Zoom Out: Changing Your Perspective on Peak Performance
Sometimes you don’t know when you’re about to do something amazing…
- Drawing a perfect circle, freehand
- Parallel parking your car on the first try
- Hitting a perfect high note in a car sing-along
Sometimes you do…
- Scoring 100% on a test after studying hard
- Cooking your signature dish
- Doing your tried and tested celebrity impersonation.
If you’re given an opportunity to hit a new peak, never hesitate. Put down your phone and go do it. If it requires your phone, go pick it back up and get crackin’.
Too often people see a peak as bittersweet. An achievement on a previously unmatched level met with the harsh reality of never reaching any higher. It’s a classic movie trope. The bitter middle-aged character who can’t get past the popularity or sporting trophies that defined them in high school. Unlike fictional characters, we all have the power to redefine the peaks of our lives. You may never relive the glory of winning your local footy grand final or getting accepted into your dream university, but you might find an even greater sense of accomplishment from writing a novel, starting a business or running your first half marathon.
Sticking with the sports metaphor: how many athletes make it to the Olympics because they reached a personal best one time and decided to be satisfied with that forever? If you start thinking of professional peaks as athletic PB’s, you shift the narrative from bittersweet to reinvigorating. Peak is one of our core values at Xeople, and it’s possible for someone to win this award more than once. How can that be? We like to zoom out from the peak to look at the full mountain range. As you learn, your capabilities increase, unveiling new paths of opportunity that were previously outside your scope, meaning you can have infinite peaks. Paired with our Elastic value, this Peak mindset gives you the flexibility to redefine your success metrics in whichever way feels right to you.
Achievements should be seen as stepping stones. As a professional graphic designer and video editor today, I still remember sheepishly raising my hand in class when my art teacher asked, “has anyone not used Photoshop before?” When I started university, I had never even opened After Effects. Before I got my first full-time job, I had never tried 3D animation. These were all big milestones in my personal and professional development, and each of them felt like an end goal at the time. Don’t be afraid to dream big, be a tall poppy, or “over-achieve.” There are always more ways to grow and new things to learn.
If you’re in the right job, then your company is invested in your personal development and that development contributes to growth goals of the organisation. Refusing to invest in your staff’s professional development will cost your business far more over time. We’re not talking about drowning your under-resourced team in more projects “to help them grow.” Fostering new interests and enabling constructive failures is the secret sauce of progressive businesses. Look at Apple’s success story. The Macintosh, iPod, and iPhone are all peaks on which the business could have happily sat with its billions. Steve Jobs instilled a culture of innovation which led to positive impact on consumers, through intuitive and user-friendly designs that eliminate pain points. They chose to take each successful product launch as an opportunity to reimagine the future of the business. Xeople’s innovation mantra is “constantly evolving” and if we’re not inspiring our team to redefine their potential, we’ll never get far in inspiring the broader workplace landscape.
We recognise that the recruitment industry is incredibly competitive, and you can’t rest on your laurels. That’s why we have a vision of a comprehensive suite of growth engines for every business. The success of Entire OnHire inspired our team to dream up a bigger peak. XeopleRecruit is the beginning of this journey, as our first official module in the Xeople ecosystem. Sorry Apple, we’re coming to take your mantle as the most innovative global tech company! (Also, where’s my hover board?)
Reaching new peaks is entirely within your control. You can choose to bask in the glory of your first big achievement for the rest of your life. It’s otherwise time to think about what goal you want to set next for yourself. You need motivation to keep learning and resilience to practice what you have learned. Finally, you must be persistent enough to dedicate the time and resources it takes to master something. Innovation is certainly not as easy as some make it seem. In order to innovate, you need to think in ways that others don’t; that’s inherently hard to do. You then need bravery to disrupt what has become the norm. Innovation is disruption; you must be bold and back your ideas.
In conclusion, peaking isn’t a final destination but a continuous journey. Embrace growth and a zoom-out mindset, opening yourself to endless opportunities and innovation. Celebrate each achievement, stay resilient, and keep pushing your boundaries. Remember, there’s always a new peak to reach, so keep striving and evolving.
