|  |  |  | | | | | | SECTION I –The E in L.E.A.D.E.R.S.: EXPECTATIONS | | |
“Setting the Bar Sets the Tone”
Can you imagine playing the game of American football, without knowing the rules of the game? From the name, you would assume that the game is primarily about a ball that comes into contact with the foot. If you were sent out on the field without the rules and without ever having watched a game, your expectation might be that you were to kick the ball past all those people and take it to the other end of the field. Well, if you were in Europe, that might be the case, but the game would probably be soccer, which is actually called “football” in French, Spanish, Italian and German. Sports are often used as metaphors for our experiences, and in this example the metaphor demonstrates that the name of the game can often be misleading. The only way to play the game properly is to know the rules, and to understand the expectations-- which may be that you should somehow get the ball over the goal line, but not by kicking it. Unfortunately, all to often in the world of work, people are put into jobs and are given far too little guidance as to what the expectations are, hence they really do not know what or where the goal is. This is where every leader must start…You must define what the expectations are for the unit and for every job in the unit. Without expectations, how can your staff know when they have achieved success? The importance of expectations seems obvious, yet far too many leaders do not focus enough attention on this crucial first step in leading. The key to setting expectations is that they must be clear and specific, so that every associate assigned to that job understands them and is held accountable for them. It is impossible to hold your associates accountable if they do not know what is expected of them; it is also impossible to hold them accountable if you have no way of objectively determining if the expectations were achieved. Every expectation must be measurable, which provides you and your unit with an objective assessment of success and failure. Much has been written about goal setting, and even more has been written about how the goals get established. It is not our objective here to sell one process or another. There are those who believe that goals that are set mutually by the associate, and therefore “owned by the associate” are far better than those that are mandated by the boss. Others believe that clarity, understanding and acceptance of the expectations are the essential elements that make for effective goal setting. Whatever the management style or philosophy, it is clear that without expectations being set, your staff will flounder. In that situation, you and your unit’s performance will flounder as well. You must, in what ever way works for you and your associates, make certain that every job, and eventually every person in those jobs, clearly have expectations that guide the work. | | | SECTION II – Mini Case – “A Successful Failure ” | | |
Brian has been a sales representative at an auto parts manufacturer for the past seven years, and has consistently received great performance appraisals from every boss that he has had. Two years ago, Sally took over as his boss, and since then Brian has been very uncomfortable in his job. Sally has rarely spoken to him on a one-on-one basis, and has seldom checked on what he’s doing on the job. They only meet occasionally, and it’s usually at trade shows or at quarterly national sales meetings where they hardly have a chance to talk. Although Sally hasn’t communicated it to Brian, he is certain that she is unhappy with his work. He just doesn’t know why.
Having pleased all of his previous bosses, and having increased his sales each year (this year was no exception!) Brian expects that Sally is also satisfied with his performance. He asked some of the others in the sales force about their sales numbers, and determined that his own numbers were about in the middle of the pack, certainly not in the lower fifty percent. Given these results, Brain was convinced that he was doing a good job, and that the problem with Sally must be some kind of misunderstanding. He tried several times to talk to her about it, but Sally was always too busy for a real discussion. All she had said to Brian was that he should continue to do what he was doing, and to make certain he kept sales growing. Most of the time she would add something like, “Let’s make certain we get together the next time we are both in the same place at the same time.” Unfortunately, the timing ! never seemed to be right. From Sally’s perspective, Brian is one of the old timers who fail to understand that mediocrity is not sufficient for success. She has some really ambitious sales goals, and Brian’s numbers are far below what she needs from him if she is to achieve those goals. Sally knows that customers really like Brian, and that her predecessor had been very high on his performance, so she is puzzled by the fact that he is falling short for her. She has nothing against him, and would like to sort out what it is that is holding him back, but she just never has the chance to spend any serious time with him. Her own boss expects her to be making calls on all of the major customers, which takes her out of the office over 70% of the time, and the other 30% is almost always spent catching up on sales reports and senior management meetings. Sally is very concerned about Brian’s sales and she has been talking to her bos! s about the fact that she needs to hire some new staff who can take over the key accounts that Brian and a few others from his era are handling. She is eager to move out the non-performers, and to build her team with star sales people. It was clear to her that Brain would have to go. Question: Is Sally a good leader?
The quick answer is a resounding no, and the reason is simple…If Sally ever set the sales expectations for Brian, he certainly does not remember them. We can not be certain, but it seems that Sally has done a terrible job of communicating her expectations to Brian. It is also quite clear that unless Brian really has a serious memory deficiency, he is working in a vacuum where he believes he is a success, although admittedly not a star. Sally’s view is entirely differently, as she sees Brian as a failure. Hence we really have a “Successful Failure.” There is a complete “disconnect” between Sally’s expectations and Brian’s understanding of them. Obviously, it is the leader’s responsibility to ensure that expectations are understood, so there is no way to let Sally off the hook. There is another problem in this case, and it is fairly common in sales organizations. The tendency to have a sales force traveling a great deal, and to be geographically disbursed, results in members of sales teams having very little personal or one-on-one contact with their leaders. This situation means that every opportunity for communication must be used to the greatest benefit. Sally needs to plan interactions with her team and with each individual, and must also use each incidental meeting to reinforce her expectations of the individuals and the unit. Being close to the customers is admirable, but being invisible to your staff is unacceptable.
| | | SECTION III – Tips From The Czar | | |
It is essential that every leader focus on setting expectations, and setting them at a level that is both challenging and reasonable. “Stretch goals” are great for helping organizations achieve peak performance, but if they are so difficult that they become “impossible dreams” in the minds of the staff, they are no longer stretch goals, they are frustration generators. You must work hard to determine what is truly in the realm of possibility. It may be great to have one of those “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” (BHAG) but if they are so audacious that they can not possibly be achieved, then they will be disregarded. (Note: If you are not familiar with BHAG, I highly recommend that you read the outstanding leadership book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras.)
In determining goals, you should look at the historical data, evaluate what was done in the past and who did it. Choose a few of the stars in your unit and test your ideas on them. If they think that the goal is far too “stretch”, then you can be certain that the others will resist even giving it a try. The opinions of the top performers are critical in a unit. The staff is usually aware of the stars, so if you can get them on board many of the others will follow. If you fail to get the support of yours stars, it will kill the effort with the rest of the staff. Setting the bar at the right level requires creating some “pain.” If the staff can coast to victory, then that is what they will do. If they need to push themselves, then the great people will do that and you will find a new standard of performance. Sometimes the expectations will be mandated from above, and if so, you must embrace these goals and communicate them to your staff. When it is your turn to set the expectations, make an honest assessment of what will be a reasonable stretch for your team, and then inform them of the goals.
| | | SECTION IV – Ask The Czar | | |
Iris: I have one staff member who refuses to accept the goals of the unit and his share of responsibility in achieving those goals. His argument is that he has been with the company for twenty years, and therefore knows that the goals are unrealistic. I checked with some other units, and their goals are very similar to ours.
The Czar: If you have seen other units in the company achieve goals similar to yours, you should feel confident in the expectations that you have set for your unit. In your case, you have an “old timer” who believes he is better than your staff, in fact probably you as well. You can not let this continue. There is no doubt that a one-on-one meeting must happen soon. In that meeting, you need to first listen to the explanations for his behavior. He may actually have some insights that will help you to understand him. He may also show his ignorance on a material piece of information. Whatever the case, you need to then work him through the logic of the goals. Understanding is an essential first step which he needs to take if you are going to get him to accept the expectations. Do not expect that one session will solve the problem. He has been around a long time and his opinions have been formed and cemented into his behavior. It will take time for him to embrace your goals. Be patient, but not weak. Give him time to see the light, but do not let him ignore it forever. Keep talking to him and reinforcing the idea that these goals are yours and his and that they must be met. Make certain that he knows that you really believe in the goals. A leader’s confidence is very persuasive. At! some point in time, he needs to come across the divide. If that does not happen, then you may need to move him out of the unit. Sam: My boss gave me a new set of goals six months ago, and I do not agree with them. I do not know what to do about it. The Czar: Well, if you have never in those six months talked to your boss about these goals, you are in big trouble. Although I would have preferred that your boss get a clear acknowledgment that you accept the goals, it is nevertheless reasonable for your boss to conclude that your lack of feedback was an acceptance of the goals. It sounds like you did not take the goals seriously when they were assigned, and now that you realize that your boss is actually expecting you to make the goals, you have decided to object. Sorry, but if I were your boss, I would be pretty unhappy. Assuming that you are a leader and have other staff members you are responsible for, you have let them down by not dealing with this problem long ago. Your staff is going to get painted with the failure brush right along with you. All of that said, I have two suggestions: 1) Talk to your boss and tell him that you made a mistake and should have discussed the goals much earlier. Explain your concerns, and then make it clear to your boss that you are going to make every effort to recover the rest of the year and would like his help in doing so. 2) Talk to your staff and work with them to achieve those goals….you owe that to them, your boss and to yourself. Then…next year, speak up if you think that you have been assigned goals which can not be met. Send your questions to gerry@the-czar.com
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