Titus, my four year old son, walked into the room with his bottom lip quivering. We just had a conversation with his teacher at school about how he went wild with one of his teachers. I’m a father of two boys and I hate the look my boys give me when it’s time for punishment. It’s one of the hardest things to do as a parent. In business, I’ve had to fire people and it’s never a fun experience.
In this series on the Leadership Loop, we have reached what may be the toughest part. First we discussed setting the proper expectations so it’s clear what you want. Then we talked about providing the skills needed for the people on your team to fulfill the expectations you’ve set. Next we talked about giving effective feedback. Let them know clearly how their performance compares to your expectations.
The next aspect of the leadership loop is Consequences. Consequences are the results or effects of an action or condition. In any environment, think of it simply as what will happen if the expectation isn’t met. And consequences can be positive or negative.
It’s About You
RHETORIC is a live spoken word and music event I’ve been responsible for planning for and it entails a couple dozen performers, 20 team leaders and over 100 volunteers. We run one practice day a week before the show so the volunteers and team leaders can rehearse their roles for the day of the show and work out any kinks. Each team leader must create a training plan to for their teams on the practice day.
To prevent procrastination, I’d check in with the team leaders each week to ensure they were making progress. One team leader was behind schedule and not making much progress. The standard consequence that people think about in an professional environment is getting a write up or being suspended or fired.
This was a volunteer leader so while there was a possibility of replacement was a viable consequence. This is one personal consequence that is about the individual, but this was a volunteer position and a leadership training opportunity so I didn’t want to go that route. Another consequence of waiting is that you’ll feel so much more stress at the last minute than if the work is spread out over time.
I also like to lay out some positive individual consequences. If the plan was developed early, there would be the time to review it and figure out any holes and fix them ahead of time. And a solid plan you’re comfortable with gives you the confidence to execute with excellence. When you have that confidence it enables you to lead with authority. It’s important to remember to share positive as well as negative consequences for meeting expectations.
It’s Not Just About You
As a leader you see the impact of one person’s actions beyond him or herself. In the case of RHETORIC, the team leader I was working with was in charge of the team taking tickets. I had to help demonstrate that individual failings can have consequences for multiple people beyond the individual team leader.
When you have an event with nearly 3,500 attendees, you have only an hour and a half to get them all checked in and deal with any ticket issues. If they are checked it slowly, one consequence is the attendees get anxious because they are really excited to see the show.
Also, the producer of the show expects to start at a certain time, and if people are checked in efficiently, they can get in, get comfortable and seated and relax in time to enjoy the show. And from a financial perspective, if the show starts on time, it can end on time. The scheduled end time allows for period of time for artist and vendor merchandise sales before everyone is required to pack and leave. And if the vendors make money, you can justify the vendor fees charged.
Consequences Provide Context
It’s easy to get mad and frustrated when people on the team make mistakes or fall short on making expectations. You see the problems that it will cause for them, the team, and your clients and it gets you hot. Rather than just getting upset with them and letting it show, calmly openly explain the negative consequences of continuing to fall short and motivate them by explaining the positive consequences of coming through.
Whether it’s children or employees, people perform at their highest with solid leadership. Negative consequences instill the healthy fear that is needed to keep moving for some and positive consequences provide the incentive to make the corrections needed to succeed. Provide a healthy mix of both and you don’t need any tricks or magic speeches to get the best out of your team and lead with authority.
