Your team is split into two distinct groups.
The first group consists of those team members who merely tolerate you and are working in spite of your presence in the company. They perform according to their job descriptions and not an inch beyond that.
The second group consists of those who are there for you, because of you, and would willingly go the extra mile without being asked.
GOOD leaders have a heightened awareness of who’s who & group (at least in their minds) people accordingly.
The challenge for GREAT leaders is not just their ability to strategically navigate through this diversity of personalities & agendas, but for these special leaders, the real measure of success is how many people from group 1 they can convert to group 2.
This is not easy and takes time and unwavering resilience.
“Troy, can’t you have a high performing organization with both groups?”
No. The best teams are completely aligned and move cohesively towards a singular goal. There is no room for rogue cliques who undermine everything that the team is working towards. Not anymore.
“Troy, shouldn’t we be tolerant and give grace to those who need it?”
Partially. Rehabilitation is available for those who need and WANT it. The key for great leaders is their ability to allow people to unconsciously (unknowingly) go through this transformation process.
You may never reach a 100% conversion rate during your tenure, but the goal is to shrink the number of subscribers to group 1 and increase the percentage in group 2.
“Last question, Troy. What’s the first step towards this?”
It’s not a step, but an attitude…
Vulnerability begets trust, and trust is the adhesive that insulates a great team. Embracing this is the first step (………I guess there is a first step!) The aim is GREATNESS, not an acceptance of status quo that yields mediocre results.