If you want to improve your company’s performance, you need to improve your leadership team.

If you want to improve your leadership team, you have to improve leadership people's actions.

If you want to improve people's actions, you must first change how they think.

If you want to change how people think, you must identify – precisely – the current thinking that is flawed and in need of change. Then, you must influence people in a way that causes them to want to change. And, you must help the people make the change.

Change is either possible or impossible.

Change is either easy or difficult.

Change is either simple or complex.

Change is either quick or slow.

It depends on the extent of change and the extent of the person’s desire to make that change.

It depends on the nature of the person’s Talents and the nature of the Tasks to be changed.

It depends on the person’s comfort…changes are only constructive when people are comfortable.

It depends on many other factors. Huge amounts of time could be dedicated to listing all those factors and creating strategies and tactics to deal with each and every one of them.

However, it is best to not blow change out of proportion. And, it is best to dwell on the things that work rather than the things that are broken.

It is best to limit the scope of change to 2 variables:

1. How people are Thinking.
2. How people are Taking Action.

People on Leadership Teams need to answer 2 questions:

1. What sorts of Thinking generate high-quality performance?
2. What sorts of Actions generate high-quality performance?

Then they need to challenge themselves: am I willing to think and do those things?

This process for change is definitely possible.

This process for change can be easy, simple, & quick.

In fact, if this process is not easy, simple, & quick then you have to accept the likelihood you have the wrong people on your leadership team.

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If you want to improve your company’s performance, you need to improve your leadership team.

If you want to improve your leadership team, you have to improve leadership people's actions.

If you want to improve people's actions, you must first change how they think.

Thought Tweet #768 WARNING Canadian Baby Boomers who are still working as leaders - Choose Change over Depression.

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

1. The economic doldrums linger on.
2. The Canadian economy is screaming for change, innovation, & some spending/investment for 'growth'.
3. Canadian Baby Boomers continue to hold positions of leadership and authority.
4. Canadian Baby Boomers, not all - but far too many, continue to coast on their old ways.
5. This Is Not Sustainable.
6. Better Make Some Changes For The Better Quickly before we end up with a Depression.

Often, when people set goals then fail to achieve those goals the ‘failing’ people would rather not discuss it. Regarding personal performance at business roles, I think there is a lot of that ostrich stuff going on.

Often, in business, I have been involved with or witnessed a string of events of this nature:

1. The subordinate and the boss get together and agree upon goals – targets
2. The subordinate contributes input and accepts the goals
3. The subordinate works but fails to achieve the agreed-upon goals
4. The subordinate fails to inform the boss
5. The boss discovers the failure and discusses it with the subordinate

Then the boss either eases off:

• and the subordinate achieves acceptable performance or
• the subordinate’s failure continues and the boss ignores it or
• the subordinate’s failure continues and the boss addresses it in an escalated manner

Or, the boss commences a performance-monitoring and coaching-counselling process:

• and the subordinate achieves acceptable performance or 
• the subordinate’s failure continues and the boss ignores it or
• the subordinate’s failure continues and the boss addresses it in an escalated manner

When the boss addresses the subordinate’s failed performance in an escalated manner quite often the subordinate reacts defensively. The subordinate may make excuses in an effort to justify the failure, the subordinate may blame the boss for the failure, the subordinate may attack the boss personally, and on very rare occasions the subordinate may dig in and replace the failure with success.

Whether up-front or behind-the-scenes, when subordinates fail at their tasks and the boss addresses it in an escalating manner, ‘motivation’ can become a focal point in the boss-subordinate discussions and interactions. The subordinate often blames the boss: “You de-motivate me!”

Does any of this resonate?

What are you doing about it?