The Slow Erosion of Standards in Leadership
February 24, 2026
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Think back to your last great experience in a restaurant, at a hotel, or at an industry event.
If you were paying attention to what actually made it excellent, you would have noticed that it wasn’t accidental. There was a person, or a process, quietly protecting and adhering to a standard. Someone cared enough to prepare well, to notice details, to correct small things before they became visible. You could feel it. The extra effort wasn’t a performance; it was intentional.
Said differently, the reason you experienced that excellence externally is that a leader cared about it internally.
Standards don’t appear by accident. They are established and upheld long before the customer ever sees them by a leader or a group of leaders. Because one of a leader’s most important responsibilities is defining and upholding standards until teammates begin protecting them for themselves and for others.
If you watch sports, you have almost certainly heard the phrase, “The standard is the standard.” Coaches like Nick Saban have repeated it for years. A standard, at its core, is simply what good looks like. In my work studying high performance and leadership, I’ve noticed that good leaders define what good looks like, but great leaders go further. They define what great looks like and refuse to let it drift.
An example almost everyone understands is a speed limit sign. It is a clear visual definition of what safe and acceptable driving looks like on a particular road. If you ignore it, there are consequences. Flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror are a form of accountability.
Leaders care about standards because standards define what winning behavior looks and feels like. When standards are unclear, accountability becomes subjective and inconsistent. When standards are clearly defined and consistently upheld, accountability becomes much easier to enforce. The best leaders grasp the Route to Results from Building the Best: Standards produce behaviors, behaviors become habits, and habits become your results.
Standards rarely erode because people wake up and decide to care less or just decide to be lazy. They erode because leaders hesitate. That hesitation usually sounds reasonable. “We have had a lot going on,” or “That deadline was aggressive.” You saw it and you plan to address it next time.
But next time rarely comes. Instead, the drift is subtle.
Instead, the drift is subtle. A deadline stretches longer than it should. Preparation becomes inconsistent, but it feels easier to overlook than to confront. Energy fades in meetings, and no one addresses it directly. Over time, what once felt sharp and intentional begins to feel average and normal.
That’s how standards erode.
One of the principles we teach in Accelerate Leadership is simple: the instant a standard is lowered is the instant performance begins to erode. That erosion may not immediately show up in revenue or outcomes, but it always shows up in behavior first.
People adjust to what is tolerated. If preparation slips and nothing is said, preparation becomes optional. If a high performer violates a cultural expectation and remains untouched because they “produce,” the message is clear. Results matter more than behavior and the outcome matters more than the process that produces the result.
Shortcuts only accelerate the erosion. AI is a powerful example. It can draft the email, summarize the meeting, build the presentation, and shorten the timeline. Used well, it expands capacity. Used carelessly, it erodes quality.
Work may look polished. It may sound complete. But if the person delivering it cannot explain it, defend it, or adjust it when challenged, the standard has shifted. “Better than nothing” quietly replaces excellent.
This is not to say organizations or people should use AI. However, it is saying that AI is not lowering standards. Leaders are.
If standards erode because leaders hesitate, they are protected through clarity and consistency. If you want to protect the standard this week as a leader here are the action items:
Over time, if you define the standard clearly and enforce it consistently, something shifts. Teammates begin protecting it without being asked. They notice drift before you do and they correct each other. Which is essential because:
A player-led team will always outperform a coach led them.
It’s true there has been a slow erosion of standards in organizations. But the best part is that if you are a leader, you are not only the problem, you are also the solution.
The Leadership Guide to Delegation: How to Build Real Ownership on Your Team. Join John Eades live on Thursday, February 26th at 12 PM for a free virtual workshop.
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About the Author: John Eades is the CEO of LearnLoft and The Sales Infrastructure. He was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices. John is also the author of Building the Best and the Optimistic Outlook.
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