Leading Winning Teams

5The Journey to Excellence (with a Few Stops in Mediocrity)

LEADERS WITH LOW standards produce minimum achievers. I have rarely seen a performer meet the expectations of a boss or a superior and then absolutely blow past that standard to two times the expectations of the organization. Perhaps it's human nature, but most folks get right up to that standard, surpass it to a minimal level by 10 or 20%, and then rest on their laurels; they don't keep pushing that limit to expand to the next level. For example, I often see salespeople hit their quota for the quarter and if they do that after two months, they will take vacation and not do much for the third month because they've already made their quota. They may not be incentivized to continue pushing, and that's an issue with the organization's standards.

A Low Bar

What I have found is that when people surpass the standard easily, a “losing” behavior takes over if they are not challenged to “go the extra mile” or compensated for it. The losing behaviors of excuses, blame, quitting, and ignoring data become more prevalent. Leaders must recognize that top performers are motivated by stretching the boundaries and meeting the top challengers. If an organization is unable to keep these top performers engaged, they tend to lose them to another organization, or their productivity drops off out of boredom.

For the folks who are indifferent to the standards, I see that they avoid comparison and do not want to compete or be held accountable ...