Last Week, I Talked About Standards. But Here’s What I Missed.

Last week, I wrote about a tough lesson: when leadership standards slip, team standards slip. And as leaders, we have to take full ownership of that reality.

But then, something interesting happened.

A colleague of mine from LinkedIn shared a post referencing my newsletter with a crucial insight.

She pointed out that while it’s great that I take full responsibility for setting and maintaining high standards as a leader, there’s another level to this: having an organization with systems in place to maintain the standard independent of one leader at the top.

Because no matter how hard we try, we can’t be perfect.

So the question she posed was, “How do you design a team that keeps standards high—even when you’re not at your best?”

And she’s absolutely right.

That’s the difference between a leader who’s constantly in the trenches making corrections and a leader who builds a team that self-corrects, self-manages, and ultimately, self-sustains.

So How Do You Get There?

One thing I didn’t mention last week—but should have—is this: Every team I’ve successfully built or turned around has had one critical foundation: an intentional culture based on core values.

Core values are the invisible architecture of a high-performance team. They clearly define what’s acceptable and what’s not. They create alignment.

And when used correctly, they make leadership easier—not harder—because they remove ambiguity from decision-making.

That’s why before hiring a single new team member this year, I made sure we had our core values clearly defined. Not just as a set of nice words on a wall (or virtual wall in my case), but as a practical tool for hiring, coaching, and even making tough calls when someone’s not a fit.

Why Core Values Matter for Scaling

In my experience, every high-performing team has a clear, enforced set of core values. I saw it firsthand in:

• The sales team I led for 10 years, where we exceeded targets every single year—but only after I first cleaned house, installed core values, and rebuilt the team with alignment in mind.

• My first role as a CEO, where turning a struggling business around required taking on a toxic culture and resetting based on a core set of principles.

• Now, as I build MSP Sales Partners, where we’ve taken the same approach from day one.

The lesson?

Standards start with leadership. But they scale with culture.

Common Pitfalls in Using Core Values

But here’s the trap I’ve seen (and experienced) when it comes to core values: People define them, write them down, maybe even put them on the wall—but they never actually enforce them.

A rule of thumb I’ve always followed: If you’re not willing to fire your top performer for violating core values, don’t bother establishing them.

You have to be brutally honest with yourself about what your core values are and whether you’re truly committed to upholding them. Because if you define them but don’t enforce them—especially when it’s inconvenient—you’ve done more harm than good.

I learned this the hard way.

At one point in my career, I battled over a core value violation with the top revenue generator in a business I was running. I terminated his employment. The board pushed back and forced me to reinstate him.

The fallout?

The entire team saw that core values weren’t really core. They were optional—negotiable if someone was “too valuable” to lose.

And that realization?

Everyone who was originally inspired by the core values and dedicated to building the company I envisioned was instantly discouraged.

Our best players became disengaged, toxic behavior spread, and we paid a much bigger price than we would have if we had simply upheld our values in the first place.

(Ultimately, it led to a new CEO, too—because I had no desire to run a company like that.)

Core values can be the foundation you stand on—but only if you’re real about what they are, disciplined in reinforcing them, and courageous enough to enforce them, even when it hurts.

And here’s what I’ve learned: Any time I’ve had to let a top performer go because they didn’t align with core values, there’s always been a temporary dip in performance. But that’s followed by a sharp upward curve—because the rest of the team rallies, steps up, and actually wants to do better in an environment that feels right.

The Bottom Line

If you’re leading a team, here’s the challenge: Are your standards only upheld when you’re watching? Or have you built a culture where they hold themselves—and each other—accountable?

If it’s the former, you’re in for a lot of heavy lifting. If it’s the latter, you’ve built something that can grow beyond you.

That’s where real leadership happens.

Adios,

Ray