Ambiguous or unspoken agreements often cause pain.
Lots of it.
This is why more and more organizations are creating agreements for expectations of one another. These aren’t employment agreements—these are behavioral agreements. These agreements, or codes of conduct, help an employee both be easy to manage as well as to bring their personal best.
The Only Type of Problem That Exists
As a Leadership and Culture Coach, I’m often asked by leaders to “change their people.” They want their team to care more, be more present, more accountable, have greater ownership thinking, have greater performance in a specific area. They think they have a sales problem, an operations problem, an attention-to-detail problem, a whatever-you-want-to-call-it problem. But they don’t. They have only one type of problem.
A Leadership Problem.
They aren’t leading their team or the individual to the desired behavior. And this brings us back to understanding the expectations of one’s behavior, and also, of course, the attention and investment the leader makes in cultivating their team.
If an individual
Isn’t performing well, look to their leader
Is dissatisfied with their job, look to their leader
Is feeling disengaged, look to their leader
Chances are good their leader isn’t investing in them. But wait a sec—doesn’t the individual have to participate too? Yes, we’re all in this together. Let’s get clear on each person’s role in the system.
The 3 Jobs All Leaders and Employees Have—And Who Owns What
Understand and communicate dependencies, contingencies, and needle movers so all are clear—all need to know what could interrupt execution and how to navigate around it and prevent it
Keep the communication flowing so everyone can do their best work
Note the meta-programs and SBM triggers of your colleagues and team, and communicate in them during stressful times
Employee’s Job:
Think things through, be proactive to ensure priorities are clear
Be present in your interactions to save everyone time and ensure things are done right the first time
Understand the outcomes your team and leader want and when, and how they align with your organization’s outcomes and those of other teams so contingencies and dependencies are navigated effectively
If progress toward outcomes isn’t happening, or if anything’s unclear, ask your leader for help
If your leader isn’t clearly prioritizing, give them feedback to help them improve
This is a rough draft to get you started. What else do you need to add to ensure communication and expectations are clear at your organization? Let me know!