Honesty - the first step to improving business performance
The English language has some strange and confusing turns of phrase.
Let’s be honest with ourselves!
To be honest...
In all honesty...
If I’m completely honest...
When would you purposely not be honest with someone? Especially in business. Why would we ever be dishonest with ourselves or attempt to cover up the truth? I don’t get it!
It seems that sometimes leaders don’t tell the truth because they don’t like the story it tells. They don’t look at the data that shows the real picture, the current results, and they turn a blind eye because they don’t want to face up to the truth.
It’s like when you know your bank balance is not so healthy. You don’t check your account because doing so will give you a harsh reality check.
I had a similar reality check with my health a few years back. I’d gained weight from indulging in a few too many calorific (but tasty) treats. Yet I’d find myself saying, ‘I’ll just have this one and start my diet on Monday!’
It was only when I developed a mindset of wanting to take control that I began to take steps towards living a healthy lifestyle. I starting by asking ‘What is my current weight and where do I want to get to?’
I didn’t trust myself to be disciplined enough to maintain a good diet and regular exercise regime, so I enrolled in a weight loss group. Having to be weighed by a third party each week forced me to be honest with myself and it helped having someone holding me accountable for my actions. I lost the weight and began living a more healthy lifestyle - achieving my personal goal was the BEST feeling!
Sometimes we’re not honest with ourselves because we know deep down that to get the results we want it’s going to take time and discipline to make it happen. The word discipline has painful connotations - discipline hurts! Resisting the temptation of all that super tasty food and drink and getting up early to fit exercise into my day wasn’t easy, but I had the right mindset and I did it.
The next big challenge: Maintaining the results
Achieving the result you want is one thing, maintaining it is another. This is when the real discipline comes in. Yet when you get into a routine it becomes a way of life. This is true in all aspects of life.
Working with me is much more than a ‘nice’ experience
I’m not one to sing my own praises, however I know from feedback that most of my clients and colleagues say that they enjoy working with me. And I enjoy working with them.
This is all very ‘nice’; however I don’t want to be renowned for being ‘nice’. I want to be known for delivering tangible results. So I switched my focus to delivering meaningful results whilst also being great to work with.
My approach begins with looking at the client’s current business results and thinking what I can I do to positively influence them into the future. It takes time, commitment and discipline to guide and support others to take a long-term approach to doing the right thing. Just like quick-fix weight loss plans, short-term fixes never work. From my experience, quick fixes drive undesirable behaviours in leaders and have a negative impact on team morale, loyalty, and ultimately long-term business results.
Learning and development is essential, not a ‘nice-to-do’
Some of my greatest results have come from working with clients who are clear on the results that want to positively impact. These organisations ask two key questions:
What skills, knowledge or behaviours do we want to see in our team to achieve the required results?
What performance indicators do we need to measure to track performance?
I play a part in bringing the team together and guiding them in the desired direction through the training programmes I develop and deliver.
The one characteristic of organisations that go on to achieve results is they have leaders who are disciplined and support the training delivered. They embrace their role of embedding the lessons learned, reward the desired behaviours and take a regular and honest look at the results/measurements.
It’s these organisations that succeed in driving a sustained, considered and confident team culture, with strong results. They celebrate success and are rewarded with positive colleague engagement. Creating a rhythm of measuring and taking corrective action to constantly upgrade your service delivery becomes a way of life that drives amazing results.
I now have the results to prove that it’s more than ‘nice’ working with me in my NPS scores and the tangible results I’ve achieved with clients. Take a look at our case studies to see some of them.
This is the approach we use to set people up for success in Zest for Life’s Leadership and Service programmes. We take an honest, realistic look at the current results and implement simple measurements that your team can influence each day. All they need to achieve amazing results is a little support and guidance, and the focus and discipline to sustain the change.
Remember the diet?
The biggest step you can take towards improving business performance is being honest with yourself. When you are ready and really want to deliver amazing results, book a discovery call and we’ll help you and your team make that forever change.