How to Create & Communicate Your Expectations to Drive Team Performance.
In Part 1 of this 3 part series, I spoke about the absolute necessity of effectively communicating your vision to your team and then breaking it down into clear and meaningful performance expectations for each of your key people in order to achieve it.
This process is non-negotiable for long-term, sustainable success. Like oxygen powers the body, a clear vision and individual expectations are essential and fuel a winning team performance.
Aside from the individual performance expectations, there are some overarching team expectations that should be communicated to drive a high-performing team to achieve the Vision.
They’re like the “House Rules” so to speak- if you work here, we expect your daily actions to be guided by these things.
There are 10 key “House” Expectations I believe you need to establish and sustain a stellar team.
Here are the first 5 (the remaining 5 will be in part 3 of this series):
- Positivity.
Have the right attitude.
See the glass is half full.
Look for the positive in every situation and encourage your team to do the same.
Negative people are a wet blanket and drag others down with them.
“We can complain rose bushes have thorns or rejoice that thorn bushes have roses”
Abraham Lincoln
“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
Lyndon B. Johnson
Do you have a positive attitude?
Are there any negative team members in your team?
- Team members must allow themselves to be led with the right heart and right spirit – following the leadership.
Team members must commit to the vision that has been cast by the leader.
You as the leader must take personal responsibility and lead with authenticity in relation to what is expected of you.
For example, Harvey McKay, CEO of McKay envelopes and author of “Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive”, had the vision to position his company as number two in the markets where he couldn’t beat his competitors. His reasoning was that if his competition ever fell over, or failed the customer in some way, McKay envelopes would be there to pick up the business.
McKay had the vision to keep wooing customers who showed no interest in doing business with him and his team allowed themselves to be led by McKay and committed to following the same strategy, however unlikely it seemed to others around them.
Needless to say, McKay envelopes were a huge success story.
Do you know your key leadership responsibilities?
What are they?
Are they part of you?
Is it evident to your team? How?
Does each team member allow themselves to be led by you?
- Personal Development.
The number one asset of any business is its people and you need to set clear expectations for team members to have the desire to want to change and grow themselves. This is what develops a high-performance team and culture – a desire by individuals to grow in leadership.
The more leaders you have around you growing in leadership, the more effective your team will become.
It’s very significant and personally satisfying for me to see people grow under my leadership, trusting me to lead them which is a serious responsibility. High-performing individuals = high-performing teams = high-performing results for the team you lead. You can’t do anything on your own. Grow your people or you will stagnate!
Do you have people around you who desire to, and are growing in leadership?
Are you growing in leadership?
- Following through. You must always follow through to what you say you’ll do, making no excuses. The moment you start to accept excuses for expectations not being met, this is the moment cracks will appear in your team culture and in its performance levels. Don’t say you’ll do something unless you will commit to seeing it through to completion.
“I’m not just involved in tennis, I’m committed. Do you know the difference between involvement and commitment? Think of ham and eggs. The chicken is involved. The pig is committed.” Martina Navratilova, former world number one tennis player.
Be the pig!
What must you finish?
What must your team members finish?
Are you and your team committed like the pig?
- Loyalty. You must do what is expected of you with the right heart and right attitude. Loyalty means you are 100% sold out to and are following the vision of the leader, no matter what. Loyalty means that you want to help the leader to lead the vision. The vision of the leader is more important than the individual. However, on the flip side, you as the leader are 100% devoted to your team, backing them up and supporting them as they strive with you to achieve the vision. No divided loyalties – not for you and not for your team members. It’s one in, all in, 100%, or go home!
“I don’t care a damn for your loyal service when you think I’m right: when I really want it most is when you think I am wrong.” British General John Monash (1865 -1931)
Who is not loyal?
Are you 100% loyal to your team?
I trust this and Part One of this series on creating and communicating legendary performance expectations has encouraged you to:
- Look at the current process of casting your Vision and then making it relevant to each key team member via crystal clear performance expectations.
- Implement “House” expectations of your team.
Stay tuned for the last blog of this series for the remaining 5 “House Rules” and the two key things that must underpin everything when establishing, communicating and maintaining your performance expectations.
If you’d like to receive a FREE e-copy of my book, “The Dream Is Everything”, click here.
Coxey.
