Providing Clear Expectations

Here are some suggestions for how you can enhance your skills in the leadership behaviours of Providing Clear Expectations:

• Reflect on the extent to which you clarify performance expectations within the team: to what extent do you define objectives, clarify priorities, responsibilities and timescales?
• The next time you get a project or a piece of work that involves delegating either all or parts to different colleagues, plan a ‘project initiation meeting’ to handover this piece of work. Ensure you:
  – Outline the background to the project, including the aims and objectives.
  – Set clearly defined objectives for your colleagues to achieve. In order to increase a sense of ownership of the objectives, identify the objectives in partnership with your colleagues, rather than being too prescriptive.
  – As much as you can, try to make these Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound.
  – Try and identify the support and information your colleagues will need in order to achieve their objectives.
  Ensure that your colleagues understand what is expected of them before the meeting has concluded, giving them the opportunity to ask questions.
  – Make sure you colleagues know they can contact you with any questions they have and agree a timescale to review progress.
  – Following on from the meeting, send an email with a summary of what was discussed and agreed.
  – Agree the frequency with which you will meet to review progress
  – Find opportunities, if possible, to offer praise, and/or constructive feedback, as the project progresses.
• Reflect on how well this exercise went and the impact it had on your colleagues and goal achievement.
• Following your reflection, try and incorporate such a meeting into any new project that involves delegation. Remember that by empowering individuals to use their discretion, within the clearly-identified boundaries, can raise individual’s sense of owning the objectives which will raise their level of engagement.
• It is essential you break down the strategy for your department or organisation into clear objectives for you and your colleagues.
  – At a team level, take the opportunity to regularly communicate a clear strategic plan to colleagues, explaining how this relates to the overall team objectives. Regularly remind colleagues of the ‘bigger picture’ so they have a vision of what the team is aiming for.
  – Use team meetings to share individual progress, learning, challenges, wins, etc., so that people are aware of what their colleagues are doing and how members are interdependent. If handled constructively and respectfully it can also build team efficacy and resilience.
  – Use team meetings to celebrate individual and team progress on the strategic plan.
  – At an individual level, ensure that colleagues know how their role and objectives contribute to achieving the overall strategic plan.