The standards you ignore are the standards you accept

Posted on by michael nitschke
Share this

There is a phrase that changed how I lead: The standards you walk past are the standards you accept. It was shared with me early in my leadership journey, and I return to it often. Because the truth is, leadership is not defined by the vision you articulate at ambitious team off-sites. It’s in the day-to-day operations. 

When I stepped into leadership, I was a high-performing sales agent, but I had zero experience running a business. I couldn’t pretend otherwise. So, I made a choice to be vulnerable from day one – to be clear about what I knew and honest about what I did not.

That vulnerability was not a weakness. It created a safe space for the team to contribute, to bring up problems, and to help build something better. But vulnerability without structure is just chaos. The structure that made it work was a ruthless commitment to values.

Values that we all live by, including and especially the leadership team. I’ve seen what happens when high performers treat operations and admin staff poorly because their revenue numbers were good. That erodes trust and fractures the culture. Values only have meaning when they apply to everyone, always. 

Manage the standard, not the person 

One of the most liberating shifts in my leadership has been learning to manage to a standard rather than to a person. When you manage a person, every difficult conversation becomes personal. When you manage to a standard, it becomes professional.

Recently, I overheard two team members debating whether to skip inspecting a new listing before booking a photographer. It might seem like a small thing. But Murphy’s Law is undefeated – a neighbour’s car in the driveway, a fence issue, something you only catch when you show up. I had a hundred other things on my plate. I could have walked past. Instead, I said: I’m not sure that’s how we do things, is it? 

And they said, no, good point. We better do the right thing.

Hard conversations are an act of kindness 

We say this all the time at Nitschke. To be clear is to be kind. A culture that is clear on its standards and holds people to them consistently is one of the most caring environments you can create.

Think about a young agent who doesn’t know their listing presentations are falling short. Left unaddressed, they continue down a path that could cost them their career. By catching it early and being direct, you’re doing your job as a leader.  

Great leadership is not about knowing the most. It’s about creating the conditions in which the right people can do their best work, held together by a shared standard that nobody (not even the owner) is above. 

Want to hear more leadership lessons from taking over the family business? Listen to my interview in Real Estate Business. 

Here’s how I can help when you’re ready: