“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…
I learned a long time ago to hold people accountable when it comes to skill or will. I enjoy and gladly will provide guidance and “training”, once I confirm the knowledge, from that point on, it’s a will issue. That’s where either someone gives it their all, or not. I’ve also learned that sometimes, good is good enough. There are great employees who are just good…they show up when expected, and do a good solid job…those folks are great for an organization, because being reliable is a hugely underrated value. This went off a little. Sorry.
I couldn’t agree more, great perspective, thank you for sharing.