How Good Do You Really Want To Be?
How good do you really want to be?
This is a question that every salon/spa owner needs to answer.
It’s a question that keeps you focused on your goals.
It’s a question that cuts through all the daily stuff that piles up and chips away at what your company is capable of achieving.
Every salon/spa owner can paint a picture of the amazing service and customer experiences they want to deliver.
- The picture shows every system working flawlessly and consistently.
- It shows team members engaged and working together to grow the company.
- It has every client receiving pre-book and retail recommendations.
- It shows front desk and guest services staff going that extra mile to care for each customer’s needs.
Yes, it is a beautiful picture of business excellence. But it is far from real.
In too many cases, it is only a picture of “what can be” — not “what is.”
Even the best-of-the-best have ample room for improvement because being the best is one thing, staying the best requires an entirely different level of leadership.
Almost going the distance
After almost 45 years of coaching and training salon/spa owners, I can only describe the prevailing leadership effectiveness as “almost going the distance.”
When I say, “almost going the distance,” I’m referring to the point at which owners allow compromise to interfere with their quest to be the best.
- “Almost going the distance” is that point where fear, self-doubt, avoidance and frustration allow the wrong behaviors to settle in and widen the gap between being the best and what really is.
If you want to reignite your quest to be the best, you must be prepared to rock the boat. How much rocking is determined by how wide your gap is from “what is” to your definition of “world class.”
I’m not suggesting that you rock your boat so hard that employees are hanging on for dear life, falling off or jumping off.
What I am suggesting is that you begin to rock your boat enough to get everyone’s attention.
Too many salons and spas never rock at all. Complacency settles in and systems are ignored to the point where there is no rocking at all. Would you want to walk into a service business that doesn’t “rock”?
As the leader of your salon/spa, it’s your job to rock the boat at the appropriate level to match the current situation.
If your salon or spa has turned into a “country club,” you need to turn around your vision and your quest to be the best that you have for your business. That’s the destination.
Next, you must show them the road map to the destination. If you’re truly committed to following the road map, you and every member of your team should feel the rocking that signals forward movement toward the goal.
The final piece is “accountability.” Accountability locks in the right behaviors in you and your team. Compromise and accountability don’t mix. They are like oil and water.
The “rocking your boat” basics are pretty simple:
- Always make it about achieving the company vision.
- Always make it about the opportunities that are achievable.
- Always own your company’s current reality because it happened on your watch.
- Never rock the boat without a plan.
- Never rock the boat by casting blame.
Here’s my challenge to you: Being the best is all about mastering the basics and then building on those basics.
You know the basics well. Customer service, great phone experiences, a team that goes above and beyond, technical excellence, thorough consultations, verbal and written recommendations for home care products, pre-booking and more.
The problem is, you are not holding yourself and your team accountable to delivering on the promise of excellence your salon or spa made to its customers.
You’re trying to be the best without rocking the boat. It doesn’t work.
To really rock, you’ve got to rock your boat.
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