You will have heard me talk about the fact that systems run the business and people run the systems. If the systems are robust and the people follow the systems, it should provide you a platform to be more efficient, profitable, repeatable and deliver best in class service levels.
It starts to fall down when you have a member of the team that isn’t value aligned and their often toxic attitude starts to unpick the good work you and the rest of the team are doing.
Your business and your brand is only as good as the weakest link.
There are always red flags when you look back that a member of the team wasn’t aligned to your values. You either chose to ignore them for convenience or expedience or naively thought you could change them.
Putting up with a member of the team that isn’t value aligned for any reason will damage your reputation and your business. Fact.
Ignoring them because you are too busy to deal with it doesn’t solve the problem.
Ignoring them because they are delivering great results also doesn’t solve anything.
Ignoring them because you don’t want conflict doesn’t solve the problem.
The best way to disengage and lose the good members of your team is to continue to put up with bad ones.
If a member of the team isn’t aligned to your values and you have taken the time to articulate them, why they are important and what the consequences are for not being aligned to them, then there should be no excuses.
Challenge them on their misalignment, have them agree there’s an issue and discuss what corrective action will be taken. Support them as you feel fit.
If they cannot and do not realign (remember a leopard never changes it’s spots) you have a decision to make.
Every single client I have advised to exit somebody that we couldn’t turn around, was fearful of losing a member of the team that was contributing something.
Every client was advised that in three months time, it will be one of the best decisions they have ever made.
Every client was thankful they made the decision they did.
Values should never be negotiable if you want to retain your team and maximise your brand.
It starts with understanding what your values are and ensuring that they are cascaded through the business and used to hire and fire.
Don’t put up with second best employees unless you want second best results.
Developing a dream team is one of the essential building blocks to running a successful business. If you are working too many hours or are frustrated about any element of your team, it’s time to take action. Access our tool here to get started: tendo-uk.com/dreamteam
