Higher Standards

One of the things you often hear leaders talking about is operating at a higher standard. Leaders are constantly pushing the theme to the troops in one message after another.

What some leaders fail to realize is that in order for the team to operate at a higher standard, the leader has to operate at a higher standard. As the leader’s standards improve or erode, so goes the team.

The standard setting by the leader is often the missing piece when it comes to growing and developing the team’s culture, progress and esprit de corps.

The standards you are setting are a culmination of the decisions you make each day. From the simplest decisions of just being nice, to the more difficult ones like resolving a conflict with customers and/or team members.

Holding yourself to a higher standard means ensuring that you are productive and making things happen today. A great motto to keep in mind is “speed of the boss, speed of the crew.”

On the other hand, if you’re the sort of leader that goes around telling others to make something happen, all you’re doing is creating hate and discontent. If you’re going to talk-the-talk, then you better walk-the-walk.

97% of people and organizations operated at average or below standards. To be part of the 3% of the elite who are operating at a higher standard, then you need to demand excellence of yourself. Only when you demand a higher standard of excellence of yourself will the organization begin to move toward the top 3%.

If you were writing a book on higher standards and each chapter was a day-by-day account of the standards you set, would you want to include today as a chapter in your book? That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs