Rethinking Performance: What if “Doing a Good Job” is Enough?
“What if someone just wants to do their job and direct their energy elsewhere?”
It’s a question that gets under the skin of many managers — not because it’s unreasonable, but because it challenges some of our deeply held assumptions about ambition, value, and what it means to be “good” at work.
In a culture that often rewards visibility, stretch, and drive, we’ve learned to equate contribution with over-extension. But what if someone simply wants to do the job they were hired to do — reliably, well, and without fanfare — and then go home to the things that matter most?
This article explores that question through a leadership lens, supported by the Skill-Will Matrix, and offers a reframed, kindness-led approach to value, motivation, and sustainable performance.
The Myth of the “Always-On” Employee
Modern work culture idolises productivity. Many workplaces subtly (or explicitly) value:
Working late
Always saying yes
Ambition for advancement
High energy, high visibility behaviours
So when someone says, “I’m not interested in stepping up,” it can be seen as disengagement or laziness. But often, it’s not that at all. It’s simply a matter of priorities and boundaries.
People might want to do good work and leave it at that — because their energy is needed elsewhere. And that shouldn’t be a threat. In fact, it should be a strength.
Redefining What “High Performance” Really Means
We tend to think of high performance as stretching, exceeding, growing. But what if we reframed it?
What if high performance included:
Quiet consistency
Doing exactly what’s expected, with care and precision
Saying no to burnout
Sustaining good work without drama
Contributing relationally — not just through task completion
When we acknowledge that not all excellence is loud, we make room for diverse forms of contribution. And in the process, we start to build more humane, realistic, and resilient teams.
Let’s Talk About the Skill-Will Matrix
The Skill-Will Matrix is a classic leadership tool that helps you diagnose where someone sits in terms of ability (skill) and motivation or engagement (will). Here’s a quick refresher:
High WillLow WillHigh SkillEmpowerRespect + ReconnectLow SkillCoach/SupportDirect or Explore Fit
The team member in question likely sits in the High Skill / Low Will box — they are competent, experienced, and reliable, but not interested in over-performing or being pushed beyond the core of their role.
This quadrant is often wrongly labelled as “problematic” — as if someone needs to be fired up or fixed. But that’s a misread.
A more compassionate and effective approach is to respect their clarity and recognise the value of stability.
Why Someone Might Choose Not to Stretch
Let’s be clear: low will doesn’t mean laziness. In many cases, it means:
They’ve experienced burnout and are protecting their energy
They are neurodivergent and self-regulating in a system that isn’t built for them
They’re in a life season where work isn’t the centre — parenting, caring, recovering
They have passions, commitments, or energy needs that live outside the workplace
They don’t see progression as the only definition of success
And that is completely okay.
Leaders need to stop expecting that every team member should want to climb a ladder. Some people want to dig deeper into their current role, not ascend out of it.
Moving from Control to Curiosity
If you find yourself frustrated with a team member who “isn’t reaching their potential,” pause.
Ask yourself: Whose version of potential are you using?
Instead of applying pressure, try these questions:
What does success look like for you in this role?
How do you define meaningful work?
Are there any elements of your role that energise you — or drain you?
What would support look like to help you do your job well and stay well?
This kind of curiosity often leads to better insight, better relationships, and better outcomes — for everyone.
The Value of “Steady” in a Team
Some of your most valuable people might not be your most visible.
They’re the ones who:
Deliver what they say they will
Keep systems functioning behind the scenes
Don’t chase praise — they just get on with it
Bring calm and balance to chaotic moments
They are the heartbeat of your organisation. And yet they often get overlooked for recognition, development, or promotion — because they don’t perform their ambition.
That needs to change.
When High-Performance Culture Becomes a Problem
Organisations that overly focus on high visibility, stretch, and ambition risk creating a toxic performance culture, where:
Burnout is seen as a badge of honour
Boundaries are punished
People are valued more for over-functioning than for sustaining
Diverse contributions (like emotional labour or steady admin) are invisible
Over time, this leads to demoralised teams, talent loss, and leadership bottlenecks.
Instead, we need cultures that value different kinds of excellence — and accept that not everyone wants to lead, and that’s not a flaw.
But What If It Affects the Team?
This is a valid question. If one person is doing less and others are picking up the slack, it creates unfairness. But we need to separate:
Someone doing their job well and going home — totally fair
Someone underperforming and avoiding accountability — needs addressing
If expectations are being met, then there is no “gap” to close. But if someone isn’t pulling their weight, that becomes a different conversation — one of support, clarity, and perhaps course correction.
Quiet Thriving > Quiet Quitting
We’ve heard of “quiet quitting” — people doing the bare minimum. But we need to talk more about quiet thriving:
People who do good, grounded work without burning out
Those who’ve found balance and don’t need to prove themselves
The colleagues who support culture quietly, without needing attention
These people are a gift to any workplace. Their energy is sustainable. Their values are clear. Their contribution is real — even if it doesn’t come with fanfare.
How Managers Can Support “High Skill, Just-Enough Will” Team Members
If you’ve got someone in this quadrant, here’s how to lead with care:
Start from Respect
Assume they are contributing in their own way. Acknowledge what is working.Get Curious, Not Controlling
Open a dialogue about what matters to them, what they need, and how they see their role.Don’t Punish Boundaries
If someone has clear work/home lines, honour that. They’re role-modelling sustainability.Recognise the Unseen
Celebrate consistent, low-drama, reliable work just as much as high-visibility wins.Make Space for Opt-In Opportunities
Instead of pushing, invite. Let them choose when (or if) to take on more.Support Growth Without Pressure
Some people will re-engage over time, once safety and trust are rebuilt. Others won’t — and that’s okay too.
What If You’re the One Feeling This Way?
If you’re someone who relates to this — who does good work but doesn’t want to give your all to your job — know this:
You’re allowed to be enough.
You don’t need to prove your worth through exhaustion. You don’t owe your employer your evenings or your identity. You’re allowed to:
Do your job well
Log off on time
Say no to projects that don’t serve you
Find joy in your life outside of work
And you are still a valuable, valid professional.
Final Thought: Building Teams Where Enough is Enough
The real question isn’t “Why don’t they want to be high performing?”
It’s:
What kind of workplace are we creating if people feel like doing a good job isn’t enough?
If we only value the driven, the loud, and the visibly ambitious, we miss out on the quiet excellence, the grounded steadiness, the wise boundaries, and the human contributions that actually hold teams together.
By using tools like the Skill-Will Matrix with care — and leading with curiosity rather than control — we make space for all kinds of performance. Not just the kind that wins awards, but the kind that builds cultures people want to stay in.
And that, surely, is the highest form of performance we could hope for.
Want more tools like this?
Explore kind, sustainable approaches to leadership and performance inside Empower: The Library Skills Collective or The Kind Brave Leader — designed to help you build better workplaces without burning out the people in them.