Notwithstanding the fact they’re horrendously named, they’re also not real.

They’re generally identified as a result of some performance issue, new technology, or process change. They’re the gap between what the level organisation defines as ‘necessary’ and the level of their anticipated performance.

They’re not real because those levels are arbitrary, perceived and subjective. Understanding the expectation of performance is in the eye of the individual – helping the manager and individual work out what performance is should be the starting point for all learning activity.