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There are three monumental challenges that leaders typically face when implementing positive change. And guess what, they also impede your ability to effectively lead your team. These three dangers are in no particular order. However, they are bound to show up at some point in your journey to elevating the level of employee performance and customer service delivered within your organization from mediocre to exceptional.

Depending on the maturity of your organization, these three dangers may appear unique or one in the same. Unfortunately, if you cannot control them from the onset, your change initiative is ripe for failure.

The Three Dangers Defined

1.  COMPROMISE - often defined as a settlement of differences in which each side makes concessions; in a negative sense it also means to make a concession that is detrimental. There are many circumstances when compromise is good. However, when it comes to holding employees accountable for behaving in a manner that supports, strengthens and is complimentary of your organization’s vision, mission and values - compromise should be out of the question.

2.  LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY - accountability is the act of holding someone or something answerable; therefore, the lack thereof is self-evident. A leading indicator of mediocre service is the inability of leadership to hold themselves and their team answerable or responsible for expected and defined levels of performance.

3.  INCONSISTENCY - defined as “following no predictable pattern”; markedly lacking consistency. Allowing inconsistency creates pockets of excellence throughout an organization, which slowly and surely erodes customer satisfaction, loyalty and ultimately, profitability.

What are the Root Causes?

Before you can combat the Three Dangers, you must first identify what causes them. Compromise starts with letting obvious performance and service gaps go unmentioned because you are short staffed, too busy, hate dealing with conflict, or other internal factors. When left unchecked, compromise snowballs into a negative work environment that eventually spirals out of control.

Lack of accountability is fostered when leadership does not immediately deal with performance and customer service gaps. That’s when you see an employee doing something wrong, but you don’t react immediately to hold them answerable. So they think it is fine to react rudely or be unresponsive to a customer. Inconsistency in service delivered to the customer is the end result!  Highly effective leaders are willing to address conflicting behaviors head on, with no hesitation.

As you think through effective ways to overcome the Three Dangers within your organization or team, I challenge you to determine other dangers that may exist (like limited time, funding, staff, or training). But don’t just stop there; make time to proactively identify and implement solutions to combating the Three Dangers before it is too late.