The Real Reason Output in Organisations Stalls

Across every organisation I work with, from the NHS to small businesses, the same pattern emerges. We talk about systems, processes, targets and performance metrics, but underneath it all sit people. And too often, those people are disengaged, overwhelmed or have mentally checked out.

When that happens, productivity is already lost.

You can have the best strategy in the world, the most sophisticated systems and the clearest targets, but if the people delivering the work are not motivated, not connected and not supported, none of it will translate into meaningful output. Productivity is not just about efficiency. It is about energy, attention and purpose.

And those things are fragile.

One of the biggest issues I see is when people have mentally checked out. People are physically present, but cognitively absent. They are going through the motions, doing what is required, but not contributing their full capability – just spinning their wheels. Once that happens, you have lost something far more valuable than time. You have lost engagement and discretionary effort – that extra energy, creativity, and commitment people voluntarily contribute when genuinely engaged.

The natural response in many organisations is to push harder. More targets, more pressure, more oversight. But that rarely works. In fact, it often makes things worse, because the problem is not effort. It is the system in which that effort is being applied.

In many cases, we have designed work in a way that creates unnecessary demand. People are dealing with issues that should not exist in the first place. They are responding to failures in the system rather than creating value within it. We are often guilty of treating all demand as work, when in reality a significant proportion of that demand is avoidable.

If, after analysing the demand, you remove that failure demand, productivity improves almost immediately.

This is where we need to shift our thinking. Productivity is not about doing more. It is about doing the right things (effectiveness) in the right way (efficiency), with the right conditions for people to perform.

That brings us to leadership.

Leadership is not just about setting direction. It is about creating an environment where people can thrive. That means understanding what motivates individuals, recognising that it is different for everyone, and building systems that allow people to contribute meaningfully.

I often reference Professor John Omeichi, a respected organisational psychologist. He observes, if you are a leader, your staff’s children will know your name. Not because you are visible in an organisational chart, but because of the impact you have on their lives. That is the level of connection and responsibility we need to acknowledge, because work does not exist in isolation. People bring their whole lives into the workplace. Their health, their home environment, their stresses and their aspirations all influence how they perform. If we ignore that context, we ignore one of the most significant drivers of productivity – the human side of leadership.

This is particularly evident in healthcare, where we are beginning to understand that outcomes are not just determined by clinical interventions, but by what happens outside the system. The same principle applies to the workforce more broadly. If people are returning to environments that undermine their wellbeing, their ability to be productive is compromised before they even start.

So what does this mean for productivity in Wales? It means we need to reframe the conversation.

In healthcare, Professor Atul Gawande, the American surgeon, writer and public health researcher, urges us to shift the focus of our clinical conversations. Instead of asking what is the matter, it is sometimes more appropriate to ask: “what matters?” . In my coaching experience, this subtle change also translates to the business world. What matters to individuals, to teams and to organisations? What outcomes are we trying to achieve, and how do we design systems that support those outcomes?

It also means recognising that not everything can be solved in a linear way. Many of the challenges we face are complex, not complicated. There is a difference. Complex challenges cannot be fixed with a single intervention. They can only be improved through continuous learning, adaptation and collaboration.

There is no quick fix for productivity. But there is a clear starting point.

Focus on people.

If we create environments where people are engaged, supported and able to do meaningful work, productivity will follow. If we continue to focus solely on systems and targets without addressing the human element, it will not.

If we want to improve productivity in Wales, we need to stop treating it as a technical problem. It is a human one.