Month: February 2014

“Mediocrity is a growth killer, and tolerating it can only be blamed on Leadership”

There are more mediocre organizations than there are bad or great organizations, which makes sense given the definition of mediocre.   Mediocre organizations “get by”, and there are many people who are totally content with that type of culture.   It should not be thought of as bad, if the team members are content and are a match for the leadership and culture of the organization.

However, in a high growth environment, mediocrity is intolerable.   It is not just a problem for those that lead;  it is also a problem for the team members that are go-getters, because they too will not tolerate deceleration.

The happiness of individuals and the leadership of an organization is more about the FIT.  It would be unwise to join a high-growth team if the individual is more comfortable in a less growth-oriented environment, just as it is unwise for Leadership of a high-growth organization to tolerate demotivating others by accepting mediocrity.

“Passion and Authenticity are rare. Possessing both is required before expecting it of others”

Managers desire employees that are passionate go-getters.  The issue is typically in how they approach this goal.   Every change we attempt to make in business has to be sold, and just like customers, team members only “buy” if they believe in the product/service, and the company behind it.   The first goal should be to transition from a Manager to a Leader and start with self-reflection.   You must sell yourself before others can be sold.  The effort is not as daunting when you are totally authentic and passionate about the organizations objectives.  It becomes contagious and something that others naturally want to emulate.   And if there is some reason that a manager/leader is having a hard time becoming passionate about the objective, then there is something fundamentally flawed that has to be fixed immediately.