John Hersey Leadership Blog

There is no room for excuses in a culture based on leadership, sadly, in ours, there is.

In our culture it is acceptable to “not have the time because I’m swamped” or to “just be too busy” to make sales calls, to face challenges directly, to be on time for appointments, to change when it is necessary, or to simply get the job done.

To make up excuses means giving up and abandoning responsibility. A company full of employees that at every level only make up excuses generates apathy, and passiveness and detachment kill leadership.

True leaders don’t tolerate excuses because these excuse no one. There is no such thing as a valid excuse for being late, for not contacting a client, or for not changing to improve a company.

However, excuses have become acceptable, are seldom questioned, and have turned into a cycle where effective feedback and leadership coaching are not welcomed.

Contagious leaders and their staff never focus on excuses; instead, they have an unobstructed vision, meaning they focus on a clear picture of the desired outcome. In their case, it is very rare that a distraction or excuse will become more important than the desired result.

But, how do they do it? Well… contagious leaders generate engaged and productive employees who in turn create involved customers.

Here we give you the 3 strategies that contagious leaders use to permanently ban the excuses cycle from their organizations or departments:

1. They commit to their company or department’s leadership goals and vision. They get passionate about them, believe in them, and visualize the result. This brings more excitement than thinking up excuses.

If an excuse clouds their vision, they acknowledge it and find the way to get rid of it.

2. They practice vibrant communication every day. Contagious leaders believe that the attitude of employees and customers is a result of communication, because when one feels involved and understands the direction the company is taking, in other words, when one writes, speaks, and lives in that direction, one makes better and more productive leadership choices.

3. They practice meaningful permission mentoring. They offer their staff thoughtful and straightforward feedback, they speak out their people’s greatness, and extend a helping hand to get people out of the excuses cycle.

Show your concern if you perceive the cycle of excuses in your organization because it is a sign of defeat, and instead… make your team remember the Nike leadership slogan: JUST DO IT! Every good leadership speaker and coach does…

Related posts:

1. Executive Leadership Coaching: Ten Steps for Creating a Culture of Contagious Leaders 1.) Vibrantly communicate to everyone that accountability and commitment are...
2. Executive Leadership Coaching: Top 10 Contagious Leadership Tasks Get your attitude right! Yes, the last couple of years...

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Customer Service, Motivation, Personal Leadership, Strengths, Success, Unforgettable Experiences.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.