Leistungsleistung

Leistungsleistung is a German noun used to describe the output, performance, or capability achieved by a person, organization, or technical system. The term is formed from Leistung (performance, achievement) and is often described as a pleonasm because it repeats a related sense of performance. In practice, it denotes the realized level of performance, i.e., what has actually been accomplished, rather than the potential to perform.

Usage varies by field. In economics and management, Leistungsleistung refers to the overall performance of an enterprise or to the output and productivity of the workforce. In engineering and manufacturing, it can denote the actual power or output delivered by a machine or process. In sports and public discourse, the phrase is used to characterize high performance by athletes or teams and to describe the effectiveness of programs or systems.

Distinctions and related terms are common. Leistungsfähigkeit expresses capacity or potential—the ability to perform under favorable conditions—whereas Leistungsleistung emphasizes realized achievement. Depending on context, more precise terms such as Produktivität (productivity), Output (output), oder Arbeitsleistung (work performance) may be preferred to avoid ambiguity.

Critically, Leistungsleistung as a broad metric can obscure qualitative aspects of performance, such as reliability, efficiency, or sustainability. For this reason, it is common to accompany the term with additional specifications or to replace it with more specific measures in technical or policy documents.