In today’s competitive business environment, many leaders fall into the trap of evaluating employees as isolated performers. They compare individual efforts, focusing strategy on mono-single qualifications such as degrees, years of experience, or one specific skill set.
At first glance, this practice looks efficient: reward the top performer, cut out the “weaker link,” and sharpen the team. But in reality, this narrow approach is one of the silent killers of business success. It undervalues the multiplicative effect of collaboration, overlooks hidden talents, and often demoralizes the very people who could help a business scale.
Let’s unpack why this practice is harmful and how to replace it with a smarter, future-proof management style.
The Inconveniences of Comparing Individual Efforts
1. It Creates Internal Competition, Not Collaboration
When employees are constantly measured against each other, they see their colleagues as rivals, not allies. Instead of sharing knowledge and supporting each other, they protect information and avoid collaboration. This weakens the overall business ecosystem.
2. It Overlooks Complementary Skills
A business rarely thrives on one skill alone. A top strategist cannot succeed without solid execution. A brilliant marketer needs finance and operations to bring ideas to life. By focusing on single qualifications, managers miss out on how diverse skills interconnect to drive exponential growth.
3. It Leads to Short-Term Thinking
Comparison-based evaluation often pushes employees to chase quick wins that boost their personal ranking rather than long-term projects that benefit the organization. The result? Businesses become reactive instead of innovative.
4. It Demoralizes and Increases Turnover
Nobody likes to feel undervalued. When employees see their unique strengths ignored in favor of a narrow metric, they disengage or leave. Replacing talent costs far more than cultivating it.
The Better Approach: Focusing on Complementary and Multiplicative Impact
1. Adopt a Systems Thinking Mindset
View your business as an interconnected system, not a collection of individuals. Success comes from how the parts work together, marketing amplifies sales, operations enable delivery, finance sustains growth.
2. Value Team Dynamics Over Solo Performances
Celebrate teams that deliver results collectively. Highlight how different roles contribute, even if some are less visible. This builds respect across departments and reduces toxic competition.
3. Measure Multiplicative Effects, Not Just Inputs
Instead of asking “Who did the most?”, ask “What combination of efforts created the best outcome?” For example, a product launch may succeed not just because of sales, but because marketing, logistics, and customer support worked in harmony.
4. Encourage Skill Complementarity
Actively design teams where strengths and weaknesses balance out. A visionary paired with an executor, a creative thinker matched with an analytical mind , this is where innovation thrives.
5. Redefine Success Metrics
Shift KPIs from individual outputs to collaborative outcomes. Reward initiatives that show how teams build on each other’s strengths to multiply results.
Conclusion: Multiplication Beats Comparison
Business leaders must resist the instinct to compare individuals in isolation. True management excellence lies in recognizing that success is rarely additive, it is multiplicative. A team where diverse skills complement one another creates a force far greater than the sum of its parts.
By moving away from narrow, comparison-based evaluation and embracing a holistic, systems-based approach, businesses can unlock innovation, reduce turnover, and achieve sustainable growth.
