This week, I found myself asking a client a question that stopped both of us in our tracks.
“If this person had joined your business six months ago... and was still behaving like this today... would you keep them?”
The answer came back almost instantly.
“No”
And yet, they were still there.
Not because they were a bad person.
Not because they weren’t trying.
Simply because they’d been with the business a long time.
There’s history.
Loyalty.
A genuine desire to see them succeed.
I see this far more often than people realise.
As businesses grow, we become emotionally invested in the people who helped us build them. That’s natural. In many ways, it’s one of the best qualities a leader can have.
But it can also become one of the biggest barriers to growth.
Because somewhere along the line, effort starts replacing outcomes.
We begin rewarding intent rather than performance.
And before we know it, we’ve quietly lowered the standard.
The irony is that your highest performers notice it long before you do.
They see deadlines being missed.
They see accountability becoming optional.
They see someone continually falling short... and nothing really changing.
And they don’t just form an opinion about that individual.
They form an opinion about your leadership.
That’s why I often say:
‘The standard you walk past is the standard you set.’
The minimum standards you tolerate become your standards.
The danger isn't low performers - it's that you've already signalled to everyone else what's acceptable.
Not the values on your website.
Not the behaviours you celebrate at the All Staff meeting.
The real standard is whatever you’re prepared to tolerate on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.
Because every decision you don’t make is still a decision.
One of the founders I was working with made an observation that I thought was incredibly important.
He said, “What we actually need are clear service standards”
Exactly.
When people know what “good” looks like, performance stops becoming personal.
It becomes measurable.
Objective.
Fair.
Instead of saying, “I don’t think you’re performing well” the conversation becomes, “These are the standards we agreed. This is where we are today. Let’s work out how we help you close the gap”
That’s a very different conversation.
It’s kinder.
It’s clearer.
And ironically, it’s much easier for everyone involved.
This isn’t about expecting perfection.
It’s about creating an environment where people know what’s expected of them and are genuinely supported to achieve it.
Everyone deserves that.
But there’s another side to leadership that we don’t talk about enough.
There comes a point where trying hard is no longer enough.
You can score ten out of ten for effort...
...and still not be the right person for the role.
That’s uncomfortable to say.
It’s even more uncomfortable to act on.
But every seat occupied by someone who can’t consistently perform at the level your business now requires is a seat that someone else can’t step into.
Someone who could help your business move forward.
Someone who could lift the people around them.
So perhaps the question isn’t:
“Are they trying hard enough?”
Perhaps it’s this:
Have we been clear enough about what good looks like... and if we have, are we prepared to uphold that standard?
Because culture isn’t built by your best people.
It’s built by what everybody else sees you accept.
And that is one of the hardest lessons every scaling business eventually has to learn.
If that resonates with you, or you’ve found yourself wrestling with a similar leadership decision, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
And if you’d value an outside perspective on your own business, you’re always welcome to book a free Growth Strategy Session below 👇
Sometimes one good conversation is all it takes to bring clarity to a decision you’ve been carrying around for far too long.
PS: If this resonated, you'll enjoy this short TEDx talk from Jocko Willink. It's a powerful reminder that great leadership starts with taking ownership of the environment your team works in. Watch it here 👉 "Extreme Ownership" by Jocko Willink
