Top performers strive for the next accomplishment, soak up new information, and embrace the opportunity to challenge the status quo. They are eager to learn and stretch their minds.

I enjoy asking what people read, because it reveals interesting insights. Some people eagerly share their latest title; others look at me with a look that says “who cares about that?”

(I recently met someone who said that he easily reads over a hundred books a year. Intrigued, I asked him for a few recommendations. He couldn’t remember any of them!)

Reading is an easy benchmark, but certainly not the only one. Top performers set and achieve goals. Many people set goals; far fewer work on their attainment on a regular basis.

One of my clients, who has a high achievement drive, is baffled when members of his executive team aren’t willing to go the extra mile to gain new skills. He begrudges the “just hand it to me” attitude.

It’s hard – if not impossible – to motivate people to do what they don’t want to do. If you want a high performing team, you need to put this front and center when you hire. Being clear about your expectation of goal achievement, for example, will help to weed out people who don’t want to push themselves.

During the interview process, ask how they stretch themselves and how they stay accountable. Have them describe a time when they accomplished something substantially greater than what they had expected. You’ll learn a lot!

Actions are louder than words. People may boast about their goals, but if their activities don’t match up, it’s a safe bet that they aren’t going to blaze a trail in your organization.

“The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
— Michelangelo

Header image by Ksenia Chernaya/Pexels.