Our natural instinct is to run away from a problem. Who in their right mind runs towards a problem? Experienced leaders, that’s who.
What are you Tolerating?
There’s a simple question I ask leaders that usually stops them in their tracks:
What are you tolerating?
It came up recently with a CEO I coach, Tom. He was frustrated.
18 months into the role and still no growth.
After sitting with that question, his answer hit hard: “I’ve been tolerating mediocrity.”
Here’s the thing: broken things are easy to fix.
Bugs, missed targets, poor behaviour? You act.
But it’s the just okay things that quietly eat away at progress:
- A product that’s good but not great.
- A salesperson who hits targets but brings in difficult clients.
- A division whose P&L is slowly declining.
- New hires who are… fine, but not impressive.
- A growth strategy that sort of delivers.
- A VC pitch that’s impressive but doesn’t close investment.
These grey areas get tolerated until they become the standard.
So what do you do?
You run at the problem. As fast as you can.
“Run as fast as you can at a problem, because if you don’t, it only grows.”
That’s what Jeff, a veteran CEO, told me. If you don’t confront the issue early, it only grows. And most of the time, what’s standing in your way isn’t the problem.
It’s you.
Your fear. Your assumptions. Your reluctance to make hard calls.
If this is landing a little too close to home, good. That discomfort? It’s a signal. It means you’re getting closer to what matters.
So here’s your call to action:
- In every 1:1 with your leadership team, ask two questions:
What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing?
What’s just okay, and what would make it great?
- Don’t let them (or yourself) brush over the answer.
- Use the “Five Whys” to dig deeper until you hit the truth.
- When you hit an emotional reaction, stop and examine with care.
When you spot the real issue? Run toward it as fast as you can.