Do you accept the culture that does not guarantee results?

As leaders we are many things, especially leaders of change management. Change management is never as easy as we like it to be? Why? Well who likes change? Most people do not.

So as leaders, what do we do when we see our culture is one of mediocrity at best? First, do you see that and are you willing to admit it? We know we cannot grow our company and our people if we do not bring change to our organization. Now, this is not change in just how we go about our day. We can create new systems and processes, add some fancy KPIs and say, “We are going to hold you accountable to the new KPIs, and these KPIs will guide our activity for success.” Blah, blah, blah…. These are just words that will only cause more mediocrity; better yet may even push the organization below the mediocrity line to failure.

Why? Because without a change in culture there cannot be change. I speak to leaders all the time and they say, “Yes Scott, I know what we need to do, where we need to get to, but that is BIG change. That is not our culture. We may lose some good people. We may have a so called mutiny. They will not like it, etc….” Well, I am fine loosing good people because I want GREAT people. I want a culture of expectations to actually perform above and beyond any metric and KPI we create. I want my people to ask for more, better yet DEMAND more from our organization, from our leaders, from me.

In order to bring change we first must articulate the vision. Now, where most leaders go wrong is they share the vision of the hard work it takes. Who wants to see that? I don’t! I want to see the vision of what “paradise” is and me sitting in my chair, feet in the sand and Mai Tai in hand with a fancy umbrella in it. Think of air line commercials. If they showed us the cramped seat we sit in we would never fly. They show us the destination. And to influence our organization to change we need to paint that picture. We add in the why we need to change, that is the story of the dissatisfaction of our current state. Next, again we paint the beautiful paradise vision of the future state of our organization. Last, we then talk about the first steps to get there (the hard work) and most important how the organization is setting us up for success in those steps. How the organization is supporting this journey, my journey to paradise.

Hmmm, I don’t know Scott. Well, most people want to be great. It is leaders and culture that keep them at good. And then the really great ones leave anyway. So we are then left with mediocrity and it is our own fault if we are a leader afraid of change, afraid of demanding greatness. Yes I said demand it.

Now, don’t be a jerk in how you demand it. Demand by your actions, the way you support your team, the way you talk to encourage them to try and take risks to perform at a high level. Support risk taking. Support moonshots. Support new ideas and new ways to enhance what we do. Plan for success. Hold yourself, and all, accountable to the plan. Set standards, and then set stretch goals above the standards (Big difference between goals and standards, but that is a blog for another time). Next, I do not actually want a culture of accountability. I want a culture of taking responsibility. (See The Responsibility Process by Chris Avery).

What is your training program to bring new and advanced learning to the team? How are you supporting growth of the individual and organizations; thus the growth of the culture.

We need to create a culture that embraces their greatness, cultivates it, multiplies it and show them how to have exponential growth in their own beliefs for greatness; more so in their daily activity which leads to exponential success in their output. See my older post on “Embracing Failure”

You must support the cultural changes by creating consistent, relevant training and coaching.

Here is the thing, you want growth in your organization. Maybe your PE/VC firm wants exponential growth. We are coming out of COVID and what I have seen many leaders do is take a stance of “Don’t push them too hard. It was tough 18 months.” And then the leaders that just take a delicate touch because we may lose people. Well, lose them. Again, the great ones want to be pushed. The great ones want pressure.

As NBA coach Doc Rivers said, “Pressure is a privilege.” Think about that, pressure is a privilege. Why so? Because it is a privilege to be in a position to lead others, to lead greatness.

Do not be afraid of striving for greatness. Be afraid of striving for mediocrity. As a leader I challenge us all to be leaders that influence and inspire others to a better life in all aspects. That may be a cultural shift for some, it may be scary for some. Be the difference! Create a culture of great performance and go change lives in doing so.