“Leaders Set High Standards. Refuse To Tolerate Mediocrity Or Poor Performance” – Brian Tracy
There is one quality that many high achievers share that would surprise you:
They’re lazy.
Many people who are in amazing shape, run gigantic businesses, make a large impact in society, or all of the above, very often want to sleep in, binge Netflix, or just order a pizza.
After all, who wouldn’t? We are all human, and we all crave downtime and taking a break now and then. There is certainly nothing wrong with balance, but leaders and high achievers know there is a time and place for everything.
So if business owners and leaders want to do these things, what stops them from sleeping all day and putting their goals on the back burner?
In a word: Standards.
The standards they set for themselves and those around them are designed to elevate both the person and the work in order to achieve a desired outcome. Standards are tied to identity and purpose (hint: so is everything else) so they are maintained and enforced like second nature.
When you set and maintain a standard for yourself, every time you fall below that standard you will feel stress and tension. If your standard is that you must complete your workout five days a week, you will feel conflicted if you skip it.
If your standard is a certain level of quality at work, and you create something inferior, you will feel similarly conflicted.
We meet the standards we set for ourselves. Though many times we don’t like to admit this because doing so forces us to take inventory of those standards. If we are not performing at the level we’d like, admitting to having standards that are too low will force us to be held personally accountable.
Guess what: That’s a good thing.
We must accept accountability in order to understand where we can begin improving. The odds are if you feel lacking in certain areas it’s because you’ve given yourself a pass on your standards. Perhaps mediocre or poor performance has been accepted just because you needed to meet a deadline or get something done. But, stamping your name on work you’re not proud of is reflective of the standards you’ve set (or haven’t set) for yourself. It’s not about what others expect from you, it’s about what you demand from you.
Leaders are leaders because of the standards they hold. Not just for themselves, but for others. Other people will be inspired by you setting an example and they’ll be driven to match your efforts. Your unwillingness to accept mediocrity from yourself will signal to others that it’s not acceptable from them, either. The results that come from collectively raised standards will be undeniable and addictive.
The next time you’re not happy with a result you’ve achieved, ask yourself what standard you had set for the work that led to the result. Ten times out of ten, they will be in perfect alignment.
For better results, set better standards.
Bryte Payment Solutions operates in a way where we set standards for ourselves as a company, and as coworkers. We have high standards for customer service, leadership, and product knowledge. This has turned what many would see as an average client-business relationship into a lasting partnership that benefits all parties.
Payment processing services from Bryte differ from large aggregators in the fact that we treat each client like people, and not just a number. Not only do we save them money on processing fees, but we have the customer service and knowledge to let our merchants operate smoothly so they can focus more on their business.
To learn more, visit bryteps.com or call us at 1 (800) 605-4881
