Holding employees accountable is the key to getting the results leaders want, right?
Not so fast, says Anne Grady, author, corporate leadership expert and expert in personal and organizational transformation. "Sometimes we are frustrated with people for not meeting our expectations when we have never communicated what they were in the first place," she says. "What if all of this time we have been getting frustrated for something we can prevent?"
Often the problem lies in getting clear around expectations. Anne recommends the following strategies to ensure you are setting clear expectations:
1) Know what you want before you get frustrated: This is often the most difficult step. Many times, we haven't clarified in our own minds what we want, yet we assume others are being thoughtless or selfish when they don't satisfy our needs.
2) Clearly communicate these expectations and when necessary, ensure understanding: Simply asking, "Do you understand?" is not ensuring understanding. Whether you ask the person to paraphrase, summarize, or re-explain, it is helpful to hear the other person reflect what they heard, to make sure you are on the same page.
3) Define your desired outcome: What do you want the end product or behavior to look like? How would you define success?
4) Explain what you do want, rather than what you don't: We have a tendency to complain about the actions and behaviors we don't like, when in reality, we haven't explained the actions and behaviors we would like to see.
5) Reward the positive and coach the negative: Whether at work or at home, remember that people repeat behavior that gets attention. If your expectations are met, make sure you say thank you or show appreciation. If your expectations are not met, before assuming the person intentionally disappointed you, make sure you communicated what you wanted clearly.
"The challenge with holding people accountable is that we resist what we do not choose," Anne says. "Getting people involved in defining expectations is key. It's more than setting expectations around skills. It's about setting expectations around skills, behaviors and attitudes."
Anne Grady is an author, corporate leadership expert, and expert in personal and organizational transformation. With humor, passion and straight talk, she grew her business as a nationally recognized speaker and consultant while raising her severely mentally ill son. For more information, visit www.AnneGradyGroup.com.