This time of the year is the annual performance review cycle for many organisations. Having witnessed and participated in these reviews over three decades, I sometimes wonder about their actual contribution to performance improvement.

What happens in most performance reviews? We do a self-review and then sit across the table with our supervisor. A form is opened. A gap is identified. We are told here is where you fall short. Here is what you need to fix. Here is how you must improve.

Give or take a few steps, this is how it works for most companies. The thing that bothers me about it is that it is almost always structured around deficiency.

The conversation quickly becomes about weaknesses. Even when strengths are mentioned, they feel like a preface before the “real” discussion begins.

The problem is not feedback. The problem is this orientation.

When development is framed around what is missing, people don’t become inspired. They become cautious. They focus on avoiding mistakes rather than expanding capability. Energy shifts from contribution to compliance.

However, in my opinion, people improve more quickly in their strengths than their weaknesses. They are more motivated when they are confident of success and more likely to believe their efforts will yield positive results.

When someone is strong at strategic thinking, and you invest further in that strength, you often see disproportionate growth. When someone naturally builds relationships, and you sharpen that ability, their impact compounds. Confidence rises and identity and performance begin to align.

That alignment matters. People give their best work when they feel authentic, not when they are constantly trying to compensate for what they are not.

Think about how elite athletes are coached. Weaknesses are managed so they don’t become liabilities. But training is built around signature strengths. A striker in football is not focused upon defending better. She contributes by scoring goals just like a defender is not trained to become better at scoring. Whatever strengths they carry, a coach’s job is to sharpen the same.

Organizations should think the same way. Fixing weaknesses may create adequacy but building strengths creates excellence.

The question for leaders is simple. Are your performance systems designed to prevent failure, or to unlock advantage?