Set clear expectations
You need to work with employees to develop expectations so that both leader and employee are clear about what needs to be done to keep improving.
“You always start by identifying the perceived problem or the opportunity for improvement,” Stewart says. “You develop a mutually agreed-upon plan on how you are going to resolve that or improve performance. You offer them whatever time you can or is necessary to make sure they feel comfortable in asking you for help.”
It’s all about servant leadership, and that’s where you really rely on your other leaders in the organization.
“Leaders are here to serve those who serve others,” Stewart says. “Sometimes, there are things that that person needs to learn or develop that may very well be outside my skill set. In that case, you’ll either work with them to identify another mentor that they can work [with] or, in some cases, I’ll pull in outside help to help those individuals.”
Whether it’s you or another leader, there needs to be collaboration in developing the work plans.
“For a mutual agreement to be effective, it’s no different than when you choose to get married and you have a mutual agreement with your spouse,” Stewart says. “The most successful relationships or marriages or employee relationships are when you have clear definitions of expectations from both sides. We have certain behavioral standards that every new team member signs when they come to work so they understand.”
Start setting expectations from day one.
“Even when I’m interviewing for an executive-level position, one of the first questions I’ll always ask in an interview is, ‘Are you clear of the expectations for this position and what do you understand them to be?’” S
te
wart says.
Then you need to reinforce the importance of the plan by checking in on it on a regular basis.
“I would say minimally halfway through the year, sit down and say, ‘OK, this is what I’m seeing,” Stewart says. “How are you feeling? What do you feel you’re doing well? What do you feel you need to be doing better? What are the things that we need to readjust today so that we’re back on course by the end of the year?’”
This effort will pay dividends as employees see that you care about their growth in the company.
“It’s amazing how once you start and work though a couple key initiatives and they start realizing, ‘Yes, we can influence change; our input is respected, desired and even required,’ they see the outcomes from that and the positive energy and it starts to create synergy in the organization that is almost palpable,” Stewart says.