How Long Will You Tolerate Mediocrity?

Many of us need to take a collective breath from the daily rigors and stress of our workaday lives. For many of us and for many times, our professional lives spill into our personal lives. So, what happens? Why do we tolerate the roller coaster ride? How long can you and will you tolerate mediocrity? It, whatever your ‘it’ is, only gets done when it’s a focus and you put alternative actions in place. There’s a rhythm to ‘it.’ Learn how-to ride the wave!

Do you want to improve productivity? Throughput? Speed of change? Sustainable results?
The methodology we utilize is sound, and the process is proven.  Sometimes, we see clients who appear to lack the discipline to ‘stick’ to the process. Sometimes, we see clients slip back into the rut of mediocrity under extreme duress. Our 3-step process begins with knowing where you are – create Awareness of the situation. Understanding where the process breaks down and why it breaks under stress gets you closer to the root cause. Is it enough? Certainly not. When you’re in times of calm, perhaps it is but we’re in a constant state of change, growth and elevating performance. Avoiding the slippery slope that causes your process to break is step two.

Leaders must know how to anticipate the wobble when things are about to go off the rails and inject Alternatives – contingent or mitigating plans. It’s not enough to have plans to deploy. Leaders must have the wherewithal to execute effectively. Even if you know where you are, why it breaks and your blunting strategy is deployed, it’s still a matter of developing your people in executing flawlessly regardless of the environment their in – negative, neutral or under stress. One simple, powerful and practical step is to improve your lead. The AAA Framework – Awareness, Avoidance and Alternatives is a simple, powerful and practical method for sustainable change.

One reason we choose a simple step is to demonstrate the power of clarity and simplicity. Adopting practical disciplines are easier to replicate than a series of complex moves and counters few have the capability to implement.

Would you rather be popular, well-liked or successful?

Choose 3 focus areas of business. Take 1 top line, 1 bottom line area, and pick a KPI to measure and monitor. Here’s where you’re called to lead and leverage your leadership by identifying key talent (whether that’s 1, 2 or 3 people) those with the foundation to excel in each of three areas of focus. Give them the tools, encouragement and guidance to advance your team, your company and your organization.

Clarify your criteria for their success. What do you want it to look like at the end of the period. Establish what success looks like, why its important for them, because that’s also important for you, and how they can get there – not tell them how to do it. You hired them for a reason now let them learn, grow, screw up and most importantly how to course correct and how to anticipate for the next time.

The critical question is can you swallow enough ego to allow for their growth and then will you lead them, not stifle but instead develop them. By allowing for some space here, you’re expanding your own leadership. Do you understand it now? This is extremely uncomfortable for many of you, and the question is do you have the stomach for it. You’re answering your own call by the way – do I have the courage to lead when I would rather do it myself.

Have them detail out tactics and key action steps with milestones to reach the outcome originally set. Part of the process for you and the ones you’ve chosen is to develop and expand your mental capacity to lead and to lead well. This state requires you to be mentally tough.

Consider this Blueprint:

Lead with Emotional Intelligence. Neutralize or eliminate toxic people in your life. I’m asking you to pave the way here; whether it’s at your office, within your personal circle or their personal circle. Coach them. Help them adapt and overcome negative people in both your lives. Their performance and your leadership will benefit greatly from the removal of assholes. Read more here about the ‘no asshole rule’ by Robert Sutton.

Diplomatically Say No. You’ll get more done by learning this valuable skill. You’re not the answer person and you’re not the information desk so stop being one. Everyone wants a piece of you and understanding how to have rhythm in both the personal and professional realm is critical. You cannot attend every meeting and you shouldn’t. We’ve damaged enough of our youth by hovering and how did that work for you? Stop hovering over your directs!

Embrace Failure. This is how we all learn, and research shows we fail 6-7 times before we see one positive movement forward. Failing is a part of the learning and succeeding process. Embrace it. You and your people are not failures. Stop dwelling on what got hosed. Learn, anticipate, adapt and overcome.

Stop Limiting Joy. Encourage it! Find out what makes your people, employees, relationships joy is and help them attain it. This is leading and leading well. Aside from compensation and career progression, your people are looking to be a part of something greater. Your lead is to inspire others, then find out what energizes them, so you can help them attain their own joy and fulfillment.

Rejuvenate the Personal Realm. Take time to exercise, refresh and think. Get enough sleep and eat well. Everything in moderation. It’s simple, powerful and practical as is each step of this blueprint. Yet we blow it off, because, ‘we don’t need it,’ ‘I got this,’ ‘I’m good’ or some derivative of this isolation or insulation.

Forgive and Forget. Stop harboring regret, ill will and negative feelings. If you’re pissed at them, then have a conversation to uncover what happened, why it matters to them first and then to you and how to come to a mutual solution. Let it go. Stop keeping score of waiting for the other shoe to drop. The reason many leaders don’t forgive and forget is their ego. For many leaders with ego issues (those that negatively impact their lead), they have self-esteem issues – a sign of a bigger problem.

Be Relentlessly Positive. No one likes being around a funsucker…the ‘oh what might have been’s,’ ‘if we’d just done this’ or ‘had this gone our way.’ You’re not Eeyore. You’re grown ass men and women. Start acting like it!

Grow More Leaders. If you don’t help them learn, if you don’t help them grow in their role professionally and personally, then they will leave you. It’s not a matter of if. It’s when. ‘But they’ll leave if we train them’…while that’s a small minority, the focus is what if you don’t train them, you’ll never get to where you must go to be successful.

Start playing the game to win instead of to lose.

Remember the game of life is still a game.

Everything changes in the way your people and teams communicate, get things done, and achieve results. We take your team through what most organizations don’t – go deep enough to reach the true root cause in the way of extraordinary outcomes. Instead of focusing on surface solutions, we go deep into the habits, routines, and behaviors that permeate how things get done in your organization. If you’re serious about creating continuous improving levels of performance and growth in your organization, we have a methodology and unparalleled set of tools to help you succeed.

We break through the critical human and cultural integration challenges obstructing your company’s ability to sustain competitive advantage.  It’s about preserving a working core and enhance your organizational capacity for collaboration, innovation, and productivity gains to drive business results with agility. Click here to schedule a private, no obligation, no strings attached conversation.