RULE 33

Have clear expectations

One manager I worked with was very moody. When she was relaxed, everyone was productive but had fun. Occasional high jinx kept their spirits up and she didn’t have a problem with it, in moderation. When she was stressed, however, you could get your head bitten off for as little as laughing too loud.

As I say, there were times she was very relaxed. But no one else on her team was. They had no idea what mood she’d be in so they were always on tenterhooks. Would she be happy with a report that was poorly presented but contained all the facts, or would she rather wait until tomorrow and have it looking perfect? Could you get away with the briefest of paperwork for a particular procedure, or did you need to fill it in in triplicate, dotting every i and crossing every t? Hard to say really – it depended which side of the bed she got out of that morning.

And how did her team respond? Well, if you’ve ever worked for a manager like that, you’ll know the answer. They were pretty demoralized, and their standards were hugely inconsistent. Obviously, because their manager’s standards were similarly wide-ranging.

Look, if your team don’t know what your standards are, how can they aspire to them? They’re looking to you to set the lead, and if you don’t, they can’t tell where they’re going or how they’re supposed to get there. You have to be consistent in the standards you set and the performance you expect. If something is unacceptable on Monday at 10am, it should be unacceptable on Friday at 4pm. If paperwork is supposed to be filled out a particular way, that’s the way it should be done every day of the week.

It may sound unreasonable to have a basic standard and then suddenly, for no consistent reason, to expect more of people. And so it is. But it’s just as unfair to let them get away with less just because you’re in a particular mood. You’re not being nice to them – you’re confusing them. And you’re failing to ensure your team always produces work of the highest standard. And how fair is it to let one person get away with scrappy presentation when their colleague was expected to produce a polished document last week? No, the only way to ensure good morale among your team, and to make sure it turns in a consistently strong performance, is for you to be consistent in enforcing the standards that you set.

And if you ask me next week, I’ll tell you exactly the same.