How can a company tell whether high performance is hiding a bad system?

For each key outcome, count exceptions, manual fixes, overtime and activities performed outside the standard process.

Should management take responsibility away from its top performers?

Not automatically. It should, however, convert their improvised practices into a system, increase backup capacity and remove the recurring causes of exceptional work.

Top performers can hide a poorly designed organization until they burn out themselves

3 hours ago.

A reliable person usually takes over work that has fallen between poorly defined roles. The company then appears to function and management has little reason to repair the process. Individual performance can thus become a substitute for systemic management. A warning sign is not only overtime but also the number of informal exceptions that depend on a single employee.

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