I failed my team.

In 2022, I decided to create a new-generation sales team. My current team, who has been with me for over a decade, no longer had the capacity to generate new business due to the demands of their existing and growing account base. So, I hired a sales manager and, together, Account Executives for him to lead. But this is where I made a terrible mistake.

I set the standards for the manager and the team, but I neglected being the best model for those standards.

I surrendered the training, development, and accountability to a new sales manager. I wasn't showing the sales team how we act as sales professionals — I neglected a crucial part of leadership:

Showing the sales team how we behave according to our non-negotiable sales standards.

Why did I make this mistake?

Because I tried to focus on too many things at once, and it doesn't help I'm the king of ADHD. I love novelty. So, I let new and exciting things pull me away from showing the sales team, day in and day out, how we execute our standards until they were capable of exemplifying the standards themselves. That was my goal for the sales manager, for him to lead the team — coaching them on what matters the most. But I failed, as he was new to our team, and I made terrible assumptions.

We lose sight of what's important because we let less essential things distract us. 

For me, building this sales team was one of my highest priorities. However, I should have consumed every day mentoring the sales manager.

The only things that deserve your attention are the things you have deemed a priority.

Standards are a reflection of what we value.

You are the representation of the things that matter to you.

If we want to upgrade our life, business, or career, we must focus on setting and upholding the standards that matter most to us.

When we put other things ahead of what we know is most important, we're making a vote with our time. We're saying, "X is more important than Y." That's all time is — a choice of activities in the present moment that accumulate and compound over a lifetime.

If you want the compounding to be powerful, you'll prioritize the execution of your standards above all else.

Take a look in the mirror right now.

I'll wait...

...what did you see?

You likely saw some form of your physical self, but what everyone else sees is a form of your identity. You are the accumulation of your daily habits, behaviors, and words, representing what's most important to you.

Your standards are you — whether "you" is a company or a person.

If you want to upgrade your life, business, or career, you'll learn to focus on setting and upholding the standards that matter the most.

The 5-Step Standards System

Step 1: Set the standards.

If people don't know what's important, they will make their own standards.

As a leader, you must set the standards early, so people know how to act. When things are unclear, then so is the team. If something is essential, it needs to be written in stone like the ten commandments — they need to become the law.

When you're becoming clear on how to behave, these are the two best places to start:

1/ The company's single biggest objective. 

The big objective is the strategy of a company.

It's a core statement that says this is the most critical thing and impacts everything we do as a team. It's the North Star for everything you do.

Here are a few examples:

"We make it ridiculously easy to do business with us."

"I am a devoted husband and father, and my #1 priority is always supporting and being present with my family."

"We have the most effective sales team in the industry, which creates value in every conversation."

2/ Core values.

Every company and individual must have a set of core values that guides their decisions.

But humans are hierarchal creatures, so values get distorted when there's no hierarchy. When all values are created equal, "then the one that wins out—especially at a time of crisis—is the one that is most mimetic," writes Luke Burgis.

You must name your values and rank them based on importance.

"When all values are the same, nothing is being valued at all. It's like highlighting every single word in a book."

3/ Strategy documents and standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The core objective is a higher-level lens of how people make decisions:

"If we do this, will it help us achieve our core objective of making it ridiculously easy to do business with us?"

Strategy documents and SOPs are how we break this down even further. For example, a sales playbook outlines how the team functions, what's important, and how people execute.

Review these core documents to see what standards are the most important.

Here's a snippet of a few of my sales team standards (we have over 25 non-negotiable standards):

Step 2: Be the standards.

You are the influencer of the standards you set.

If you say respecting people's time is important, but you show up late, what standards are you setting? You demonstrate the standards through your actions.

And people pay the closest attention in highly stressful and emotional situations.

How you and your leaders act in these situations will set the standards for how others will act in similar situations. Do they yell and blame others? Or are they calm and supportive?

The actions of leaders reinforce behaviors for the rest of the team.

It's all about self-discipline:

We must be strict with embodying the high standards we set for ourselves, even when it's difficult. Being the model for standards means you're constantly pushing yourself to improve. In the process, you're setting an example of how others should act.

Remember, although you hope your actions are contagious, don't expect everyone to be like you.

Many standards are personal, like "being the model of vitality." Some people don't want to maximize their health. Still, regardless of whether you infect others with your positive standards or not, you stay focused on being the standard.

People are always watching your behavior.

One of Abraham Lincoln's secretaries once marveled at his ability never to ask for "perfection of anyone, he did not even insist, for others, upon the high standards he set for himself."

If you set the standard, you must be the standard.

Step 3: Delegate the standards.

At some point, to have a far more significant impact on creating great models for the standards you have set, you need to delegate core leadership responsibilities to someone else.

For example, if you're setting the benchmark for your sales team to create a wow experience and to be hyper-responsive, then at some point, your sales manager must be the model for those standards. However, you're never given a break; you still need to uphold the standards and be a model for your leaders. You then become the model for those leaders.

There's a key lesson here that I've learned the hard way: 

Any time you have someone leading a team, whether 1 or 1,000, you must ensure they embody the standards before you delegate leadership responsibilities to them.

That's how things get messed up.

When people are allowed to bring their own standards, they might infect the team with the wrong values and objectives. You don't need new standards — you need your team to act by "the" standards you set. Sometimes, a new standard can improve the team, but often, it's a distraction. You don't need new; you need better.

Once you determine someone is capable of being a model of the standards, you set the bar with a good feedback loop:

1. Who it's assigned to: clearly explain who owns a core responsibility.

2. What needs to be done: a clear explanation of what needs to get done.

3. Frequency of the report: how often a report needs to be executed.

4. How to report: what medium the team member will use to deliver the report/update?

5. To what standard: why the responsibility is essential and a clear explanation of the standards it must meet.

6. Confirmation of understanding: a clear verbal summary that everything is understood.

7. A follow-up mechanism: to ensure follow-through and accountability.

Step 4: Audit the standards.

Always trust, but verify.

Never assume people will be disciplined enough to embody the standards over a prolonged period. Like you, they're human and let distractions, biases, and persuasion alter their behavior. That's why if the standards you set are critical, you must audit them to ensure your team stays on course.

You also must regularly check yourself and ensure you're still the best model.

An easy way to do this is always to have a list of your standards available, and as you interact with your team, or watch yourself go through the day, ask yourself, "Are they/Am I a positive model for this standard?"

Step 5: Recalibrate the standards.

People will get off course, including you.

These are perfect times to remind your team why the standards are important. You are the Chief Reminding Officer, repeating and holding your team accountable for the things that matter the most.

This will sometimes lead to a difficult conversation, which is handled through this simple talk track:

1. A. "I observe..." Hey Tim, I observed the other day you sent an email to X that says 1, 2, 3.

2. B. "The impact of that behavior is..." "The impact of this email goes entirely against our values of creating a WOW experience and resulted in the client complaining to me.

3. C. "That isn't acceptable here."

4. D. "What I want to see in the future is..." What I want to see in the future is you explaining what you need in a kind and respectful manner and eliminating any passive-aggressive comments.

5. E. "Can you do that?"

If you're holding others accountable to the standards and recalibrating their actions, you must do the same for yourself.

Your standards keep you accountable for what matters the most.

Set, model, lead, audit, and fix your standards and watch how the outcomes you seek are all born from your daily actions and habits.