Leader Compass 48 - The High Cost of Low Standards

What is the lowest standard you will allow? Have you ever asked yourself this question? What is the lowest standard for health, fitness, work or team performance you are comfortable with? Too often we continue in life without pausing to assess the standards we have.

Low standards are easy to come by. You start with high hopes but little by little, left unchecked your standards lessen and lessen until you are unhappy with our lives and the results we are getting. We lie and say we are "too busy" to count the cost of our low standards and miss out on the success we say we want.

Have you ever allowed one day of not exercising turn into a week, then a month and the next thing you know you now have a new standard of health, weight and fitness? "In shape" turned into "a shape."

Have you ever heard the excuses those you lead and allowed for the low performance to slip once, then twice and before you know it the excuses have now become THE standard?

Perhaps you chose to lie to yourself that "someday" you would accomplish that dream swirling in your mind but your standards were too low and you never planned or took action.

The most difficult reality for you to accept when your standards are low is that where you are right now - in body, health, financial well being, relationships and work/team performance are all a result of your previous choices and your previous standards.

The good news is that you and you alone have the power to improve your future state by raising your standards today and every day moving forward.

You want to see better results right? Raise your standards! Then, guard your standards against their natural born enemy - excuses. Here are a three simple ideas to get you started:

• Don't relent. If someone on your team delivers sub-par performance follow the steps below:
• Listen and empathize. Hear what the other person is saying and empathize with the emotion. "That must have felt difficult. I'm sorry to hear about your challenge."
• Reinforce the standard and build confidence. "As you know I have very high standards and I'm confident you can meet them. Let me reinforce what the goal is so we are on the same page."
• Challenge and inspire. Remind your team that they will feel best and have supreme confidence when they have delivered on your standards. "I'm confident that we can overcome all challenges and achieve the high expectations. Tell me about your plan to achieve the goals we have set out."
• Move, don't think. Far too often we spend time having analysis paralysis. Once you know the direction you are wanting to go move and move quickly to accomplish your goal. Want to lose weight? Go for a walk or head to the gym right now. Don't hunt for "the best way" at the beginning - just start moving. 
• Think small. This may surprise you but having high standards in the little things are crucial to achieving your best life. How dirty will you allow your home or your work space to become before you clean? How detailed and carefully selected is your wardrobe? How intentional are you in your listening to others? Focusing on the small areas of life help you create high standards and easy "wins" that build your confidence in your 

Remember that your personal brand is determined by the amalgamation of your standards. Fortunately and unfortunately (depending on how you think about it) we are all judged at some point by our lowest standard, the lowest performance we allow. 

What life do you want - one of high standards and the results that come with it or your life of excuses and constant pain? What will you do to raise your personal standards and win in life? Don't relent, move fast and think small. Lead on!