1 Author: Bhavin.Gandhi@live.com | Contact information: http://BhavinGandhi.com

How to reinforce performance expectations with your team? by Bhavin Gandhi

After a recent company reorganization, which resulted in the team losing a few veteran employees and acquiring

few new employees, the team started missing important deadlines, and morale had declined. Seeing that situation,

the manager of that team (one of my good friend, let’s call him Bob) came to me for some advice. On asking

specifics about the situation, Bob told me that his veteran team members have complained to him about the new

team members slacking in their work. There could have been various reasons for this situation such as….lack of

training, lack of established goals, strained team dynamics, etc. After doing further research, I figured out that the

problem was in the fundamentals of how that team was operating. The team had very precise performance

standards, but they were poorly reinforced after the reorganization of the company. Thus, in this blog I would like to

share my experience on how I fixed that issue, and hence, giving you some insights on how you can reinforce your

performance expectations with your team.

Go back to basics: In my example above, Bob had all the information that he needed, but he never gave attention

to those. I can understand that. Sometimes, we are so much occupied in the details of the task at hand that we lose

the big picture. Thus, I would recommend you to revisit your team’s mission before you take any action. Review any

reliable documentation that you have which can confirm the team’s directives. If that document is not clearly stated,

then please update that document to make sure that you are clear about what your team must accomplish before

you meet with them in-person. It wouldn’t hurt to consult with your manager regarding these priorities, so that you

have another person in authority who can confirm your redefined mission, and make sure that you are headed in the

right direction.

Meet with your team: Once you have ironed out your team’s mission, goals and specific objectives, now it’s the

time to meet with your team. But yeah! DON’T conduct a one-way meeting with your PowerPoint slides. Consider

asking the team to give you their ideas about the team’s goals, as it stands right now. In this way, you will be able to

understand their point of view, and maybe, find out the reason for team’s deteriorating performance. After the team

has shared their understanding of your team's mission and goals, present them with your version of the goals in a

document that everyone can view simultaneously, such as a slide presentation or a paper handout. Compare the

team's version of the goals with your version, and point out any gaps between the two versions. If the team's version

of these goals is reasonably close to your version, consider complimenting them. If they have added a goal or task

2 Author: Bhavin.Gandhi@live.com | Contact information: http://BhavinGandhi.com

that you think should be included, but was missing from your version, praise them. While closing, make sure that

you reiterate individual team member’s roles and responsibilities, and get their agreement.

Re-establish your goals: Just to make sure that everyone has the same understanding of all the goals and

objectives of the team, you need to send a follow-up e-mail after the meeting. Make sure to summarize your meeting

with the mission, goals, accomplishments, and responsibilities that the team is expected to deliver. If possible,

deliver your message, or messages, in multiple formats, so that everyone receives the content, even if multiple

message modes cause some redundancy. Use whatever mode of communication you know will be received by

individual team members. Meet with them in person, send them email messages, or place paper documents in their

mail boxes. Don’t forget to obtain feedback from individual team members, so that you can verify that everyone on

your team has received your message and understands the team's mission.

Follow-up with everyone: Even after re-establishing your goals, you can’t be sure that all of your team members

will be committed to helping the team meet goals and produce the required results. Thus, I would recommend you to

meet with team members one-on-one and identify whether they are committed to helping the team meet its goals.

During the meeting, you should ask for direct feedback about each team member's level of commitment. I know, it

would sound silly, but I would recommend you to observe the body language and emotional tone of each team

members. Try to find out, if he/she seem sincere and enthusiastic about the prospect of helping the team move

forward. Ask each team member about their role in helping the team meet its goals, and ask them how they see

themselves as adequately filling that role. Consider keeping notes about your findings. If you are uncomfortable

taking notes during the one-on-one meetings, then jot down a few notes after each meeting, so that you are clear

about where each team member stands, and then, you can take any corrective actions, if necessary.

Have you ever been in a situation like Bob? If so, what have you done to resolve it?

Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi

Bhavin Gandhi | June 19, 2013 at 1:36 PM | Categories: Leadership | URL:http://wp.me/p103Cm-ac