I know I’m not the only one who wonders… Is it nature or nurture that makes a person successful?

We’re going to answer that age old question today. …for the workplace at least.

What does it take to succeed?

There may be people who report to you, that despite your best efforts, time, patience, and so forth — still have a hard time performing. You may resent the amount of time that you’ve spent working with them, with seemingly no real return.

Or maybe you are that person. Despite your best efforts to attain the next level, or the next recognition, or the next cool project — you find yourself empty handed.

What is it? Is it that you (or your direct report) is inherently doomed for a life short of what you want?

This would be a terribly disappointing message to send if that were the case, but read on to learn more…

The Wall Street Analyst Study

In this HBR article, they mention a study done by a Harvard Business School Professor, Boris Groysberg. Boris used a third party ranking of the top wall street analysts, and watched what happened when any of the top analysts changed jobs.

Did an analyst stay at the top after switching companies?

Most of them did not. However, a few did. 

What was different about the analysts that remained at the top?

Do you have a guess? Was it nature, or nurture? Was it their inherent capabilities, or their environment?

By now you’ve probably guessed that it was their environment. (I wouldn’t write such a devastating article!)

The only analysts that remained at the top of the list when they switched companies were the ones who brought their whole teams with them. 

Consider the environment

If you, or someone on your team is struggling to perform, consider the environment they are in. 

I fundamentally believe that every person on this planet has genius in them.

There are no bad eggs.

However, there are definitely environments that people won’t succeed in, despite their best efforts.

And there’s no one-size-fits-all here. It’s different for everyone.