What Does It Take?

A question posed to me recently during a Performance Improvement event.

It was in relation to what it takes to become a member of the British Elite Special Forces. The topic was discussing the similarities between being parachuted into hostile territory, re-grouping your team and then carrying out a task that was fraught with danger, risk and lethal consequence should any component of that mission become compromised, and the policy decisions taken within the banking sector leading up to the last 24 months.

The comparison was really simple. I was addressing banks and financial institutions and used the recent recession as the litmus test for trusting the “intelligence” that the mission can in fact be carried out successfully…

There was no pointing fingers or suggesting improprieties but simply that it boils down to the Leadership and Management of any organisation, regardless of their purpose, must have two things in place to guarantee the best possible chances for sustainability;

Accountability for the entire programme and Commitment to do whatever it takes to own it.

It’s fantastic to have the hindsight to adopt new procedures and policies that prevent these circumstances from happening again. But the real lesson is in identifying what it takes to stand head and shoulders above the rest and set the bar to your standards, then maintaining the discipline to adopt those standards.

The parting message was a simple one.

To be Elite, you need to own the Integrity to make it happen!