Lukewarm Leadership Won’t Cut It

If your standards are low, so is your impact.

There’s a growing movement of people who believe you shouldn’t have overly high expectations of others.

“You’ll just be disappointed. Don’t worry about other people—just focus on yourself.”

To a certain extent, I get it. That advice can work if you’re an individual contributor, an artist, or a lone wolf. If you're focused on your craft and no one else depends on you, keep your head down and do your thing.

Terrific.

But if you’re a leader responsible for a team, a vision, or a mission?
That mindset will poison you.

If you don’t have high expectations of others, you’re screwed.
You’re not just off track—you’re a sh!tty leader.

You must hold high expectations.
You must maintain high standards.
And you must help people meet those standards.
You can't just wish it.
That’s stupid.

If you want to be part of a high-performing team,
If you want to make a dent in the universe, or at least leave a scratch,
You don’t get there by being mousy.
You don’t whisper your way to greatness.
You don’t settle for “Is that okay?”


You demand excellence—with clarity, integrity, and support.

Because here’s what happens when we stop expecting more from each other:
We start tolerating garbage.
Low expectations lead to mediocrity.
Mediocrity breeds apathy.
And apathy is what collapses cultures, communities, and companies.

So if you’re looking around at the state of things and wondering,

“What the hell happened to leadership?”

You lowered the bar.
You got lazy.
You stopped expecting more.

No more whining.
Raise your expectations.
Raise your standards.
Reward integrity.

Lukewarm leadership won’t cut it.
Not now.
Not ever.