I used to work for an organization that refused give out 5’s during performance reviews because of an archaic philosophy: if we give people 5’s they won’t strive for more.
I thought this was an isolated case. It’s not! I have since worked with a number of companies that share this same performance review philosophy.
Now imagine if customers of these very companies shared this philosophy and never gave 5-star ratings reviews. What would happen if the average customer product rating was 3 or less? Simple, the company would not last as customers would go elsewhere to find value.
Organization you may think you’re inspiring your people to strive for more but really what you are doing is inspiring them to look for employment elsewhere. Or worse, you are inspiring your people to quit but stay.
Thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If someone earned a 5, give them a 5, and watch the level of striving that happens next.