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Dealing with Mediocrity in Business Summary/Description Do you have a strong work ethic and can‐do attitude? Does it frustrate you when you have to engage with colleagues, subordinates, suppliers, customers or business associates that do not share these core values? Is this the norm or is there a way to change their attitudes? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ How many times have you phoned or emailed someone and sought a commitment from them to do something and they have let you down, despite promising to deliver? I know that it happens to a lot of people quite frequently. Is it a work ethic problem or is the person you are dealing with so busy with other things that they simply do not prioritize properly? In fact, it could be either of these variables. It may even be that you are a nice guy and it is easier for them to break a commitment to you than to someone else who is more likely to tear out their jugular. It seems to be a sign of our times when everywhere we go we seem to be asking the same questions about the availability of good help. I believe that it is down to the culture of the organizations in question. You will notice with excellent companies that no matter who you deal with therein, you get the same level of responsive and respectful service. Nothing is too much trouble and you will often get a call just to tell you that everything is on track. You are not required to chase anybody to discover the status quo. If you have some employees on your own team that do not see quality service as the life blood of the business, then you are failing to inculcate these values into the culture of the business. It should not be necessary for the boss to tell someone that their attitude is wrong; their colleagues should be shouting it from the rooftops. One or two poor players on the team can seriously damage a business. If they cannot get with the program, they should be shipped out. This culture of can‐do should not just be outward facing to customers. It should be endemic within the company as well. Failure to meet commitments to colleagues is equally disrespectful. So how do you get this positive work ethic to be part of the business culture? It is simple. It needs to become part of the reward structure. When setting objectives or goals for employees as part of a performance management system, you must set specific targets at least once per quarter. Remember, what gets measured gets done. It is imperative that you carry our reviews of performance against agreed objectives every quarter with each employee. Pay and benefits need to be driven by performance and subpar performance needs to be felt in each employee’s pocket. Similarly, excellent performance must be adequately rewarded. If a can‐do attitude is not yet a part of your company’s culture, it will quickly become so if you follow these simple steps. You may not be able to change the culture and work ethic of suppliers of goods and services into your business but you do have the power to vote with your feet. Never accept mediocrity as the norm.
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BIO Resource Box Niall Strickland is an MBA with more than 20 years of business coaching and management consulting experience working with CEO’s in small and medium businesses. He can provide additional information about common business issues and how to resolve them at www.NiallStrickland.com. This article has also been published on www.EzineArticles.com
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