Published by Scott Neilson on 05 Feb 2014 at 06:54 am
Stand your ground!
You may be surprised to hear that many leaders wrestle with how much pressure they should put on their employees to achieve…to push harder…to strive for more. They do not know how to determine when enough is enough. It is not an easy concept to sort out. Here are some good starting points.
You absolutely should expect your team to perform at the same level as yourself? As a leader you MUST require your employees to live up to your standards. Otherwise:
- – they will not achieve the results you want;
- – you will be frustrated with the results you achieve; and,
- – your leadership will be seen as weak.
How hard is hard enough? That is a more difficult question to answer, and a difficult balance to maintain. Here are some tips for sorting through that question.
- Ask yourself the reasonableness question…Is what I am asking reasonable? Am I asking my team to work harder than I do? If you have any doubt, ask a few trusted colleagues the same question…people you can trust to give you the straight story. I generally find that my EA is one of my best sources for this type of information.
- Keep your eyes open for signs of stress in the organization…increased rates of sickness and high turnover are good indicators that something is wrong. Establish a few key metrics you can follow as an indicator of these issues.
- Similarly, deteriorating interpersonal dynamics amongst your employees, such as rudeness and arguments, are signs of stress and overload.
- Conduct regular focus group discussions to get a sense of how your team feels. Have lower level supervisors conduct some of these. People tend to speak more freely to lower level supervisors than to senior ones, and it is a good developmental experience for those supervisors.
There will certainly be individuals that are not willing to work as hard as you. In that case, it is better that you both know and they find something more suited to their style.
However, my experience has been that most leaders do not push their people enough. They err on the side of softness. They feel that employee’s complaining is a bad thing and reflects poorly on their leadership and leads to bad results. Not so! That approach earns you neither success nor respect. Some degree of stress, pressure and urgency is a good thing.
The reality is that some people will complain about everything…to see what they can get from you. It is like a negotiation. They will complain as long as they see they are getting something out of it.
Stand your ground…expect performance…require it!
11 Feb 2014 at 12:12 pm #
Yes, it sounds like it might be that time…for you to act assertively…if for nothing else than to let people “above” know that certain others are not performing up to your expectations, and that you want to move them out.
You may be surprised by how that message is received. I once had that same situation in which there were certain people who were not right for the organization, and needed to be replaced. I did NOT know, however, that there was a strong connection between one of those people and the CEO. Interestingly, the CEO backed me up. Apparently he knew this person was not a performer, but was not feel in a good position to make a change. My interest in making the move took him off the hook.
Also of critical importance is how you position the change…with whom…in what order, etc.
Let me know if you want to talk.
11 Feb 2014 at 9:59 am #
Thanks, Scott! As with all performance issues, they come from either ability and/or willingness to do their role to the utmost. I think my trouble is having come into a team (where I did not select the people) and into a non-profit organization that has an ethos of not removing adequate performers. The people I have in mind are icons in this non-profit, which adds complexity.
That’s the tangled web. My sense is it is time for me to act assertively (find best talent and expect excellence) with as much sensitivity to the cultural ethos as possible. It’s just going to be a rocky road, which is why your post was so timely.
Thanks!
Andrew
10 Feb 2014 at 8:34 am #
Great question Andrew. I would have to say yes. It seemed to me that you were referring to individual “ability” being a limiting factor, and perhaps affecting your expectations of the level of excellence they could achieve.
The individual should be selected to be able to achieve the level of excellence you need in the performance of THAT job. So, you must be clear on defining job responsibilities, the skills required to perform those tasks, selecting the correct individuals with those skills, and communicating process, performance and results expectations…and then coaching them until they are routinely delivering the results you expect.
Did I understand your question correctly?
07 Feb 2014 at 9:56 am #
Scott,
This is a well-timed post, thanks! It makes sense to me, as well. In my non-profit organization, hard work is not as much of a difficulty–people are here missionally so they put the hours in with alacrity–as excellence is. Were you to do the post with an eye to how hard to I push for excellence rather than for hard work, would you frame it differently? Or would it look the same?
I am not sure if I can expect folks to meet my level of excellency, and in some areas of course I cannot meet theirs.
Many thanks!
Andrew