The majority of business owners I speak to say this…

“We want to raise the bar.”

All good businesses want a better customer experience, a sharper product offering and a stronger internal team.

But what is the first step to achieving that?

From where I sit, and drawing on my years of experience, raising the bar often commences internally – with your team.

If you want to be the “best in show” in your industry, let’s be honest, you can’t get there with a team that’s ‘fine’.

It’s the high performers, those who bring energy, fresh thinking and pride in their craft (no matter the level of role), who set a new standard. Subsequently, that standard then trickles into other areas of the business to influence better internal processes, elevated client experience and a more polished product or service delivery.

But here’s what happens more often than not…

Too many businesses wait until they’ve hit a wall with their current team (who are then often burnt out, underperforming, or constantly putting out fires) before they think about levelling up.

By then, the damage is already done.

I’ve seen fast hires made under pressure, with little thought given to alignment or long-term value.

The result?

You churn through people, waste time, drain resources (most notably your time!), and worse, you leave someone with a negative experience of your brand. No one comes out a winner.

Most successful business owners I work with hire people who are more competent than themselves in certain areas. Those who bring a level of finesse, those who are driven by outcomes and never settle for ‘that will do’.

These people want to shape the businesses they work in, and their high-performance influence has a knock-on effect on the team.

Just recently, we worked with a senior executive who was brought in specifically to raise the bar in their business. This exec then came to us to make a pivotal hire, one that would support this shift they were making, not dilute it.

We found the next member of the team, and the feedback at the end of their first week went something like this… “Their presence has already lifted the energy and expectations across the business.”

Why? Because that was their natural disposition in a professional setting, this person doesn’t know how to work any other way.

So, if you’re serious about ‘raising the bar’, hire the people who won’t let it drop.