💔💔Staff always let us down!
😭😭We can’t get ahead!
🤦♀️🤦♀️We can’t trust anyone to do it right!
If any of those quotes above are familiar – you know what I’m talking about…
Expectations of staff in a high performance or excellence culture.
Staff are the main flavour on what I call the “Complaints Menu” for business owners.
I work with business owners who are high performers, and one common trait of high performers is they are very good at criticizing themselves.
I call them Hyper-Critical High Performers.
They have VERY high expectations of themselves, which makes for an amazing performance.
Then they have staff… And the reality of staff is we don’t have a majority of high performers, we have a bell curve in society. High Performers at one end, low performers at the other, and average performers in the middle…in the majority…
And the personal strategy of high expectations and self-criticism can really work for the owner, on themselves, but it doesn’t go so well with the team…
So, knowing this is the spread of our society and talent pool, I focus on 2 things in a high-performance culture.
- 80% of you is winning.
- Aggressive front-loaded recruitment.
Here’s a bit of detail…
80% of you, means the you, the business owner… If a staff member can perform a task (that the business owner is an expert in) at 80% proficiency, treat it like a win.
This does not count when you are hiring specialized subject matter experts. This is your every day, majority of the workforce I am talking about.
If they bring 80% of the care factor, commitment, attention, execution, speed, etc.. Treat it like a win or keep dying the same death of frustration and despair every day with a revolving door of the team.
Front-loaded recruitment is about sorting the “some people” in the diagram out from the “most people”, early on.
Screening candidates for their behaviour style, willingness to perform tasks BEFORE they get the job, complete questionnaires and detailed questions all BEFORE they even get an interview – This sorts the wheat from the chaff pretty fast and all before you even make a phone call.
Simply, for high performers in business, yes surround yourself with greatness, and if greatness isn’t there yet, cultivate it in those around you who have the attitude of greatness.
And if these quotes:
“Staff always let me down”
“We can’t get ahead”
“I can’t trust anyone to do it right”
Are real for you then it’s time to upgrade your Leadership psychology – let’s book in a call to map that out ASAP.
Love and leadership,
Emily