The Two Bars: Upholding Standards
The conversation of upholding standards is ongoing. Leadership experts across the board demand standards be upheld, as they should. Companies spend millions of dollars on quality control experts for the products they produce - why? The general quality of the products they produce is their standard. The same is true of leadership and teamwork. Simply put, “standards” are the acceptable levels of performance or production within a sphere. Standards apply to any aspect of teamwork: performance, results, engagement, or attitude.
First, let’s clarify the difference between setting and upholding a standard. Setting the standard is the public declaration of a standard- what you say your behavioral expectations are. The Bars are set by your vision. Your vision for the performance and attitude of your team is what you talk about and the agenda you push. Everything starts here. If you want a standard to be set you it has to be presented frequently to the team as the goal and expectation. You must be vocal and creative about the vision. You must connect your vision to your people— How does your set standard of behavior benefit your team and the individuals on the team?
Second, standards are not upheld by words. Standards are upheld by actions - visible, consistent, tangible actions that people take. Upholding the standard is a critical component of leadership and culture-building. This article is designed equip you with tools to help you uphold a standard within your team/sphere. I see the conversation on standards within the framework of two bars positioned one above the other - a “High Bar” and a “Low Bar.” The High Bar is the standard of excellence within your team. The Low Bar is the lowest standard which is tolerated within your team.
The High Bar:
The High Bar is where you want your team to be. The closer each individual on the team is to the High Bar, the happier you are as a leader because your team’s culture and production are where you want them to be. The High Bar defines the standard to which people must reach to catch your eye. Here is how the High Bar works.
The High Bar is upheld by your highest performers. The standard to which your highest performers achieve is the standard your team will reach for, regardless of what you have said. The lower performers will look to those higher performers to determine what high achievement looks like. If your highest performers aren’t achieving the set standard, it is your job to guide them there. It may or may not be a tough job, depending on your team, but that is your assignment as a leader. Your job is to get your people as close to the High Bar as possible. Achieve this, and the overall performance of the entire team will follow.
Publicly recognize those who uphold the High Bar. When the set standard is upheld, this should be recognized. Thank the individual and, where appropriate, share with the team. This is not propaganda, this is you recognizing the contributions your team members are making to achieve the vision. People are inspired by recognition. Reward your high performers where possible to reinforce the value of reaching the High Bar. The team will not strive for the High Bar unless your support as a leader is displayed behind the achievement of your High Performers.
The Low Bar:
The Low Bar is the lowest level achievable for an individual contributor to keep their place within the team. In other words, nobody below this standard works in your team. Whether it be their low performance, their negative attitude or a slipping level of engagement, these individuals do not fit the culture of your team. Here’s how the Low Bar works:
The Low Bar is set by the level of accountability you provide. If you have leaders beneath you, do you support them as they provide accountability to team members? If it’s your responsibility to have accountability conversations, do you prioritize them? Or do you shy away from the confrontation?
The Low Bar is upheld by the lowest overall performer on your team. This is the lowest performer you, as the leader, tolerate on your team or in your sphere. Every leader should have standards which eliminate individuals from their team. These are clear breaches in integrity or character. There may also be performance-based Low Bar aspects which each leader needs to determine for themselves. Just be aware the bottom line is this: the lower the Low Bar, the lower the performance of your team. Zero exceptions.
Between the Bars - The Challenge:
The vast majority of team members are somewhere in between the High and Low Bars. The Challenge of the two Bars is to minimize the space between both Bars by raising the Low Bar. How do we raise the Low Bar and shrink that middle zone?
Approach the challenge with empathy for your people. Stay engaged with your people and understand where they are. Empathy is the biggest protector against knee-jerk reactions when dealing with people. Some people will move up and down inside this zone simply because people are not static. This middle zone exists because people are people and people need space and time to grow and develop. People change. Their life situations change and people react to the environments around them in differing ways. Don’t eliminate people between the Bars because they aren’t the top performer.
Accountability is essential in leadership. Accountability is recognizing where responsibilities lie and ensuring that those responsible are above the Low Bar. Accountability can feel like the opposite of empathy, but it is not. There are plenty of dichotomies in leadership and balancing empathy and accountability can be very difficult, particularly for new leaders.
There are ways to blend empathy and accountability. Are you working with and developing those close to the Low Bar? Have you provided intentional, specific feedback designed to move them toward the Top Bar? If not, you are failing them. Develop an action plan to get them where they need to go with clear goals and a timeline. Make it realistic, and watch them thrive.
Engagement, in my experience, is the ultimate determiner of potential for performance. How engaged are your people? Engagement is directly tied to the vision of your team or sphere and how well you connect your people to that vision. If people have caught the vision and are intentionally investing, they will not be near the Low Bar. Your job is to inspire them to reach for the Top Bar so if someone isn’t where they need to be look for ways to increase their levels of engagement. If they don’t respond, its possible your vision is not for them.
Setting and upholding team standards is critical function of leadership. Support and recognize your high performers as they uphold the High Bar. Develop and engage your low performers to shrink the middle zone. Understand that each person is on a developmental journey, but also remember that not everyone will share your vision or the passion which you feel for that vision. Embrace the challenge. The culture and performance of your team depend on your ability to treat others with empathy, provide accountability, and boost engagement with individual contributors.
Cover Image: <a href="https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos/aged">Aged Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>
