As a leader,
what you tolerate in the business is what eventually becomes the culture and
ultimately dictates the performance of your business or unit. If you tolerate
under performance, then under performance becomes the new norm. if you tolerate
missed targets, then missed targets become the new norm. if you tolerate
excuses, then excuses become the new norm.
And by
tolerating, I mean the conscious decision you take on a daily basis to accept
that level of performance. The conscious decision to allow the excuses that
surround you to infiltrate your plans or offset the underperformance.
If you do not
tolerate underperformance and excuses, they will disappear from the culture. If
you constantly practice the way to do things, prioritize and execute on the
most important things and generally do more of the right things more often,
then success will become a habit. The consequence of not doing this is
that underperformance becomes the culture.
Leaders need to
be first grounded in their own values and hold fast to that line – then hold
others accountable to it as well. No exceptions except in very extreme
circumstances and only if it would not change the goalposts for the
organization itself. As the leader, you are the first line of defense for your
own and the company’s values – don’t let anyone change those. You become what
you tolerate. Set the standard you want for them.