One of the leader’s most important jobs is to get and stay clear about what it is that he or she is counting on from each team member.  Once the leader is clear, the message must be communicated to the team member.  Often, the leader fails to engage in a rich communication apparently in favor of assuming that team members are somehow supposed to figure out for themselves exactly what is expected of them.

Click the photo below to watch a five-minute video of a supervisor and team member making many common mistakes that make it  tough for things to come out right:

The steps detailed in this post make explicit a conversation that otherwise plays-out inside of the heads of those involved.  When the conversation is explicit the leader and team member get on the same page and dramatically increase the odds of high-performance and fulfilled expectations.

Contract: Get clear about what you want from each person. Continue reading →