Leadership & Influence: Raise The Standard

"Fitting in" is a big deal, and in many organizations it's seen as the way to career longevity.

That's a problem.

People are influenced by those they see as being "ahead of them." If you simply match the rest of the workforce and blend in, your influence is diminished. Eventually, you become invisible.

If you want to lead, be willing to raise your personal standards to exceed the common expectations of your organization or work group. "Raising" equates with "elevating." Once you raise the bar for yourself, you begin to view things from a heightened position that expands your perspective. When that happens, you're able to see and describe a greater vision for those around you.

What can you start doing today to raise your standards and increase your ability to lead?

_________________________________

Bonus : Check out my online colleague and consulting pro, Denise Green, as she shares an important truth about Changing How You Are, Not Who You Are.  

 

Comments

[Denise Green]

I love the idea of comparing oneself to company standards and to one's potential instead of comparing oneself to others. The latter is very popular in most organizations yet fails to inspire excellence or improve morale and results.

I'm honored to be mentioned as "Bonus"!

All my best,
Denise

[David M. Kasprzak]

Hi, Steve,

I think it's important to remember that it's just as important to "step out" as it is to "step up." Stepping outside a process and seeing a different standard can be just as much a change in perspective as stepping up to see a "better" one. Honestly, the best way to determine the better standard is to look at things from many angles and then assess which of those is the best.

[Danielle McCallum]

I completely agree that society as a whole has and will continue to be competitive in order to potentially gain leadership within their workplace. In order to stand out in the crowd, one must distinguish themselves from the norm of what is expected within each position.

If everyone were to perform at their highest capacity, I believe expectations of management and corporate leaders would increase. This would in turn increase competition among co-workers to stand out.

This relates to Thomas Hobbs and his ‘scientific analysis ‘of political philosophy. Within the book entitled Communications Ethics Literacy, Hobbs is quoted as stating , “what moves us are desires and aversions and the force behind these are self-preservation.” This is a perfect example of how corporate America has encouraged individuals to always be on their toes because somewhere someone else is doing it faster and better or is developing advances in what is already currently done.

Individuals must preserve themselves, or they will be replaced. By blending into the ‘norm,’ they are only going to hurt themselves. With more and more individuals working toward higher degrees, competition for jobs will only increase over time. I enjoyed reading your blog and look forward to future posts.

Danielle McCallum
Drury University
Graduate Student

[Cheryl White]

As I read the book Communication Ethics Literacy, I have come across your blog. I agree with your statements. Because we live in a world where the ideas of "good" are defined in a myriad of ways (Arnett et al.,2008,xi), we can be left, as a society, blowing in the wind, so to speak. "Public and private rules" (Arnett et al, 2008 xiii) are no longer in place on how to interact with one another. It is no wonder that we look to our superiors and co-workers for how to act. It is refreshing to have you remind us to set goals, be orginal. It is as if you are Bishop Bienvenu in Les Miserables, at the scene where the "sheriff" brings Valjean to him with his stolen silver. The bishop does not acuse, but shows Valjean more respect than he has ever heard. He addrsses him with Monsieur, and reminds him to take the candlesticks. In this small gesture, which was seen as huge to Valjean, he had changed the life of Valjean and the way he interacted with others. In this short blog, you remind others to use their skills of communication to be orginal, set goals, aim high. For it is during the interactions with others that we excel in business and in this world. You have reminded us to take the candlesticks!

[The Rob Moore]

You can "Show Up Step Out & Shine"!

Show Up: Be Present
Step Out: Be Unique
Shine: Be Your Best

I believe that more people need to push themselves to be better every single day. Study the top performers and model what works. Put together a personal development plan consisting of reading and listening to audio programs. Putting yourself in a position that you become so good at what you do that people can't help but watch you and even want to promote you!

[Gloria]

Like the blog, appreciate the share!

[iPhone Application Development]

Fitting in is a big deal, and in many organizations its seen as the way to career longevity. Thats a problem. People are influenced by those they see as being ahead of them

[Agile Software Developer]

This is a perfect example of how corporate America has encouraged individuals to always be on their toes because somewhere someone else is doing it faster and better or is developing advances in what is already currently done

[Rob Moore]

Come to the realization that you deserve more in your life! Commit to working on yourself and growing every single day.