In 20+ years of working with entrepreneurs and business leaders on their Behavioral Performance, shouldering all of the pressure and stress involved in running a business is one of the most common “high performer” behaviors that inevitably starts to cost more than payoff.
It’s easy to get frustrated with a situation, especially one that pops up again and again, and you decide to push it aside. You’re not sure what to do, so you stop working on it. If you were truly aware of the costs that you and the business were paying, you’d change your mindset.
Language is instrumental in how we are performing interpersonally as well as intrapersonally. It's not just the language that we're using with others. Most importantly, it's the language we're using with ourselves.
High performers usually have developed a high level of emotional endurance to make it through difficult situations. In this video, Cathy breaks down the real costs of this and where people can lean on this too much.
The real costs of not requiring “soft skills”
Fast answers may bite you in the rear end! We’ve been taught since we were young to have the answer. A lot of people have created a career based on having answers, and they usually are rewarded for having those answers quickly.
When a team member approaches and shares a tough situation, most leaders will start to go into problem solving mode. If you’re in this situation, you probably have lots of ideas and solutions swirling through your head. You have lots of experience and want to know what's going on. So you start furiously beating the Question Pinata…
Tired of signing yourself up for individual heroic efforts? As a leader it’s incredibly easy to say “I’ll just do it” when there is a tough problem to solve, and there is a lot on the plate for your team members.
How often are you giving the answer to others? Leaders usually have deep technical knowledge and skill in their area, which is great until that slows down their total performance.
