Have you ever used the term “Common Sense”? I have…

Have you ever said, “Common Sense is not common”? I have…

Have you ever asked yourself why we say, “It’s Common Sense”? I have…

If you have ever used the term “Common Sense”, this one is for you.

To be in a position of leadership is honorable, but after a while some things are taken for granted. To be clear, it’s common sense. Over the years I have experienced poor, good, great, and outstanding leadership. I’ve noticed a trend that prevents Leaders from getting positive results. It’s the misuse of the term “Common Sense.” I encourage you to think before you say its common sense and in most cases, stop using the term. I understand that it may not be easy to do because the term is embedded in our subconscious minds from our adolescent days. After all we are talking about good judgment, right?

For example, are the statements below really common sense or should I say good judgment?

  1. A Manager expects his people to just get it. He says, “I understand it, why don’t they get it? It’s common sense…"
  2. The Director says, “We don’t have to train her to be a Manager; we promoted her because she was successful in her previous role. She was the best at handling task and dealing with clients. It’s common sense…"
  3. An Executive consistently ignores his people; he doesn’t say hello on the elevator and then expects them to go the extra mile for him. It’s common sense…
  4. A Manager speaks to his people with disrespect and foul language, but he expects his people to follow him. It’s common sense…
  5. A Manager hires an individual with great skills, but he or she has a bad attitude. The Manager figures, the skills will out weigh the bad attitude. It’s common sense…
  6. A Vice President wants his people to be high performers but he doesn’t invest in them. He figures, we pay them great money that should be good enough. It’s common sense…

Simple Intelligence

Common Sense is not always common; therefore good judgment has to be learned. Although it may be common to you, that doesn’t mean it’s common to everyone else. That is why I teach Simple Intelligence. Simple Intelligence strengthens your critical thinking and good judgment to make better decisions.

I’ll preface this by saying, I use the words “Leader” and “Manager” throughout my post for the sake of reaching both, but they are not the same. We will talk about that in another post. In contrast to the statements above, here are some ways to develop your Simple Intelligence:

1. Some things seem like they’re common sense but that’s not always the case. Your people have different talents, gifts, and strengths. Each individual is unique in his or her own way just like you. They may not understand because of various reasons, but your job is to help them understand. Here are some questions to think about when you find yourself saying, “Why don’t they get it?”

  • Were they properly trained?
  • If so, have they been held accountable?
  • Have they completed the task with your company before?
  • What do they need to know in order for them to understand?

2. When a Director promotes a person that was successful in their previous role, that doesn’t mean they will be a successful Manager. There are many factors that play a role in a Manager’s success. Here are a few:

  • Does he or she know how to get results through others performance?
  • Does the individual know how to maximize human potential?
  • Does managing, coaching, mentoring, and developing others motivate and inspire the individual?

3. When an Executive is not polite it sends the wrong message. Leaders are always being watched and people follow their Leader. All Leaders should remember that people work for people. We were not born Leaders we were born babies.You’ve had to work hard and learn how to become a Leader. Let’s get real and be nice to folks.

Here’s what it may be costing you if you’re not nice:

  • Revenue
  • Employee Retention
  • Attracting Top Talent

All of those things can be positively or negatively reflected in your company culture, which starts with Leadership.

4. Leaders who use foul language and disrespect are using old tactics called negative motivation. Top performers see through the nonsense and end up leaving the company and the Leader seldom knows why. When I played football some coaches would use foul language to motivate us because that’s the way they were coached. They didn’t realize the damage it does to an athlete’s psyche. Everyone isn’t mentally strong. The problem is that negative motivation works for some people but that doesn’t mean it should be the standard for coaching, leading, or building mental toughness.

There is no need or room for negative motivation in the 21st Century because of the abundance of opportunities in the workforce. It’s sad to hear Leaders still speaking to their people with foul language and disrespect. I realize it’s not common sense, so what about good judgment? Is it good judgment to use negative motivation? Here are some reasons not to use negative motivation:

  • Decrease in Your Credibility
  • Decrease in Employee Moral
  • Decrease in Employee Retention

All of those outcomes will result in a decrease in revenue overtime. Whether you believe it or not, take a good look at the marketplace. There is always a competitor that will take your good people.

5. Hiring the right people is essential to the success of your organization.Kudos to you if you’ve done a great job in the hiring process, I’ve made the mistake of hiring an individual with a bad attitude in the past. My ego got in the way of making the right decision. The individual had great skills and I thought I could change the person’s attitude. Here are three valuable lessons I’ve learned about hiring over the years:

  • Hire slow and fire fast. How? – (Have a pool of talent)
  • Hire people when you don’t need them – (Build relationships with top performers)
  • Hire smart capable people with positive attitudes

6. Although a high salary is great, it’s not the only motivation for your people.Once a person earns a certain amount of money they will always want more, it’s a natural progression. So, it must be something else that motivates individuals to achieve greatness. What motivates you? What motivated you before you became the Manager? Here are three motivations to consider:

  • Give your people purposeful work that matters to the organization
  • Give your people the opportunity to grow – e.g., promotion, development
  • Ask your people – what specifically motivates you?

If you would like to talk to me about coaching you and/or your team, email me atpierre@pierrecamp.com.

Leadership Challenge:

Use your Simple Intelligence to make better decisions this week and share what you have learned from this post.

I realize common sense is not common but we are talking about good judgment so here are 15 things Managers need to know about their people.

www.PierreCamp.com

Let’s talk about it below. What are your thoughts?