Define Success at Work: How to Guide for Leaders

Define Success at Work: An Essential Ingredient for High Performance
We believe it is the job of leaders to create the work environment that enables people within their organization to perform at their peak.  We know from leadership simulation assessment data that taking the time to clearly define success at work is one of the most impactful performance moves a leader can make.  We know from corporate culture assessment data that when organizations fail to clearly define success at work they risk more than just strategic ambiguity — they risk employee disengagement, misaligned efforts, and ineffective strategy execution.

While most companies focus on high-level corporate outcomes like revenue growth, profitability, or customer satisfaction, too few leaders take the critical step of articulating what success and failure actually look like at every level of their organization.  This oversight is a significant barrier to excellence because people need to have an accurate sense of their current performance status if they are to perform at their peak.

Just imagine if you were running a marathon and you did not know previous winning times, who you were racing against, where the other racers were, or how you were doing along the way.  It would be pretty difficult to perform at your peak and pretty easy to make excuses for underperformance.

Clarity as a Catalyst for Alignment
Our organizational alignment research found that strategic clarity accounts for 31% of the difference between high and low performance in terms of revenue growth, profitability, customer satisfaction, leadership effectiveness, and employee engagement.

The ability to define success at work provides the precision individuals and teams need to align their goals with broader business strategies. Without it, even high performers may push in different directions, working hard but not necessarily working together to accomplish shared goals. When success (and failure) is clearly defined — by both quantitative strategy success metrics and qualitative markers of desired team norms — it becomes the North Star that guides decisions, prioritizes initiatives, and fosters cross-functional collaboration.

Defining success and failure gives everyone clear and agreed upon parameters to work within. Clarity creates boundaries where people know what they need to try to achieve to be a high performer and what they need to avoid if they want to remain in good standing.  Without clear guardrails, even the most talented teams will struggle to reach their potential without encountering workplace politics, conflicted priorities, and employee disengagement.

Motivation Rooted in Meaning
Employees crave purpose. When people understand how their work contributes to something meaningful — and how their success will be measured and rewarded — they are more likely to be engaged and motivated. We know from project postmortem data that vague or generic definitions of success (e.g., “do your best” or “increase sales”) do not offer enough direction, accountability, or inspiration to lift performance or to mitigate workplace complacency.

On the other hand, when leaders clearly spell out what success and failure looks like — whether it’s achieving a specific customer growth rate, launching a new product within a defined timeframe, or leading a project that earns cross-departmental praise — they offer a concrete vision that employees can own. This ownership mindset fosters intrinsic motivation, responsibility, and pride in performance.

Psychological Safety and Performance Expectations
People want to know where they stand.  When success isn’t defined, people fill in the blanks — often with faulty and misaligned assumptions based on fear, overwork, or individual agendas. This lack of clarity can erode psychological team safety, leaving employees anxious about their performance and unsure whether they’re succeeding or failing.

We know from action learning leadership development programs that the ability to define success at work, especially when coupled with regular employee feedback, sets the expectation baseline and provides a secure foundation for learning and growth. Clear and agreed upon parameters of excellence:

• Shine a light on underperformers for more effective performance management.
• Inform reward and recognition programs to incentivize high performers.
• Empower teams to take risks, innovate, and collaborate.
• Reduce the need to micromanage direct reports.

Cultural Consistency Across the Organization
Organizational cultures are a living system, shaped by behaviors, reinforced by norms, and driven by shared definitions of what’s valued. Defining success at work helps codify that culture. When success is clearly articulated — especially when it includes performance and behavioral expectations — it moves culture from the abstract to the actionable.

It also creates consistency across departments, reducing confusion and eliminating the silos that often emerge when definitions of success differ from one team to another.

Better Conversations About Performance and Development
Defining success isn’t just about evaluating results; it’s a foundation for meaningful development. When success is well defined, it opens the door to constructive, transparent performance conversations. We know from people manager assessment center data that more precise and consistent feedback improves performance and engagement.

This clarity allows organizations to tailor individual development plans to both strengths and gaps, transforming performance management from a backward-looking report card into a forward-focused dialogue.

How to Define Success Effectively
To define what success looks like at work in a meaningful way, leaders must:

1. Align Definitions of Success to Strategic Goals
   Definitions of individual and team success should be based on what people “are really at work to do” and be a reflection of the company’s strategic priorities.  Everyone should be clear about what constitutes high performance for their role and their team in the eyes of their key stakeholders.
2. Balance Metrics and Meaning
   Once the definition of high performance is agreed upon, the next step is to define the critical few (i.e., two or three) quantitative and qualitative KPIs that best measure the accomplishment of that high performance.  Everyone should be clear about what they need to deliver (Doing) and how they are expected to behave along the way in terms of attitudes, ethics, and values (Being).
3. Customize by Role
   Each team and role operates under a unique set of circumstances.  Success for a sales executive differs from success for a software engineer — don’t generalize.  Identify specific definitions of high performance and related success metrics that make sense for each team and role.
4. Co-create with Teams
   Because strategic clarity increases transparency, it also increases individual and team performance pressure. Too much or too little performance pressure can negatively impact employee productivity, engagement, and decision making.  Make sure that you actively involve employees in defining what success and failure looks like to increase buy-in, relevance, and commitment.
5. Revisit Regularly
   Definitions of success and failure must evolve as the business and its challenges evolve.  Create a cadence of accountability to continuously align individuals and teams with strategic priorities and market realities.

Examples of Success Definitions and Success Metrics
The idea is to create high levels of clarity, focus, alignment, and commitment.  When defining success for your team, first think about what outcomes would represent undisputed success to your key stakeholders.  Then identify the best way to measure those outcomes. The clearer and simpler, the better.  Here are a few examples:

• Executive Team
  Success Definition:
  Increasing year-over-year profitable growth while retaining key leadership talent along the way.

  Success Metrics:
  (1) 20% year-over-year growth. (2) 100% leadership team and direct report retention.

• HR Team
  Success Definition:
  Attracting and retaining identified top talent in key roles required to execute our growth strategy.

  Success Metrics:
  (1) 100% of hiring forecast with required skills to execute strategy. (2) 95% employee engagement rating.

• Finance Team
  Success Definition:
  Ensuring that growth plans are informed and supported by rigorous financial planning, modeling, and analysis.

  Success Metrics:
  (1) 100% accurate, timely, and transparent financial data. (2) 95% satisfaction rating from key stakeholders.

• Sales Team
  Success Definition:
  Growing market share and gross margin with a right-sized team to consistently sell the right portfolio mix to target clients.

  Success Metrics:
  (1) 25% growth of top 10 accounts. (2) Win 10 new target logos.

The Bottom Line
In high performing cultures, defining what success and failure looks like is a foundational leadership practice. It brings clarity, aligns efforts with strategic intent, and ignites motivation grounded in meaning. When employees know exactly what success and failure looks like, they’re not just working harder — they’re working smarter, more confidently, and more collaboratively.

To learn more about leading a high performing team, download The Science behind How Much Leaders Should Pressure their Teams to Increase Performance