You are in The Red Zone

Sadly, there are too many organizations stuck in the red zone. At this level we tend to see up and down results – often more down than up. This is not really a very happy place to be.

What we often see here are leaders that are very task-oriented. There’s a low level of productivity, and there’s constant pressure on the bottom line. The thing is, being stuck at this level is sometimes not their fault. People find themselves trapped below the fear and ignorance line. It is like the system is working against them. What keeps people/businesses down here is a dollar focus.

It really is unfortunate that people buy into the myth they’ve been sold that business success is all about the pursuit of profit. Or in a not-for-profit, it’s about wringing out every dollar.

The thing is if you challenge that myth and recognize the truth that people are the key to better performance you almost immediately jump into the next zone.

I’d love to chat with you about your results.  Feel free to book a free call with me.

You are in The Amber Zone

This is where a lot of people find themselves, maybe most people!

The lumps and bumps of the red line results have been smoothed out a bit but it’s still a bit of a flat line situation. Organizations are starting to think about their people and attracting talent. Every so often they start up culture initiatives, like updating their website with their latest values or having random employee social events.

There are sporadic efforts to improve productivity, but it’s incremental at best.

One way to think of this level is the spin zone. It’s not a totally unhappy place but it’s also not happy land either. The key to moving through this is a people focus.

At the upper end of this zone, you fall into the settled level where the performance line tilts up a bit. It’s a happier place for sure. We also often see people moving through this level by being really committed.

There’s a strong focus on employee engagement, productivity is pretty good, and there’s steady financial growth. 

The thing is though, a funny thing happens when we work with organizations at this level. They hit what we call the Good Enough Line. On the Good Enough Line, it’s easy to buy into the myth that “We’re doing okay and okay is good enough”.

The truth is that good enough traps you. Good enough is not pandemic proof. What if Steve Jobs and Apple had created the iPod and then said, “well that’s good enough” – another company would have created the iPhone and iPad and Apple would not have become the greatest company in the world.

Think about it another way, what if you were hiring someone to paint the inside of your house. They say, “we can do that and we’re going to try and do a good enough job” … how would you feel about that?

The competition for top talent is tremendous, Can you afford to stay where you are? I'd love to chat with you. Book a call.

You are in The Green Zone

Congratulations! At this level, everything feels great and your organization’s people, profits, and potential are being released for the betterment of your community. This is a super happy place to be and the performance curve in this zone is exponential – it accelerates.

This is where purpose-powered performance is driving the organization. Once you understand the power of purpose, everything changes for you and you move into this Stellar zone.

Getting on the Green Line

So, as you look at those nine indicators and you look at how you’ve assessed yourself, your results may be mostly red and amber, which is not unusual. That’s where a lot of people rate themselves.

The question is, what would it do for you if we could turn all of those to green?

I'm always looking for winning cultures like yours to showcase in articles and social media posts. Would you be willing to do a quick 20-minute interview to share your expertise in managing culture? Find a time that works best for you here: http://bit.ly/WinningCultureInterview