Navigating Best Practices as a Leader: Striking the Right Balance for Success

There are certain words that are used A LOT in retail. In a previous article, I spoke about my concerns in the use of “focus.” I balanced that with the positives that, when done well, make a meaningful difference when applying focus to the right situation. I have a similar relationship with the idea of “best practices.” This is a frequently used term, that can be applied to many situations. In my opinion, not always in the most effective way. We’ll explore that a little more here.

Summarized below is how best practices may be characterized:

Best practices refer to a set of guidelines, methods, or techniques that are widely accepted and recognized as the most effective and efficient way to achieve a desired outcome or goal. They represent the accumulated knowledge and experience of experts in a particular field or industry and serve as a benchmark for achieving optimal results.

Best practices are developed through research, experimentation, and observation of successful approaches. They provide a framework for making informed decisions and taking actions that are considered to be most likely to lead to positive outcomes. Best practices are often documented and shared within communities, organizations, or industries to promote consistency, standardization, and continuous improvement.

When you read those, you almost have to ask why would I ever have any concerns with this? It sounds like a perfect situation. But is it really? Are there any risks or downsides to having a best practice for everything? Are there guardrails that ensure best practices really are best practices? While best practices offer valuable insights, blindly adhering to them can lead to missed opportunities and hinder innovation.

I am a firm believer that people learn best by experiencing things for themselves. However, that is not to say we cannot, or should not, benefit from people who have traveled ahead of us and share their wisdom. There can be tremendous rewards from well-defined ‘tribal knowledge’ and the research from others. That should not preclude anyone from diving deeper and learning further when appropriate. Understanding the context in which those previous learnings were captured also plays a role in the value of any previous practices. For example, what may have worked in early 2020, was no longer as valid two or three months later. COVID changed the playing field, and new learnings needed to be formed.

When reviewing best practices within your business, consider some of the potential elements that would hold back ongoing improvement if not challenges accordingly.

Innovation

Accepted best practices can stifle innovative thinking. If everyone assumes that a process and situation cannot be made to be better, everyone stops trying to learn or improve. Instead, you can follow the current processes, but continue to ask in new situations: does this still make the most sense? Could it be done a different way? Stay curious.

Change resistance

The current way can also become the easiest way because you don’t have to learn something new. We have previously covered change management multiple times. We know it is a real thing, and something many people want to avoid. Don’t let a resistance to change become the reason you blindly accept current best practice thinking. Avoiding change can also be a lazy approach to growing your business. Easier to say, “I am following the process,’’ than to try unproven new things. Remain proactive.

Limited flexibility

Depending on how best practices are used or culturally applied within your business, they could limit how others lead. If best practices are the only acceptable way of handling situations, people can feel trapped when the situation changes and best practices have not caught up. So much of the idea of best practices is contextual in nature. This is where leadership comes to the forefront. Despite nearly every retail manager believing that “their store is different…” this does not provide limitless flexibility either. The role of the leader is to balance true contextual changes with the optimal approach for using defined processes. Balance firm with flexible.

This is one other, maybe semantic, thing I get concerned about when I hear terms used interchangeably. Best practices should be the current standard. You should not have a policy or standard that you expect to be executed, and then a set of best practices outside of those. I realize I may be splitting hairs here, and it could be situational, but effective policy and standards should incorporate the best way to execute them as well. If new information or the context for any of those things change, then processes and methods should be updated. Best practices suggest to some degree they are optional. Your policies and standard operating processes should not be.

Best practices are not bad things. Though, with many other positive resources, we cannot be blind to the possibilities and options that may exist beyond the currently accepted truths and best practices. This is a cautionary tale to always test your situation and environment for opportunities to grow and improve beyond what may be currently concerned best. As I noted above, always testing the current processes is not effective either. The goal cannot be to challenge everything. We have defined processes for a reason. We also have to trust that other supporting leaders have vetted, tested, challenged, and optimized core day-to-day processes to enhance it for everyone. I am merely suggesting that at times, we should revisit and ensure that best practices, remain today’s best practices.

How do you keep your mind open to learning more and testing current truths to be the ongoing best solution?

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Photo by Matt Ridley on Unsplash