Clear is kind: Set employees up to win
Setting clear expectations ensures you and your employees are aligned from day one.
One of a leader’s essential responsibilities is to coach and develop their team(s). They do this by:
Encouraging employees to continually grow and evolve.
Helping employees face and overcome performance issues.
Excellent performance and continuous improvement begin with setting clear expectations with everyone under your direct leadership. It is important that leaders clearly define a new hire’s role and responsibilities, set the standards for excellence, and clarify what is expected of them EARLY - as early as the first week.
Define success - Convey what success looks like as soon as a new hire steps into their role. For example, if a communication specialist’s main responsibility is to develop communications plans, explain what an excellent communications plan looks like for your organization.
I typically start with what I call a Role and Expectations document, which outlines the core responsibilities of the position without job-description jargon, and then I collaborate with employees to define expected outcomes. This approach helps employees understand their role and what their “wins” are if they meet the expectations. We walk through the final document together to ensure employees know what it means to achieve optimal results.
Clarify what growth looks like - Help employees understand how their contributions add value to the organization and what is required to advance. I append flexible “Growth Plans” to the Role and Expectations document. Each direct report’s growth plan aligns with overall team goals and the organization’s business needs, and I update it annually. Growth happens only when expectations are clear.
Establish the cadence for feedback - Each of my direct reports has a set time for their one-on-one that I try not to move unless absolutely necessary. Protecting these checkpoints sends a message that you respect your employees’ time and their growth matters to you. These meetings are opportunities to consistently review their Role and Expectations document and Growth Plans, and make adjustments as needed. They also eliminate surprises come performance evaluation time.
Once I establish expectations, outcomes, and advancement plans, I get out of employees’ way and let them work.
But my work as a leader doesn’t end. My standard of excellence is HIGH, so I always assess whether I’m creating an effective system for employees or stifling performance with unreasonable bureaucratic barriers. This keeps me in check, so I don’t create unrealistic expectations.