Important reminder…
I expect certain members of my team to run select performance reports every day. I expect the people who are running those reports to review them and identify opportunities for action to address potential issues. I expect the people who identify potential issues to notify their direct leadership. I expect their leadership to verify what’s been reported and, if needed, put plans in place to curb the potential issues so they don’t become real problems. I expect the leadership to notify me of circumstances they cannot easily resolve so I am fully aware of the challenges the team is facing and so I can support the overall in team maintaining excellent customer service.
The entire chain of activity above is dependent on the first two words:
“I expect…”
I was reminded two weeks ago of William R. Deming’s quote, “You can expect what you inspect.” Deming is also credited with another related saying, “In God we trust; all others bring data.”
As a human being and as a leader, I am generally a very trusting person and believe that, when given the opportunity, people will rise up and do the right thing. However, when managing multiple processes and customer relations and large amounts of production work, I must also have systems in place to capture the work being done. And, perhaps even more important, spotlight the work that is not being done. For success, there must be a way to regularly inspect what I expect.
What do you expect of your team? Have you clearly communicated your expectations? Do you have checks and balances in place to inspect what you expect?
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Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.
