Compromise can occur in every nook and cranny of your business.

What’s a “compromise”? It’s a malfunction that occurs in your salon/spa causing a ripple effect in the performance of your business.

It can be as simple as employees taking personal calls while servicing customers, wasting company supplies or circumventing procedures.

Even the most basic forms of compromise can derail productivity, contaminate your culture, sap profits and destroy vital customer relationships.

Ultimately, almost every business malfunction, even those annoying little ones, can be traced back to the leader.

When compromise exists in the core behavior and thinking of the leader, it will impact the performance and culture of your company.

When a leader avoids making a vital decision of any kind, the cost of compromise can truly be colossal.

Every aspect of a company’s performance is a reflection of its leaders’ thinking, behavior and ability to execute.

Here is my No-Compromise Leadership hit list of the most common leadership compromises:

• Creating a double standard for you versus your employees.


• Creating separate standards for different employees.


• Not maintaining and following ethical standards.


• Agreeing to do something and not delivering what was promised when it was promised.


• Being late for work or meetings.


• Not following the budget.


• Failing to address obvious problems and issues.


• Not responding to employee suggestions.


• Believing that what needs to be done — cannot be done.


• Talking “empowerment” but never letting go of control.


• Giving up too easily.


• Not creating opportunities to listen to employees and their insights to make things better.


• Focusing on the negative.


• Failure to disclose and share key information that employees need to do their jobs.


• Withholding positive feedback.


• Not rolling up your sleeves and pitching in.


• Reprimanding in public.


• Talking about, gossiping or degrading an employee with others.


• Stereotyping and making assumptions about people.


• Not listening to customers.


• Holding on to a problem employee so long that your culture is damaged.


• Accepting inferior performance or quality service.


• Playing the “blame game.”