Managers often find themselves wondering what went wrong. There was a plan, and everyone needed to do his or her part, but it didn't work out. The first inclination is to start blaming individual employees or the entire team.
"They didn't do what they were supposed to do."
"Sally didn't buy in to the plan."
"Roger is lazy."
When something goes wrong, it's easy for the manager to point the finger, but often times, the blame lies with the manager. Sure, there was a plan, but did everyone understand it? The manager may have sat through a dozen meetings and understood every detail, but the employees didn't have that luxury. All they had was what their direct supervisor told them, which turns out, wasn't that much.
Assumptions were made by the manager and employees were left to interpret goals and how to get there on their own. Others, demoralized by yet another confusing initiative, simply gave up or focused on tasks that were better defined. It wasn't that they wanted to fail, they just didn't know what to do.
Further compounding the problem are a few employees who openly defied direct instructions and nothing was done. This told everyone that they were free to do whatever they wanted and there would be no ramifications for their actions - as well as emphasizing the plan wasn't that important.
To be an effective manager, one of the most important things you can do is set expectations, clearly communicate those expectations and then hold people accountable to them. Regardless of the scale of your plan or goal, these rules apply. Without them, a manager has to hope everything comes together. But if you are going to rely on hope, what's the point of having a manager - you - in the first place?
Let's take a look at these rules in more detail.
Determine expectations. If it's a larger corporate plan, these may have been determined for you. If it's your plan or goal, you will need to make sure you are clear on what you want done and what the end result looks like. If you don't know what the goal is, how are your employees supposed to figure it out? If the plan comes from someone else, spend as much time as necessary to make sure you understand all the components and what your team's role is. Similarly, if you are developing the goals, make sure you leave nothing open to interpretation.
Clearly communicate expectations. This is where things typically fall apart. Everything is clear in your mind and you tell your team what the goal is and when the work needs to be done. Unfortunately, you are looking at things from your perspective and don't realize you've left out key bits of information. To make sure everyone is working together, it's important to communicate the entire plan and explain the goals to the whole team, even if that person or subgroup is only handling a part of the plan. This will put everything in context for them and help them understand how their piece fits in to the rest. It will also help them feel a part of something bigger, which will help build teamwork and morale.
When you are communicating expectations, use direct language. If you need a report by next Wednesday, don't say, "I need that report whenever you can get around to it." That leaves the due date open to interpretation and the employee may have other priorities they put ahead of that report, making it late. Instead, say "I need that report no later than noon on Wednesday." Saying it this way makes it absolutely clear to the employee when the due date is. For longer-term goals, check in periodically to make sure the employee understood you correctly and is on the right track. It's better to catch-and-correct early in the process and not the day before everything needs to be finalized.
If you are assigning something to a team, designate a team leader and make them accountable for all deliverables. Otherwise, members of the team may think the other members are taking care of the details. Always make sure someone is in charge of the final delivery of every item. Rotating these team leader positions is also a great way to evaluate talent and keep those hungry for chances to prove themselves happy.
Hold people accountable. This can be the toughest part of being a manager. If someone isn't doing their part during a project, you need to sit down and have a face-to-face meeting. Don't email them about the problem! In the meeting, repeat the expectations you set and the directions they were given. Explain the importance of everyone doing their part and ask the employee why the work wasn't done on time or the way it was supposed to be done (depending on the issue). At the end of the discussion, inform the employee that you will send a written summary of the meeting to use as future reference. This will give both of you a written record of the meeting. Depending on the severity of the transgression, you may need to take disciplinary action at this time.
In the meeting, be open-minded. You may have failed to properly explain what was expected or left it open to interpretation. If that's the case, don't hide from it. Tell the employee that you didn't intend it that way, but you can see who that would be the case and apologize for not being more clear. Thank them for their efforts and tell them you will try to do a better job the next time of being more clear with the specific expectations. Never be afraid to admit a mistake. As a manager, this builds respect from your team.
Being a manager is a daily challenge. If you want to create a high-performing team that consistently hits deadlines and achieves goals, start by focusing on expectations. When you know what you want, clearly communicate that and hold people accountable, you'll find that all parties are happier and more productive.
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