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Growth Spurt: High Standards · The Growth Project

• 0:02
  You.
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  Hey, doctor. Drew Brannon here. With the growth spurt for today, and I want to talk a little bit about the relationship that I have seen over the years that exists between
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  goals and standards. So within organizations, unfortunately, a common trend and a common occurrence that I've seen happen many times over the years is we'll see teams that have put a tremendous amount of thought into their goals.
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  They've got big goals. So they have thought about the strategy of this. They've crunched the numbers. They've
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  looked out over the horizon line and considered trends. And things are going to be taking shape in the marketplace over the course of the year that they're anticipating. And they've constructed some really well thought out goals. They're excited about this. They've got the best of intentions and they're fired up.
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  Right. So these teams are fired up about the goals that they have in place. And this really could be occurring in any industry. Doesn't matter the nature of the business, the type of business could also be occurring in the world of sports, where they're doing something very similarly and
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  creating big goals. So the goals piece has been,
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  well executed.
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  Right. So there's there's no lack of thought that's gone into it. They've checked so many boxes. It's a great beginning. It's a great start in terms of aiming high and figuring out how to go. Have a great year. Now here's the problem. Although they've got really well thought out goals and they've aimed high. They have poor standards.
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  And what do we mean when we say that? So a standard is simply the behaviors that are tolerated on your team. What is good look like on your team? What are the behaviors that are permitted and accepted amongst the team? And anytime you have a high goals, big goals, and low standards or poor standards, you have unintentionally created a recipe that is doomed to fail.
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  What does that look like? Right, so so teams that have high standards, what does that mean? It means they are sharp. They're crisp. They have accountability that exists within the team. They're on time. They deliver. They overdeliver. Right. So there's a high degree of ownership in the individual. And as a result of that, it extends throughout the team of people are really invested in what they're doing and they don't tolerate lack of effort.
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  Poor attitude. The things that commonly accompany low standards. So low standard teams have too much left up for grabs. They have too many things that are unspoken. They have leaders that typically are apprehensive or hesitant, meaning they don't demand certain behaviors from people on the team. And when your standards stay low and your goals stay high, what often happens is those goals become more and more elusive as the year goes on.
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  And although there could be periods of time or instances when you're kind of tracking and trending toward the goals, that formula doesn't bear itself out over time because it comes back to what do the standards look like on the team? Now, what are some of the common reasons why people standards are low and poor? And often it comes back to the fact that in order to have high standards on a team, you must be willing to get uncomfortable.
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  What does that mean? Well, for individuals, it means you've got to be willing to push and extend yourself outside the realm of what's familiar, what's known, what's controllable for you. You've got to push in those regards right? Whether that's effort, it's activity, whatever it might be. And then for leaders as well as you've got to be willing to get uncomfortable.
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  You've got to be willing to have those challenging conversations. You've got to be willing to take risks in some of the things you see and expect from people. And those are behaviors that people are sometimes real quick to want to say yes to. Right. It's easy as a leader to kind of hope for the best. And delay, delay, delay and kind of not have that conversation that, you know, probably needs to be had or to not hold accountable the person who you just don't want to get into it because you're concerned about how it might go or what they might say or what might transpire as a result of the conversation.
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  So the discomfort piece is a non-negotiable when it comes to creating and maintaining high standards. And I think it's vital for people in organizations of any industry, as you think about, how do we go about achieving the things we've set out to do? You got to go back to your standards. And unfortunately, I've seen too many instances where a team has big goals and low standards, and ultimately they get to the end of the year.
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  And they're just they're frustrated. They're disappointed, and everybody feels really let down.
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  Not because the goal setting process was flawed. That's they actually did really well in that regard. They lacked the standards they need to give themselves a chance to be successful. So as you get going this week and you're kind of dialing in to what you have on your, your calendar and what's ahead, really want to challenge you to give some thought to how do your standards look?
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  What are the things that are in place in your life that are powering your pursuits? Don't try to answer that question all by yourself. Have some trusted people in your life that know they can tell you the truth, and know that they can give you honest feedback, regardless of how it might feel to be receiving it. Ask them as well.
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  You need that kind of input to really put your finger on and get a pulse on the standards that exist in your life. And the same is true for teams, right? So leaders of teams get some feedback, find a way to better understand what the standards look like and invite people to tell you the truth. Again, those are conversations that sometimes can be tough to have.
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  But unless you're talking about reality in in dwelling in reality, you're wasting your time. So have a great week. Dial into those standards and hope that there will be a huge fuel source for you as you go about pursuing your goals.