The Challenge

The standard job description is normally too broad and general to influence high-leverage behaviors on a daily basis. Although job descriptions are important to organizational clarity, they don't affect enough of what matters most now. In addition, they are rarely updated often enough to maintain maximum relevance. As a result, in many organizations, job descriptions serve more as a human resources wish list for desired behaviors than as an effective driver of the daily activities most essential to reach the organization's goals.

Five Tips for PSPs

1. PSPs should take a broad job description and narrow it down to include a concise compilation of daily, weekly, and monthly master the art of execution (MAX) acts required from each team member. A PSP can be created for various positions and may even vary slightly among individuals holding the same position. For example, a new salesperson's PSP may initially focus heavily on practicing product presentations, whereas a veteran's might outline a specific number of calls to one's customer base as a daily nonnegotiable.
2. PSPs should be in writing and should be signed off on by the team member. This eliminates misunderstandings and excuses like, “I didn't know I was supposed to do that,” “You should have been clearer,” or “I can't read your mind.”
3. PSPs should be updated as necessary to maintain relevance. As economic conditions, certain seasons, product cycles, competitive considerations, or marketing campaigns change, so may your PSPs.
4. PSPs should be discussed often: during coaching sessions, at meetings, and during performance reviews. Used in this manner, they provide an excellent tool for feedback, reinforcement, and accountability as you coach and measure behaviors based on the MAX acts in the PSP.
5. PSPs should be introduced to each team member positively and as a focus tool to help the person become more successful. Do not present them as a threat of punishment! PSPs are a tool that you should use to help the people on your team focus, get both you and them on the same page, and enhance individual and team success.

Parting Thought

Job descriptions have always been a sound idea, but most leaders intuitively feel they don't have enough impact on the daily behaviors that drive results. By creating the PSP, you are simply taking a good thing and making it better, more compelling, useful, and effective. In fact, to make it even easier, a sample PSP that you may use as a template has been included below. See? It's not rocket science!