel like content. It feels like clarity. #linkedin

3 months ago, a CEO called me: "Our sales team isn't hitting numbers. We need better salespeople." I asked to see their CRM data before they fired anyone. What I found shocked them: → Their top performers were closing at 22% → Their "underperformers" were at 7% Seems obvious who to keep, right? But then I looked at their sales ACTIVITIES: The "underperformers" were making - 3X more calls, - sending 2X more emails, - and booking 40% more meetings. The problem wasn't the salespeople. It was the sales PROCESS. The top performers had: - Better territories - Legacy accounts - Easier products - More support The company was about to fire their hungriest, most active salespeople because of how they'd structured their sales operation. Within 60 days of fixing their: - Territory design - Lead distribution - Product packaging - Sales enablement resources The "underperformers" increased close rates to 20% while maintaining their high activity levels. Revenue jumped 134%. As a sales growth consultant, I've seen this pattern repeatedly: Companies blame salespeople when the real problem is how the sales function is built. Your team can't outwork a broken sales system. Look at your bottom performers: If they're putting in the work but not getting results, don't fire them. Fix what's standing in their way. The fastest path to sales growth isn't hiring "better" people. It's removing the barriers preventing your current team from succeeding. P.S. If you need help with your sales, send me a message

This often happens that the 'Loudest Voice' Gets Promoted.. Someone good at talking, but not necessarily doing. And because of this, the right person never gets one. My mentee was devastated when she was passed over for the third time. Her metrics were stellar. Her team's output had doubled year-over-year. Client satisfaction scores under her leadership were the highest in the company's history. Yet the promotion went to her colleague—the one who dominated every meeting, claimed credit for collaborative wins, and had mastered the art of being CC'd on high-visibility emails. "Maybe I'm just not leadership material," she told me in our first session. What I discovered: She wasn't failing at leadership. She was failing at self-promotion in a system designed to reward visibility over value. Hard truths I've learned coaching quietly competent professionals: ◾ Most organizations mistake confidence for competence and volume for vision ◾ Performance evaluations measure perception more than productivity ◾ The correlation between actual impact and career advancement is weaker than we admit ◾ The workplace narrative about "meritocracy" serves those who benefit from the status quo After 3 months working together, my mentee didn't change her performance—she changed her approach to making it visible. She learned to advocate without arrogance, to document impact systematically, and to build allies who would amplify her contributions. She got the promotion last week. Not because she started working harder, but because she finally understood the unwritten rules of organizational advancement. The tragedy? How many exceptional leaders remain buried in middle management because they believe excellence speaks for itself? Have you seen this pattern in your organization? And if you've successfully navigated it—did you have to become someone you're not in the process? REPOST if you agree and DM if you are in a similar situation. I can help you navigate! #CareerAdvancement #WorkplaceCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #OrganizationalBehavior

The science of my failures: how each setback shaped my brand When people see the highlights the followers, the impressions, the collaborations - it’s easy to assume the journey was smooth. It wasn’t. Behind every visible success, there were failures quietly shaping my brand. Looking back, I realised most of them fell into three categories: clarity, metrics, and boundaries. Over time, these became my framework for building a more resilient brand. Failure 1: Posting without clarity At first, I created content for everyone. The result? My posts reached no one. Lesson: A brand grows when you know exactly who you are speaking to, not when you try to please everyone. Failure 2: Chasing quick wins I once believed going viral was the ultimate measure of success. But most of those posts attracted the wrong audience. Lesson: Building a meaningful community is far more powerful than chasing vanity metrics. Failure 3: Saying yes to everything There was a time when I accepted every opportunity — collaborations, projects, even unpaid work. I thought it would speed up growth. Instead, it drained me. Lesson: Boundaries are not barriers. They are brand builders. Failure 4: Ignoring consistency There were phases when I posted randomly without rhythm or discipline. Each time I stopped showing up, the momentum disappeared. Lesson: Consistency compounds. The 2023 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report found that professionals who showed up regularly built networks and influence much faster than those who posted occasionally. As Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Each failure became data. Each setback a lab experiment. And slowly, the science became clear. 👉 Failures are not the opposite of success. They are the building blocks of it. Now, when something doesn’t work, I don’t call it defeat. I call it research. Because every failure has taught me something my successes never could. What’s one mistake that taught you more than success ever did? LinkedIn LinkedIn News India #FailureLessons #CareerGrowth #PersonalBranding #ProfessionalGrowth #Leadership

How To Optimize LLM Performance and Cut Costs with LLM Routing Method 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗟𝗠 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴? LLM routing is like an air traffic controller for AI models. It analyzes incoming queries and directs them in real-time to the model that offers the best balance of cost, speed, and accuracy. Key Benefits: 𝟭. 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆: Use smaller models for simple tasks and save the larger models for complex queries. 𝟮. 𝗖𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀: Reduce expenses by up to 85% by selecting the most efficient model for each query. 𝟯. 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Predictive routing uses data to choose the best model automatically, optimizing for performance and speed. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗕𝗠'𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆? Tests on Stanford's HELM benchmark showed that some 13-billion parameter models outperformed Meta’s 70-billion parameter Llama-2, and the IBM router even beat GPT-4 while saving 5 cents per query. This approach enables smarter, cost-effective AI solutions. - Learn more about model routing here: https://lnkd.in/gvYHjzPk - Check out the paper about RouterBench: https://lnkd.in/g-xYSf5R

The Promotion Secret Most Professionals Discover Too Late   In over two decades of executive recruitment, I've observed a pattern among professionals who consistently advance in their careers versus those who stagnate despite equal talent and effort.   The difference? Strategic documentation of achievements, what I call a professional "brag book."   This isn't about boasting. It's about recognizing the reality of corporate decision-making: in quarterly review cycles and fast-paced environments, even exceptional work becomes invisible without proper documentation.   Your comprehensive brag book should include:   1️⃣ Achievement Portfolio: Concrete evidence of promotions, awards, successful projects, and initiatives that demonstrate your ability to deliver results   2️⃣ Quantifiable Impact: Specific metrics that translate your efforts into business value; revenue generated, costs reduced, efficiency improved, or risks mitigated   3️⃣ External Validation: Preserved testimonials from clients, acknowledgments from leadership, and formal recognition that provides third-party credibility   4️⃣ Leadership Moments: Documented instances where you identified problems independently and implemented solutions beyond your job description   The professionals I place in competitive positions understand a fundamental truth about organizational dynamics: visibility strategically created through documented evidence consistently outweighs undocumented effort, regardless of quality.   Update your brag book quarterly and bring it with you to performance discussions. Make it impossible for decision-makers to overlook your value when advancement opportunities arise.   Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights and truths here: https://lnkd.in/ei_uQjju   #deepalivyas #eliterecruiter #recruiter #recruitment #jobsearch #corporate #careeradvancement #workplacesurvival #selfadvocacy #careerstrategist

I used to get jealous when I saw people brag about their accomplishments on LinkedIn. I understand why they do it, they're just going about it the wrong way. Highlighting your credibility helps build your personal brand which can build your bank account. But what if there was a way to show what you've achieved, while also displaying authenticity and empathy at the same time? There is, and I inadvertently created a three-step process for it. Whenever I share one my wins, I include the following: ‣ The thing I accomplished ‣ Something that occurred behind the scenes ‣ What can you learn from this experience that will help you For example: ‣ I was recently cast in a reality TV show ‣ I was told to dress a certain way for the premiere, I declined ‣ Rather than conforming to a culture, you can choose to contribute instead. ‣ I spoke at the Speak Your Way to cash event in Atlanta ‣ I forgot my belt so I had to make one out of two lanyards ‣ Being prepared is great, but sometimes you gotta improvise ‣ I interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk for Fiverr's series The Signal ‣ I was traveling at the time and had to ask ConvertKit to borrow their studio ‣ You’ll be amazed at who’s willing to help you, especially if you’ve nurtured the relationship These are all legit accomplishments. However, if I just focus on what I’ve done it doesn't help anyone but me. So try this out next time you have a big win (or even a small one) You’ll still get the acknowledgement. But if you help others along the way, you’ll gain fans and friends instead of followers and fakes. Plus, who’s going to share a post where someone else just brags about how great they are? ______ ♻️ If this post was helpful or inspiring, please share it and follow Terry Rice for more.

Everyone wants accountability. No one wants to be held accountable. This guide makes accountability the default mode. Accountability is not something you do. It's the outcome of doing things the right way. Most leaders think accountability is about confrontation: • Creating consequences for failure • Calling people out in meetings • Tracking every detail That's not accountability. That's micromanagement. Real accountability happens when your people want to win.  And your systems make it hard to fail. Here are the 5 systems that make accountability automatic: 1. Crystal Clear Outcomes Define success before you start. Vague goals create average results. Specific targets create clear accountability. 2. Visible Progress Tracking Make progress public. When everyone can see the scoreboard, people naturally step up their game. 3. Regular Check-In Rhythms Weekly reviews, not quarterly surprises. Frequent small course corrections beat big dramatic overhauls. 4. Ownership Assignment One person owns each outcome. Shared ownership means no one is responsible. 5. Outcome Clarity Know what happens when you hit the target and what happens when you miss. No surprises, no excuses. The result? Teams that hold themselves accountable. Leaders who coach instead of complain. Results that speak for themselves. What's your biggest accountability challenge? Getting people to own their results? Having the hard conversations? Making progress visible? Steal my step-by-step playbook from the carousel below 👇 And make Mutual Accountability your team's default mode. And if you found this playbook helpful: ♻️ Share to help others build success through accountability 🔔 Follow Dave Kline & Marsden Kline for more leadership systems PS - We've got our first free Lightning Lesson for 2026 on Thursday.  "AI-Powered Planning: Get Buy-In, Stay Agile, and Win 2026" Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gGGcRKMp

Most people evaluate LLMs by just benchmarks. But in production, the real question is- how well do they perform? When you’re running inference at scale, these are the 3 performance metrics that matter most: 1️⃣ Latency How fast does the model respond after receiving a prompt? There are two kinds to care about: → First-token latency: Time to start generating a response → End-to-end latency: Time to generate the full response Latency directly impacts UX for chat, speed for agentic workflows, and runtime cost for batch jobs. Even small delays add up fast at scale. 2️⃣ Context Window How much information can the model remember- both from the prompt and prior turns? This affects long-form summarization, RAG, and agent memory. Models range from: → GPT-3.5 / LLaMA 2: 4k–8k tokens → GPT-4 / Claude 2: 32k–200k tokens → GPT-OSS-120B: 131k tokens Larger context enables richer workflows but comes with tradeoffs: slower inference and higher compute cost. Use compression techniques like attention sink or sliding windows to get more out of your context window. 3️⃣ Throughput How many tokens or requests can the model handle per second? This is key when you’re serving thousands of requests or processing large document batches. Higher throughput = faster completion and lower cost. How to optimize based on your use case: → Real-time chat or tool use → prioritize low latency → Long documents or RAG → prioritize large context window → Agentic workflows → find a balance between latency and context → Async or high-volume processing → prioritize high throughput My 2 cents 🤌 → Choose in-region, lightweight models for lower latency → Use 32k+ context models only when necessary → Mix long-context models with fast first-token latency for agents → Optimize batch size and decoding strategy to maximize throughput Don’t just pick a model based on benchmarks. Pick the right tradeoffs for your workload. 〰️〰️〰️ Follow me (Aishwarya Srinivasan) for more AI insight and subscribe to my Substack to find more in-depth blogs and weekly updates in AI: https://lnkd.in/dpBNr6Jg