Want to know the fastest way to lose great people? Demand less from them than they're capable of becoming.
One of the most powerful leadership lessons I've heard recently came from Deion Sanders: "Be Demanding, Not Demeaning."
Be Demanding, Not Demeaning: The Leadership Lesson That Changes Everything
Raise the Standard
As leaders, coaches, parents, mentors, and executives, our job isn't to lower the standard. Our job is to raise it. But here's the thing: there's a difference between pushing people and putting people down.
Great leaders demand excellence. Poor leaders demean people.
What Great Leaders Do
The best leaders:
- Challenge people to reach higher
- Hold them accountable to commitments
- Expect effort, discipline, and growth
- Refuse to let people settle for mediocrity
But they also:
- Encourage rather than embarrass
- Correct without humiliating
- Coach instead of criticize
- Call people UP rather than call them OUT
As leadership expert John Maxwell said: "People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude."
Believe in Potential
I've learned throughout my leadership journey in credit unions that people often rise to the expectations we set for them. When we believe in their potential and challenge them to achieve it, incredible things can happen.
The goal isn't to make people feel small. The goal is to help them discover how great they can become.
Demand Excellence
Demand their best effort. Demand integrity. Demand accountability. Demand excellence. But never demean the very people you're trying to develop. That's not leadership. That's ego.
The Bottom Line
Real leadership is about raising standards while lifting people up. It's about being demanding without being demeaning. When you challenge people to be better while making them feel valued, you don't just build better employees. You build better people.
The leaders who shaped us most weren't the ones who let us off the hook. They were the ones who pushed us to reach our potential while still believing in us along the way.
Think about who challenged you to be better while making you feel valued. That's the kind of leader worth becoming.