If You Pit a Good Performer Against a Bad System, the System Will Win Every Time
- Russ Powell
- Oct 4, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
A few years ago, I sat in the back row of an industry conference listening to managers describe the same problem in different ways:
We trained them. And they're still not doing it.
Some blamed motivation. Others blamed experience. A few wondered whether they had hired the wrong people. But in session after session, the discussion kept circling back to something larger: the system surrounding the performer, not the performer alone.
This pattern appears in my consulting work all the time. A team asks for a workshop or a set of tools, convinced the issue is a training gap. And sometimes they are right. But just as often, the training request turns out to be a signal that something upstream is off. Training can help. It's just rarely the first lever to pull.
That is where a simple, well-researched model becomes invaluable.
The Model Behind the Symptoms
Thomas Gilbert originally developed the Behavioral Engineering Model (BEM), and later, Carl Binder expanded the work into the Six Boxes framework. Roger Chevalier refined it even further in what he called the Updated BEM.
Despite their differences in expression, the core insight is consistent:
Human performance is shaped by six factors.
Three belong to the environment (the organization’s responsibility).
Three belong to the individual (the performer’s responsibility).
Most managers instinctively focus on the individual: “We need more training,” “We need to motivate them,” “We need to hire better.” The research suggests something more nuanced: the biggest performance levers usually sit on the environmental side of the equation.
The Six Boxes: A Clearer Look at What Drives Performance
Environmental Factors (within the organization’s control)
1. Information
Clear expectations, role definitions, and useful, frequent feedback.
Most performance problems begin here.
2. Resources
The tools, materials, time, and access required to do good work.
This includes documented processes and systems that make performance possible.
3. Incentives
Reinforcers from the environment: compensation, recognition, growth opportunities, and a positive, supportive culture.
Individual Factors (within the performer’s control)
4. Knowledge and Skills
What people have learned and practiced.
Training strengthens this factor, and it matters—it's just not the most powerful lever.
5. Capacity
A person’s natural abilities, strengths, and cognitive capacities.
Capacity sets an upper bound on what training alone can achieve.
6. Motives
The performer’s interests, values, and internal drivers.
Motivation must align with both the work and the environment.
Chevalier’s summary table illustrates these distinctions well. And his Leveraging the Solution diagram makes one point especially clear:
Knowledge and skills (the domain of training) sits closest to the fulcrum, and therefore offers less leverage than information and resources.
This does not diminish the value of training. It simply highlights that performance happens within a system, and the system either supports or suppresses what people learn.
A Few Diagnostic Questions Worth Answering
Before investing in new training, as a manager, it's usually wise to answer questions such as these:
Expectations:
Have I clearly described what “good” looks like? Do people actually know the standard?
Feedback:
Are team members receiving specific, timely feedback, or only hearing from me when something goes wrong?
Process Clarity:
Are our workflows and procedures documented, accurate, and accessible?
Tools and Resources:
Do people have the time, materials, and access they need to do the work I'm asking them to do?
Environmental Support:
Does our culture reinforce the behaviors we want, or unintentionally compete with them?
If the answer to any of these is “no” or “sort of,” the best training is not likely to deliver the results you expect.
So, What Is the Upshot?
Effective training can be transformative. It gives people language, skills, and confidence. But even the most beautifully designed learning experiences cannot compensate for an environment that works against the performer.
When you want performance improvement to stick, make sure the system around the performers supports it:
Clear expectations and roles
Frequent, useful feedback
Tools, materials, and time
Documented and reliable processes
Positive reinforcement
People placed in roles that match their strengths
Motivations aligned with the work and environment
Or, as Geary Rummler and Alan Brache put it:
“If you pit a good performer against a bad system, the system will win every time.”
That is the heart of it: performance lives inside a system.
Where This Shows Up in Leadership and the Middle Path
This systems-first mindset is one of the core ideas we teach in Leadership and the Middle Path. Managers learn to look beyond the individual and see the structure, processes, incentives, and communication patterns that shape performance long before training enters the picture.
When managers understand these six factors—and see their teams through new lenses (as systems-thinkers)—they make better decisions, reduce friction, and dramatically increase the return on any training effort.
Solve the Right Problems, Faster
If you lead a team in a growing startup or small business, you already know how quickly misalignment, unclear expectations, and slow decisions can drag down performance. Leadership and the Middle Path is our foundational workshop that gives teams a shared language and simple, powerful tools for solving problems together—especially the kinds of systemic issues highlighted in this post.
Battle-tested in more than 150 startups and Fortune 100 organizations, this hands-on workshop helps teams reduce friction, strengthen trust, and solve problems once rather than repeatedly. Participants practice with their own real-world challenges and walk away able to collaborate more effectively and make better decisions, faster.
Join us for the next series. And bring your team!
Hire with Confidence. Develop with Insight.
A misaligned executive hire can cost an organization up to three times that individual's salary—and far more in lost momentum. Hogan Assessments offer evidence-based insight into how candidates think, collaborate, make decisions, and respond under pressure. It is one of the most effective ways to avoid costly missteps and build a stronger management team.
As a certified Hogan coach, I partner with founders, boards, executive teams, and search firms to help hire the right leaders, accelerate professional growth, and ensure your talent strategy supports the broader system you are trying to build.
If you want better hiring decisions—and more capable, self-aware leaders—let’s talk.
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