At Redfox, we pay close attention to how leading organisations are reshaping their cultures. Lloyds Banking Group’s recent announcement is a case in point. By placing the bottom five percent of its staff under performance review – with dismissal a real possibility if improvements aren’t made – the bank has signalled that it will no longer carry passengers.
This is not about crude cost-cutting. It is about culture. Lloyds is making it clear that under-performance is unacceptable, that the bar will be raised, and that only those who deliver value will remain part of the journey.
It’s a move that will unsettle many – but it’s also a wake-up call. And frankly, it’s one that parts of the food, fresh produce, and agricultural sectors desperately need to hear.
Let’s be honest: too many businesses, and especially too many trade groups, have become bloated. Committees drag their feet. Leadership teams hold on to roles long after their impact has waned. The result? Slow decision-making, declining relevance, and a creeping sense that mediocrity is tolerated. For the high performers within these organisations, it’s demoralising. For their stakeholders, it’s frustrating.
Lloyds’ stance should make us ask some hard questions. Why do we allow inefficiency to persist in our own sectors? Why do some trade bodies cling to legacy structures when their members are crying out for leaner, sharper, more responsive organisations? And why do too many boards and leadership teams avoid the uncomfortable but necessary step of addressing underperformance head-on?
Performance cultures are defined by what leaders tolerate. If you accept mediocrity, you breed it. If you confront it, you create the conditions for excellence. That doesn’t mean being ruthless for the sake of it. People deserve clarity, support, and the chance to improve. But when the pattern is clear, leaders have a duty to act.
At Redfox, we believe our clients should be brave enough to take a page out of Lloyds’ playbook. Define what good looks like. Set the bar clearly. Support your people to reach it. And if they can’t – or won’t -make the leap, stop letting them hold everyone else back.
Our role is to help put the right leaders in place to make these decisions – and to build organisations where performance is not just a buzzword but a lived reality. The question is whether our sectors are ready to step up, or whether they will continue to accept the slow drift of bloated structures and missed opportunities.
Because one thing is certain: those who choose the former will attract the best talent and the strongest results. Those who choose the latter risk being left behind.
Have a key executive role you wish to discuss with us? Just contact Max MacGillivray or Ian Reed direct at hello@redfoxexecutive.com or call +44 (0)1284 715055.
