No, this is not some play on a corporation being a tree full of monkeys.. The ones that look down see monkeys and the ones that look up see.. well.. that hole umm. You get the idea.

The great thing about science and funding is some intelligent people get to try out what some times seem like very silly ideas. Enter the Monkey and the mirror! There you are with funding, a monkey and a mirror on your way to conduct a scientific experiment. The question is, does the monkey have the slightest idea that it is him in the mirror!

You set off to have the monkey interact with the mirror and immediately the monkey treats it as if that mirror is another monkey! The monkey is absolutely clueless that the image it is seeing could possibly be him. With your head hanging low you walk away knowing that this monkey has no clue. Maybe you have a dumb monkey!

Leadership can be much the same way. Our employees and team members communicate with us, act a certain way around us (and a certain way when we are not there!). We have underperforming teams, resentful employees, up to 67% of our team being unengaged employees according to Gallup, and some you wonder how they can manage to keep breathing without a respirator!

You look around you and see people who are not performing that need to be told what the standard is, they need to get their crap together and perform or they are out of here! Yet we fail to see, they are a mirror that directly reflects your skills as a leader. When you first truly realize this it can cause inspiration to change AND depression all at the same time!

So here we are, looking at our team and knowing every imperfection is a reflection.

You, like the scientist, can not give up! The scientist put the monkey in front of the mirror, again and again, eventually, they paint a mark on the monkey's head and notice the monkey is doing something weird! With awkward motions, the monkey starts touching his face moving his hands from side to side while staring at the mirror. It looks incredibly clumsy but with a purpose as the monkey continues to touch his head with intent. Eventually, the monkey finds the spot that is marked! Not only does the monkey now know it is he who is in the mirror, but it also knows there is a mark that should not be there and the monkey is trying to mess with it!

When you look at your team and see the problems, look at them as if they were a mirror. Like the monkey, investigate and prod. Even if it is clumsy, work to find where the problem actually is, but do so knowing that it is a reflection of you. Something about you is what has to change.

I’ll leave you with a question to start your investigation. How do they have to perceive me in order to give me 100%?

Answer this about everyone around you and then act out the answer. It will be clumsy at first but you will get through that and have the capability of changing and improving your team. It’s so easy, a monkey can do it!