Page 192 - Fearless Leadership

Honoring and Fulfilling Commitments 179

and leaders are easily roped in by excuses. People imitate how leaders
behave and poor behavior becomes the cultural norm.

A CEO Stops Accepting Excuses for the Lack
of Business Results
Derek was the managing director of a business unit in South Africa.
He had been in the job for four years, and his unit was continuing
to falter. He had a litany of reasons for why the business was not doing
well, such as “I inherited people who were not competent,” “My fam-
ily is having trouble adjusting to a new country,” and “I don’t have
enough time to put out all the fires created by my predecessor.” The
list went on and no one held Derek accountable. Although there was
much grumbling about his underperforming business, “reasonable”
excuses were tolerated.
What Happened. Nothing changed until the company’s new CEO
intervened. He stopped accepting excuses and set a new and higher
standard of behavior. He told Derek, “Your results are unacceptable.”
Derek jumped in and started to explain the reasons for recent fail-
ures: “We had a lot of trouble with our customers . . .” The CEO inter-
rupted and stated, “Let me repeat, your results are unacceptable. The
purpose of this conversation is to align on what is needed, what
actions you will take, and when they will be implemented.” Derek fer-
vently agreed, “I’m completely aligned with you. All we need to do is
get rid of a few more people and bring in competent folks who can
deliver.” The CEO, not dissuaded with this tactic, stood by his guns:
“I want to hear how you are personally accountable for the lack of
results and what you are going to do about it. I’m willing to work with
you, but you need to take accountability first.”
When Derek realized this new CEO was not going to allow him
any leeway and that his excuses where falling on deaf ears, Derek
made the choice to change his behavior. In less than a year, Derek’s
unit began turning around. No excuses, just results.

Lesson Learned. Fearless leaders cut through the nonsense and do
not tolerate disingenuous behavior, nor do they accept “reasonable”