Companies are always exclusive. Communities are as well. Certainly you will find exceptions if you look long and hard enough but you will also find the exceptions headed toward certain extinction.
All companies that sustain themselves hold their associates accountable. The best do this consistently and transparently. Most do not. Most companies surprise their associates when they finally get around to confronting them and “excluding” them from coming back. Why else would Friday afternoon be the most popular terminating time from New York to Shanghai? Think about it…
Lead anything and you will be forced to exclude members from your community. Lead anything and you will have to set limits, bars, and hold people accountable. Lead anything and you will have to make judgement calls. Lead anything and you will make decision upon decision that will NOT be popular.
Companies are always exclusive. The best ones are led by wise leaders who hire slowly and terminate consistently, transparently, and quickly. The quickly piece is the hard part. You see once you make the investment and commitment to bring someone into your community, you are now primed to hold onto them too long. Psychologists note this phenomenon as “loss aversion.” This is why we hold onto poor performing stocks for far too long and poor performing teammates too.
Companies are always exclusive. Make sure your members clearly understand your expectations. Put them in writing. Review them regularly. Clearly, concisely, and directly tell them when you first notice gaps in their performance and your expectations. Fight your loss aversion tendency and cut your losses earlier.
Once you really think about it, you aren’t as “open minded” as you think – you’re just putting off a loss. Your investment portfolio and your community just got stronger…
BUILT TO LEAD 