Transcript
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Welcome to the no Bullshit Leadership Podcast. In a world where knowledge has become a commodity, this podcast is designed to give you something more access to the experience of a successful CEO who has already walked the path. So join your host, Martin Moore, who will unlock and bring to life your own leadership experiences and accelerate your journey to leadership excellence.
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Welcome to Moments with Marty. Your short, sharp shot of leadership insight help you to stay on track between our weekly episodes of the no Bullshit Leadership Podcast. I am a vocal advocate of strong leadership the need to stretch people to achieve extraordinary performance with a single minded focus on value creation. Bear in mind, of course, that value comes in many different forms. It's not purely defined by financial results. In episode 245 of the podcast, I centred the discussion around a quote which from former first lady of the US Rosalind Carter who said a leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. This is the crux of high performance leadership. If you want to produce outstanding results, there is no easy path for you or for your people. Nor should there be. This is what separates the great and from the mediocre. Outstanding results are also the biggest differentiator separating you from the leaders around you. What does taking people where they want to go look like? Many leaders simply let their people dictate terms when they work, where they work, how hard they work, what they agree to deliver. And of course, given those conditions, they'll likely have to explain why they didn't deliver. This is okay. You can still get some reasonably solid results this way if the quality of your team is high enough. But even if you do, you need to know that you're leaving a whole lot of upside on the table. Taking people where they ought to be looks and feels very different to this. You set the tone, the pace and the standard for your team. You know how to stretch every individual to get the best out of them, even when they're not naturally inclined to stretch themselves. You set ambitious targets focused on value maximization. You implement model and uphold the highest standards of behaviour. You maintain a minimum acceptable standard which is abundantly clear to everyone and you treat everyone with respect, but you don't let them off the hook when they choose to ignore the standards you're setting. When you get this right, you don't just build a great team, you build an unbelievable team. I often say that the older I get, the less certain I am about practically everything. But there's one thing I'm pretty sure about. All self Esteem comes from doing difficult things. If you're the type of leader who takes people where they ought to be, you set them up to achieve difficult things and you show them the path to building greater confidence and self esteem. But not everyone is going to want this. Many companies have institutionalised a culture of learned helplessness. They pander to their people because they're afraid of the potential complaints and accusations that might follow on from any pressure to perform. I want to be really clear here. Simply asking someone to do the job they're paid to do is not harassment. Holding people to a higher standard is not bullying. And pointing out where someone needs to lift their game is not cruel. But given the current environment, it's very tempting to take the path of least resistance and to just focus on taking each individual where they want to go. That's easy. No Bullshit leaders are not happy with that. They know that aside from the obvious implications for team performance, there's an equally devastating impact on the individuals. If you don't stretch your people, they'll never experience the deep satisfaction of having a major impact through their work, they'll never get that feeling of self esteem that comes from doing something exceptional, and they'll never progressively build their confidence. And that is incredibly sad. For more depth on this insight, have a listen to episode 245 of the no Bullshit Leadership podcast Drive for performance or Bullying. We'll leave a link in the show notes. I really hope you enjoyed this moment and that it gives you that extra little spark to be a no Bullshit.