4-14-10 What's Your Tolerance Level?

I seem to be on a roll with examining survey participant comments. So, continuing that theme…….

One of my survey participants made a comment that utterly surprised me…. At least at first. When asked what other advice he/she had for the new or aspiring executive, this respondent said, “I wish that I had realized early on that there was little or no tolerance for mistakes or for someone who doesn’t think like the majority”.

Good grief. Yep, that was my initial reaction when I read the comment. In this day and age, is there really a work environment where mistakes aren’t tolerated? Or where conformance is the expectation?

Then, of course, I had a “duh” moment. Of course there is that type of work environment. Unfortunately, we all see it most every day.

So what does this mean for the new/aspiring executive? A couple of things come to mind.

For you, the executive, and your career, it means that you have to be aware of the phenomenon. And it means there will be times that you are ready and willing to take a risk, be it on a project, product, person, etc. But you won’t be able to. You have to assess the probable damage that you will do to your career and then, sometimes, decide that taking the risk isn’t worth the potential damage. And there are times when, against your better judgment, you will have to conform with what your boss or your peers require. Not so different from “saluting smartly”, when you think about it (2-1-10 Salute Smartly).


You should know this, for you and your career, you will have to walk a fine line between risk and reward…. Between conformance and the appearance of almost insubordination. Difficult, but doable.

The second thing that comes to mind….. this type of environment affects your staff. As an executive, you can accede to the pressure around you and manage the same way. You can have little tolerance for the risks your people take and you can expect blind conformance. But I don’t recommend it. Instead, work with your people to assess the risks. And when things blow up (they occasionally will!), you have to be the one to run interference between your staff and the people who would want to punish them for taking the risk. And instead of conformity, have the attitude that you welcome disparate attitudes. But be ready to help your people understand that sometimes, conformity to a company view is required. Your job is to help your folks walk that fine line --- and then to protect them when they cross it.

Cheers!