How coach leaders uphold standards and expectations
As coach leaders, we expect that everyone wants to live up to the standards that are expected of them. No one gets up in the morning, gets dressed, looks in the mirror, and says “How can I really mess things up today?” And yet…. people do mess up. Sometimes we don’t live up to standards and expectations because of simple human error, sometimes because we have a competing need that contradicts the standard, and sometimes we simply don’t understand what is expected.
There are ways to address all three of these reasons for failure. We can minimize human error with checks and procedures, and we can address competing needs by listening to employees and resolving conflicts, but the easiest step we can take is often the one we ignore-- articulating and holding up the standards and expectations in our communication.
One of my first professional jobs was for a nonprofit organization that lobbied on behalf of a large membership. We were a small team-- about 10 employees, each with their own separate critical function. We had a finance manager, an administrative assistant, two membership recruiters, a communication director, a publications manager, a member services rep, a lawyer/lobbyist, a receptionist, and an executive director. Except for the recruiters (who had different territories) everyone was a department of one. When I was being interviewed for the job of communication director, the executive director said: “We have a pretty loose organization here, but one thing is non-negotiable. When it is time to get a project done, everyone, no matter their job title, pitches in. Whether it is licking stamps, stuffing envelopes, or making coffee, no one on this team is too good to do anything to help a colleague complete a project. If you can’t handle that, this is not the place for you.” Her words were true and clear. Every employee had heard the same expectation, and the day the member newsletter went out you would find all of us in one room, preparing a mailing to 65,000 members.
What might have happened if my new boss had not shared this expectation? Well, I might not have realized the importance of the expectation and missed an opportunity to show that I was part of the team.
Platter metaphor
My mentors, super-coaches Kathy Kee and Karen Anderson, called this “putting the standard on a platter.” In my mind, I imagine a waiter bringing a platter of food to the table in a crowded restaurant. He is holding the platter high, above all possibility of jostling, into a room crowded with people engaged in all sorts of other endeavors. It is a restaurant so the food is the “main thing.” Everything else must defer to the job of getting the food where it is supposed to be-- on the table of the customer.
This metaphor is apt. In an organization, there are many competing interests, and sometimes employees are not clear about what is expected and non-negotiable-- they bump into the waiter with the platter, or they drop it themselves. As managers, we may neglect to “put it on the platter.” We assume that others know what we think they should know, without ever having clearly stated what that is.
In a recent conversation, the manager of a retail store complained about the unprofessional attire of a new employee. I asked, “When you explained the expectation for professional dress to them, how did they respond?” The manager realized no one had ever articulated the standard or expectation.
But shouldn’t there be some things that people “just know” they should do? Perhaps. But this is a complicated and sometimes confusing process. Most new people watch coworkers around them who have more experience and emulate them, leaving room for all kinds of misunderstandings. The kindest move is to articulate clear expectations from the start, with ongoing mentoring as unusual situations arise.
But you can’t just put standards “on the platter” once and then forget them. Part of the role of a coach leader is to hold up the professional standards and cultural expectations through our actions and language every day.
