Push…

Yesterday, during a transition practice between three C suite teammates, one of ’em was told he needed to practice more patience and hold his teammates to higher performance standards while pushing them harder and sooner. At first blush this seemed contradictory not constructive. It was not.

Too many faux leaders practice patience regarding performance – real ones do not. Real leaders demand performance and do not tolerate mediocrity. Real leaders make the team uncomfortable on purpose when it comes to performing. Why? Simple, really. Leaders understand high performers are tough enough to take it and actually want it. Focus here, leader. Do not worry you’ll be perceived as an ass, that guy, or some other identity of another’s mouth. Know who you are. Know why you push. Be prepared for push back and don’t worry about it. Good.

Yesterday two suits pushed one of their strongest because they want to make him better. He pushed back, initially. After a few rounds of curious and challenging questions, he got it. The head of the system was patiently waiting. Funny, huh. We concluded with a ccd melody line that will stick with these three. “Less patient with performance, moreso with poker.”

Today, in your system, you most likely are being patient with poor performers. STOP this. Push for performance. Demand it. If you are aiming at a high performance team your enemy is your weakness, your patience, your fear surrounding how you push those you don’t think can quite handle it. Push, anyway. Be patient when you need to play poker and remain silent, not show your hand, or let your teammate go first so they can really learn what it’s like to lead. Practice patience when you play poker. Push for performance.

Your problem is you’re soft. You are like Coach Yoast in the movie Remember the Titans. You are NOT doing your teammates a favor by going easy on ’em. As Coach Boone said, “You’re handicapping ’em.”

Push…