Talent Tectonics

Appendix: The Peloton Model of Team Performanceⁱ

Figure A.1 illustrates a model I use when helping companies determine how to manage performance differences. It uses the analogy of the pelotons that form in a long bike race such as the Tour de France. Pelotons are the fastest form of long-distance bike riding because they allow riders to draft off each other. Riders take turns at the front similar to how geese take turns flying at the front of the flock to break the wind. It is not possible to form a peloton without having a group of riders, and the pace of the peloton is influenced by every member of the group. The same concept is true for the performance of groups in an organization. This makes the analogy of a peloton useful in understanding different levels of performance.ⁱⁱ The percentages provided in the following descriptions are general estimates and vary widely across groups.

• Breaking away riders have sprinted out in front of the larger group. The speed of these riders is driven by internal self-motivation, although they are also influenced by the speed of other breakaway riders. In a multiday race the breakaway riders change constantly. No person can achieve breakaway status in every single stage of the race.
  • Breakaway performance describes employees whose contributions are having a major impact on the overall performance of the group. These employees may have found ways to add value no one had considered before or have achieved phenomenal levels of results through ...