You Get What You Tolerate

I often hear senior executives and business owners lament a lack of performance and/or less than desirable behaviors on the part of their employees. Sometimes, this is true of members of their senior team. They can articulate specific examples where goals are unmet, initiative not taken and a general sense of urgency is found lacking. Oh, and of course they are confounded by what they describe as a lack of “accountability." What to do?

All of this begs the question “why are you putting up with this?” There are many reasons offered. The time just isn’t right, or they are expecting (hoping) the attitude/performance will turn around. Maybe they are short-handed, someone is out on leave, good people are hard to find, or they just need to get through this busy time, (or through this slow time). And so it goes.

One way to frame this challenge is to consider the impact sub-standard performers have on the rest of the organization. Make no mistake, tolerance for poor performance and/or behavior does not go unnoticed by other team members. Allowing this serves to re-set the level of expectation throughout the organization.  Put another way, your culture is the lowest level of performance and/or behavior you tolerate. There’s a better way.

In conducting interviews with employees, they often express frustration with shifting priorities, vague or incomplete direction, unrealistic goals created in a vacuum, or indifferent or ill-prepared managers. Systematic training in supervisory, management and leadership skills is essential. So too is having the right systems and tools. One such tool is the Dynamic Performance Appraisal System. Use this link to download your free copy of the guide and worksheets: ajstrategy.com/dpa_workbook.

Setting clear, easy to understand expectations, prioritized in order of impact, setting, tracking and measuring goals, and recognizing behaviors which are aligned with and supportive of the organization’s stated values results in a covenant of commitment and a performance pledge. Complexity and confusion are replaced with clarity and confidence.

For more information, contact me at joe@ajstrategy.com.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.