Tips & Traits Of Peak Performers

LEADERS EARN RESPECT...BEFORE APPROVAL OR FRIENDSHIP!

TIP...BUILD TRUST

     Be accountable...Take responsibility

     Create an open, positive, risk taking environment

     Focus on solutions, not fault finding and assigning blame

     See unwanted results as an opportunity to improve individuals and the organization

     Don't be defensive...

     You don't have to have all the answers...Just help people find them

TIP...SET & HOLD HIGH STANDARDS

     Raise the bar...The lowest form of behavior you allow is who you are as a leader

     Blur the lines between job assignments...The mission is everyone's job

     Don't allow average behavior

     Assign and monitor all work to teach and coach using specifics

     Hold people accountable

TRAIT...CARE MORE ABOUT PEOPLE THAN RESULTS

     Manage people's attitudes before they become actions and poor results

     Don't allow people to accept average behavior

     Care enough to challenge people to get them to do what they don't want to do

     Don't overreact...Make people more important than results and the results will improve

     Teach, coach and mentor to help people grow

TRAIT...SUPPORT & VALIDATE PEOPLE

     Make taking time for people a priority

     Be respectful...Pay attention and listen

     Ask people's opinions...Pay attention and listen

     Reward extra effort...Pay attention

     Make people feel important...Pay attention

     Did I mention...Pay attention

TRAIT...EMBRACE CHANGE, MAKE IT A RITUAL

     Be a change advocate...Lead the change

     Encourage change...Ask people how they and the organization can improve

     Question everything...Never except or settle for the status quo

     Help people change to improve...When they don't, change your people

Be mindful that people will treat each other and your customers the way you treat them!

The Road Ahead...New Leadership Required

We are headed for more trouble as many of you are witnessing and sharing with me daily. The majority of stories shared with me include faltering hopes, negative attitudes and a sense of doom from those on the front lines of business...salespeople. Frustration is mounting among many salespeople that their daily reality and their companies leadership approach aren't aligned. In fact, many salespeople feel their companies leadership is detached from their reality.

We are, and have been, in a transition to a 'new age of business' for many years. As a point of reference, the 'digital age' wasn't a transition to a new economy or age of business, it wasn't an age at all. It was the addition of advancing technology to the industrial age. The transition we are in now is a transition as significant as the one from the agricultural age to the industrial age and includes a shift to a 'new economy'. We have been experiencing the pain of this transition since 2008 because it was seen as part of the old cyclical economy instead of a major transition or shift.  

Leaders responded with old solutions to past cyclical downturns, instead of reacting to the transition with new ideas, thinking and actions.

Many business leaders are still suffering from 'economic normalcy bias'...They believe because it's never happened to them before it won't happen now. Their past experience and comfort clouds their vision. What they're experiencing is very much like the people who believed the earth is flat...Their belief didn't make it true, it only held them back and robbed them from exploring what was possible. It took new thinkers with a vision of a new world and the courage to fail, to explore the truth and succeed...Just as it will today. Mainstream economists are starting to acknowledge that we're not in a downturn but have entered a 'new economy'.

Too many leaders and almost all followers are waiting for and banking on a recovery that isn't coming...I am not sharing this with you as bad news, it isn't doom and gloom. In fact, this transition is good news! 

Great news, in fact, for those with clear vision, courage and the right attitudes to take advantage of the opportunities a 'new age of business' presents. The leaders in this 'new age of business' will experience great new successes just as those in the past did.

Struggling with this transition shouldn't come as a surprise though. It happened before. It's hard to be a successful leader from one age to the next because what made you a success in one doesn't assure your success in the next.

Contrary to most, I don't believe change is painful...I believe it's the resistance to change that causes the pain. The evidence of this is seen when we embrace change and become reenergized with new vision for the future or resist change and suffer in the fight to maintain our comfort with our status quo and past successes.

The old cyclical economy is broken and there is no recovery coming but there are many opportunities for new leadership to succeed today and in the coming years .

What we are experiencing is different, unique in fact. Changes in demographics, business and work ethics, consumer attitudes, economic debt, technology and globalization have all come together to drive this transition. There will be many winners in the 'new age of business'. The question is will you be one or will you get caught holding on until it's too late?

For those leaders holding on to the old economic model, the temporary short-term successes experienced, read or heard about, just help them hold on to the status quo a little longer and postpone their successful transition. 

For those with vision, who trust their instincts and truly believe people are a businesses greatest asset, new achievements and success are just around the corner.

Change, real change, is coming and it's bringing with it new amazing opportunities for those with the courage to truly put people first, hold them to a higher standard, embrace new thinking and take bold new actions. These people will become the leaders in this 'new age of business' and begin to writing the next chapter in history.

Welcome to the 'people first age of business'.

By Mike Moore

Leadership... The Power Of Caring

After a leader decides their job is to serve people, the greatest power they possess is caring for the people they serve. Make no  mistake. Caring is a choice leaders have to make. They may not always like all the people they serve but they have to choose to care about them or they are not a leader, just a manager doomed to produce average results.

No one will trust or follow someone they think cares more about money, things or results than they do about them. People accept direction, guidance and teaching from a person they believe cares about them, wants the best for them and is willing to hold them accountable to a higher standard than they hold for themselves. They develop loyalty and a willingness to follow someone who demonstrates their concern for them and wants what's best for them. They instinctively know that someone who cares about them believes in them.

Leaders also understand that people don't always like their leader when they are holding them accountable. In fact, I believe the phrase micro-mangement was created by followers to try and get leaders to stop paying attention to what they were doing, leave them alone and let them be average.

Leaders don't accept average behavior or people who accept being average. They understand that not everyone wants to be exceptional...If you are in a leadership position and you believe your responsibility is to help everyone become exceptional, then you're fighting a losing battle. Not all people want to be exceptional and you don't need them to be for your organization, company or team to be extraordinary.

You only need your people to be above average by executing your plan with enthusiasm, commitment and concern for each other, to create an extraordinary company or organization. When this happens, and only when this happens, do they become a true team. Until then, they're a group of individuals working for you and it's the leaders job to serve them until they become a team.

When you care about people you are committed to making them the best they are willing to be. This gives you the courage to challenge them, hold them accountable and accept that they will not always like you but they will respect you and eventually call you a mentor.

In this position you will be teaching continually. That's what leaders do. They are tireless teachers committed to helping the people they serve to learn, grow and improve. To do this, leaders have to develop the habit or ritual of continual learning.

When the choice to care is made, leaders stop wanting all their people to think alike, or think like them. They become less defensive of their position, open up and begin to embrace the differences, strengths and weaknesses of the people they serve. They are better able to evaluate people's talents, skills and self-discipline so they can put them together to produce the best results.

After all, no winning organization is ever made up of all 'milk drinkers', people who all think and act the same. It takes a diverse group of people with different skills to win and it takes a leader who cares about them to bring them together. The best way to make this happen, is to choose to care more about the  people you serve rather than your plans or results. When you do, they will follow you and become a team who cares about each other and your plans.

They will be a team on a mission with a 'people first' leader who cares about and serves them. This is the best way to get a group of mostly average people to rise above mediocrity and produce extraordinary results.

By Mike Moore

No One Sets Out To Be Average

How can you prepare to be more cheerful, happy and prepare to handle the hassles of a normal day? How can you assure yourself of not being average? 

When people wake up in the morning they have an expectation or intention for their day. It's a choice that separates average for extraordinary. What are your intentions or expectations for the day ahead?  I've asked individuals and groups, large and small, this question over the past two decades and the overwhelming number one answer is, “I want to have a good day”.  When I ask people to define a good day, the definition is, “A day with little to no problems or hassles”.   When I ask them how many days a year this intention or expectation is met, they usually answer, “None”.  Yet, they wake up each day and repeat this behavior without changing their expectation or intention. The vast majority of people start each day with an unrealistic expectation or intention, that when not fulfilled, makes them frustrated, upset and unhappy. When we set expectations that aren't met, we are usually disappointed.

Managing your own intentions and expectations drives your daily emotions and state-of-mind. Average people focus on their circumstances and not their solutions. This makes their circumstances the driver of their emotions. This will make their emotions or state-of-mind a roller coaster ride of peaks and valleys that sabotage their ability to create the results or life they want. 

First, let’s look at why people set an intention or expectation of no problems, no hassles and no worries, and defined this as a good day.  When we wake up each day we have a choice to make, “Better or Comfortable”.  Our human nature seeks comfort before improvement and is satisfied to be comfortable. We don't want to be average but have to choose to do things we don't want to do if we want to be above average. We don’t wake up each day driven to be better human beings or to make things in our life better.  So, the challenge is how to overcome our human nature and stop sabotaging our own lives. 

When we define a good day as no problems, no hassles and no adversity and then meet the first problem of the day, how do we react? If you said, “Frustrated” you'd be right.  Your expectation or intention has set you up to be frustrated. Not the best state-of–mind to handle life or work problems. This pattern of behavior begins a downward spiral of poor emotions. These emotions make you less capable of handling the next problem. Maintaining this emotional cycle may even make you avoid, withdraw or quit trying to overcome the obstacles in your day. The end result of this is average, at best.

How can you change your expectations or intentions to change your results? Remember, "Everyday the choices you make, makes you".  When you start your day, change your expectation or intention by changing your definition of a good day.  Let’s revisit the idea or definition of a good day. If your choice is comfort you define it as “no problems”. Think about when you feel best about yourself. Your self-worth or self-esteem is best when you overcome adversity, solve problems and help others.  So to change your results, to develop the emotional state-of-mind to make a difference in your life, you need a new definition of a good day.

This new definition can help you make a better first choice as you wake up each day. Define a good day as one where you find, meet and overcome problems and adversity. Yes, you need to wake each day looking for problems.  Problems to solve that will help people.  Just a note...You shouldn't be looking to make problems...that won't make for a better life. You need to look for and find existing problems, and then help solve them.  If you are part of a problem, stop complaining and start finding solutions. This definition will help you to stop avoiding conflict and endure difficulties with the proper emotional state-of-mind.  Armed with this new definition, when you find problems, you will be eager to meet them head-on and won't become frustrated.  You'll become an overcomer and not a victim of your circumstances.

Adversity and problems are the obstacles that stand between where you are and the results or life you want.  The first step to overcoming adversity and problems is to develop an attitude or emotional state-of-mind that can overcome the obstacles. Our attitudes are most affected by our intentions and expectations that create our daily choices and allow us to choose to be better rather than comfortable. This thinking will even start to help you embrace change and stop fighting to hold on to a status quo that may be keeping you average as well. 

Redefine a good day, expect problems and hassles. Become an overcomer, a solution finder, and then you'll begin to experience a, 'Good Day'...everyday. This cycle of behavior will make your life is a journey of solutions that serve others and rewards you with the results and life you want.

A final thought for leaders...You are responsible to teach, prepare and help people set expectations that will allow them to live and work towards a better life. Helping people understand how their expectations and intentions are empowering them or sabotaging them is a good first step.

Change your expectations to prepare for the hassles of life to increase your happiness and improve your results. Expect more of yourself and less of others...These is one of the top traits of leaders and peak performers.

By Mike Moore

Peak Performance...On Demand

When your opportunity to perform presents itself, will you be nervous and falter, or eager, excited and ready to perform to your best? Will you take full advantage of the opportunity? Peak performers are always ready when their opportunity comes. Champions rise to the occasion and their best comes out when it is needed. How does this happen? Are some people just luckier than others?

The answer is simple...I didn't say easy, just simple. Peak performers, champions and those that sustain peak performance and enter the Hall Of Fame in any industry, have no secret formula. They didn't find a short cut to success. It doesn't exist.

They do possess a special ingredient...One that average performers lack. They develop and depend on self-discipline, they know it's what separates average performers from peak performers. Self-discipline...The will to prepare, the ability to do the work to be at their best when their best is needed. You can become a peak performer, a person who finds and stays in the 'zone' but you'll have to do the little things to be prepared.

You have to put in the time and do the work to know that you're ready. Preparing to perform requires your commitment to do the things that most people avoid. Peak performers invest in themselves by doing the things they don't want to do, that produce the results they want. This is the difference between average and excellent, winning and losing or peak performance and 'choking' when your opportunities present themselves. In addition, opportunities come more often to those who are prepared than to those who are waiting for them to happen. So, self-discipline leads to more opportunities and peak performance.

Peak performance requires preparation spiritually, mentally and physically and this requires self-discipline and the understanding that these stay in that order of priority. Preparing to perform, being healthy and whole, demands all three in the proper order. Until you learn this, and practice the self-discipline to prepare, you will not become a peak performer. When you do, you'll reach new heights and set new standards for yourself.

Self-discipline is the first requirement if you are to be prepared. It is the key step to developing your attitudes and skills. It is the driving force to taking action when others become paralyzed or 'choke'. Self-discipline leads to self-control which creates self-confidence and produces the self-realization of your peak performance. It is the human power that allows us to overcome the odds, perform the incredible and accomplish the amazing.

Because peak performers are prepared to perform they have an unwavering belief they were meant for the key moments in their lives. They have the confidence and faith to take the risk to fail because they know they can perform. In fact, they believe it's their purpose and their mission to be their best when their best is needed. This makes them eager, excited and ready when their time comes. They enter their peak performance zone easily and execute what they believe they were meant to do. They perform to their peak on demand!

Develop your self-discipline, prepare yourself spiritually, mentally and physically and become a peak performer!

Leaders Set, Raise & Maintain Standards

Leaders set, raise and maintain standards. Let's be clear what that means. It's not the averages...It's not your best...Standards are the lowest form of behavior you will accept.

At the end of the day the lowest form of behavior you accept, is who they are as a leader. Think about that for a minute and let it sink in...Re-read it!

Once you accept that who you are is attached to the lowest form of behavior you accept, once it truly sinks in, it should motivate you to deal with that person or persons who has been lagging behind or causing you to be frustrated. It should also make you look at the bottom and work to raise the standards not just celebrate the top and hope that the bottom 'Gets It'. This understanding will motivate you to stop sending subtle messages and start communicating openly, honestly and directly. Making direct communication your strength is a key component to becoming a 'people first' leader. This will help make the standards clear to those who have to perform to meet them.

Focusing on setting and raising standards motivates leaders to spend their time working on their lowest performers . This means they have to invest their time in the people who they'll least want to spend it with. Until you decide your job as a leader is to improve the lowest performers you'll avoid them and spend too much time with the top performers. That's often what managers do, but leaders know and understand it's the bottom performers that drag the organization down so they invest their time in them.

Leaders are always teaching people to do what they don't want to do, to get what they want and it starts with you...If you do what you don't want to do, what you'd put at the bottom of your 'To Do List' first, then you'll get what you really want...Higher standards and improved performance.

Celebrate success and enjoy your top performers, but invest in those that can improve the most.

Raising the standard will raise the performance of your middle performers because they don't want to be too close to the bottom. This in turn will drive the top performers as they will rise to the occasion and maintain their position at the top while setting new highs.

Setting and raising standards increases everyone's pride in their position and organization. Most people may not be motivated to be extraordinary, but no one wants to be average...Maintaining high standards will improve everyone self-image, personal pride in their organization and motivation to not accept average behavior.

Setting and raising standards is where the hard edge of leadership comes in. No compromise is acceptable or it isn't a standard, just a suggestion.

Standards are met or there are consequences...The first consequence is more attention, coaching and teaching. The last consequence is replacing people to maintain the standard. Invest your time in the bottom performers , raise the standards, help people change to meet them...or change your people.

Lead By Example

Help people prepare, learn and grow so they'll recognize, seize and fulfill the opportunities available to them.

This doesn't always mean you'll be liked or popular with those you are responsible to lead. Most people don't like to prepare, learn or grow. Most people just want to be comfortable, it's part of all our human nature, and when leaders challenge, push and stretch people they usually put up some resistance.

It's a leaders responsibility to teach, motivate and inspire people to overcome their human nature, natural tendencies, and experience the best of themselves. When people don't overcome their human nature they become average , and average has to be unacceptable for a leader.

As a leader, your credibility and influence will come from being a person who does this themselves...Your influence will increase when you display the ability to discipline yourself to prepare, learn and grow...To overcome your human nature.

Leading by example isn't the willingness to do what you ask others to do, it's the willingness to do be you should be, while helping others become who they should be. It's about finding and fulfilling your purpose and helping others find and fulfill theirs.

By Mike Moore