The Challenge

Because success can drain urgency, levels of personal and cultural entitlement tend to soar in the good times. Entitlement is a cultural infection that's very difficult to get rid of. It requires redefining expectations, strengthened accountability, consequences for failure, and a return to earn and deserve principles within the organization. The weed-out, weave-in words in this chapter are connected to a degree, because without tough-minded leadership and principles, entitlement abounds.

You Owe Me!

Being entitled is defined as believing you are owed special rewards, privileges, or treatment. The problem arises when people aren't given what they feel they have coming; they have neither earned nor deserved it. Some examples of entitlement are as follows:

• People expect an end-of-the-year raise because it's the end of the year, not because they earned or deserve it.
• People expect a Thanksgiving turkey every year because you gave it to them once and then listened to complaints about the brand you chose.
• People expect a promotion because they've been there the longest, not because they're the best person for the job.
• The company buys lunch for the team every Friday, and soon they begin to gripe about the free lunch you're giving them: “Pizza again?” “Sandwiches again?” “Why can't we ever get Swiss cheese with our burgers?”
• A poor performer feels entitled to extra help, perks, or attention because he's struggling, not because he's performed in a manner worthy of additional company resources being invested in him.
• People expect their tenure, experience, or credentials to substitute for results; they believe yesteryear's heroics entitle them to a free pass to slack in the present.

With a rise of entitlement in society, you can expect to see more entitlement in businesses, and in households (with entitled kids), because trends in these arenas tend to follow trends in society in general. You can also rest assured that nothing welcomes entitlement into your culture faster than a lack of accountability. On the other hand, it's tougher for people to become entitled when they are held accountable for results and have become accustomed to expecting only what they've earned and deserve.

Often when I rail against entitlement in a seminar, someone will ask me, “Aren't we entitled to something in the workplace?” The answer is, absolutely: all you've earned and deserved, that which you've acquired through merit, what you're worthy of, or what you have qualified for. All perks over and above that are gifts. People should be grateful for them but should understand that they don't have them coming.

In Up Your Business! (John Wiley & Sons 2007), I included an entire chapter on how to move a person or an entire organization from entitlement to merit—from thinking they're owed it to expecting only what they've earned and deserve. To summarize the chapter in one idea, the remedy is pressure to perform. This includes clear and high expectations, honest feedback on performance, and accountability for results. In other words, becoming more tough-minded as a leader.

The word tough-minded is defined as “strong-willed; vigorous; not easily swayed” (Dictionary.com, n.d.). This definition embodies the makeup of high-accountability leaders and strong cultures. Notice that according to the definition, being tough-minded has nothing to do with being rude, being abusive, getting personal, bullying, shouting, or using profanity. In fact, you can be tough-minded in a calm, measured, respectful voice and get your point across far more effectively. In a sense, being tough-minded means you have decided to stand for something to establish your credibility, protect your culture, and execute without excuses. You have also decided what you will not fall for, or settle for, in pursuit of those endeavors:

• You hold everyone accountable for living the core values, including even the high-performing toxic achiever who is prone to be selfish or take shortcuts.
• You apply consequences when necessary for missed performance objectives.
• You hire slowly and strategically, even when you have pressing shortages. You don't flinch, lower the bar, or bring someone on board who will inflict continual damage to the culture and team morale.
• You terminate the nonperformer, even when there's no one readily available to replace him or her, because you understand that it's better to be strategically short staffed than foolishly filled up.
• You routinely make decisions that are hard but right.
• You raise others to reach your expected performance bar; you don't drop the bar to accommodate someone else's comfort zone, character, or competence.

Parting Thought

Cultures are weakened by complacency, devastated by inconsistency, and destroyed by entitlement. Getting rid of entitlement is a painful process, which is a powerful incentive for not letting it drop anchor in your culture in the first place. Followers may not always like or appreciate you when you demonstrate tough-mindedness, but they are certainly more apt to respect you. Preventing or reversing entitlement and demonstrating tough-mindedness requires the fortitude to do what may be unpopular, costly, or difficult but what also happens to be right. It's not always easy, but nor is it complex. It requires common sense and a stiff spine, not advanced degrees or Einstein's intelligence. See? It's not rocket science!