Building a strong team is a worthy aim and so is building a strong marriage, a strong family, a strong community, and a strong country. As I listened to my client this morning and heard his “good” struggle, I reminded him of one of my deeply held beliefs regarding how you build a strong, and therefore, sustainable system.
You challenge it.
When you are winning, as his team is now, you challenge each team member to get better. When you are losing, you do the same. You are consistent. You are consistent in your challenges. You are consistent in your disciplines. You are consistent in the discipline of practice, practice, and more practice. Practice that improves performance. Practice that improves everyone.
When you are ahead of budget, you challenge each team member to do their part to be fiscally responsible. When you are behind plan, you do the same. When you are leading high performing teammates you challenge them to get better and you challenge them to make those around them better. You give them specific, concrete, and actionable feedback that improves performance. When you are leading teammates that are struggling to do their job, you challenge them to STOP making excuses, mooching off their teammates, and demand that they improve their performance. You give them specific, concrete, and actionable feedback that improves performance.
When leading anything, you will come to understand that there are no equal partnerships, marriages, families, companies, communities, or countries. There is no way to make your system, a fair one. Your job, as its leader, is to make it a strong, sustainable one. You build this with a disciplined, consistent challenge that is different depending on whom you are challenging.
The problem with most systems is that the high performers have grown too arrogant about their position and the poor performers have become too complacent about theirs. Your job, if you are a leader, is to accept responsibility for building them all. And, firing those who consistently refuse your challenges to get better.
Is it fair that the top few percent carry so much of the load? Is it fair that we challenge those at the bottom to rise up and be accountable? “Is it fair,” is the wrong question. What will make us stronger is the one you want to answer.
Today, regardless of your score, challenge more. STOP “taking it easy,” when we win. STOP “catastrophizing” after adversity strikes. Remember, your team needs your challenges to be consistent. And, everybody responds best when your challenge is very specific, concrete, and actionable. Make sense?
Challenge everyone.
BUILT TO LEAD 