“When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable — if there are no consequences — that poor performance becomes the new standard. Therefore, leaders must enforce standards.”
Jocko Willink
I have long held to a simple yet effective three step formula of leadership responsibility and accountability.
- Set clear expectations
- Coach, Train, Provide Feedback to those expectations
- Hold accountable to the expectations
It is the leaders responsibility to ensure that his or her team understands what is expected of them, that the proper coaching and training has occurred, and then that absolute accountability to those expectations has been enforced.
Without enforcement then any expectations are merely recommendations, coaching and training is a waste of time, and accountability doesn’t mean anything…