Communicating Performance Expectations

Accountability is one of the most important—and often overlooked—skills in leadership. It’s not about micromanaging or policing your team. It’s about setting people up for success. How? 🤷♀️ Through the three C's of clear expectations, challenging conversations and consistent follow-through. While we all want to believe people will naturally follow through on what they commit to, that doesn’t always happen. And when it doesn’t, too many leaders let it slide. But brushing these moments under the carpet doesn’t help anyone, all it does is erode accountability over time. So, what DO you do?? 1️⃣ Be crystal clear about expectations. Ambiguity is the enemy of accountability. If people don’t know exactly what’s expected of them, how can they deliver? Take the time to clarify actions and responsibilities WITH them, not for them. 2️⃣ Document commitments in 1:1 check-ins. Writing the actions down is REALLY important. It ensures nothing gets lost and sets a reference point for everyone involved. 3️⃣ Explain the 'why.' People are much more likely to follow through if they understand why their actions matter. How does their work contribute to the bigger picture? What’s at stake if it’s not done effectively and efficiently? 4️⃣ Anticipate and address barriers. Ask if there are any obstacles standing in the way of getting the job done. When you help remove these barriers, you’re building trust and giving people every chance to succeed. 5️⃣ Follow up at the agreed time. Don’t leave it to chance—check in when you said you would. Ideally, your team members will update you before you even have to ask. But if they don’t, don’t skip the scheduled follow-up. 6️⃣ Acknowledge effort or address gaps. If the action was completed, recognize the effort. If it wasn’t, outline the expectations for the role and provide specific feedback on what needs to improve. Be transparent about the implications of not meeting role requirements over time, ensuring the person understands both the consequences and the support available to help them succeed. (A lot of people need help to develop the skills to have this conversation!!) 7️⃣ Plan the next steps. Whether the task was completed or not, always end by agreeing on the next steps and setting clear timelines. If you need a lean/leadership coach to work on these areas and help increase accountability right across your organization, then get in touch! It's one of my specialties... 😉 _____________________________________________________ I'm Catherine- a Lean Business and Leadership Coach. I take a practical hands-on approach to helping teams and individuals achieve better results with less stress. Follow me for insights on lean, leadership and more.

I was sitting in on a performance review when the manager said, "You're not meeting expectations." The employee's 8-word response stopped the room cold. He didn't get defensive. He just looked up and said: "I know. Can you tell me what they are?" In that moment, I realized the company had failed, not him. Leaders assume clarity when there is often confusion. The brutal truth: 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲. If your team members are missing the mark, don't ask "What's wrong with them?" Ask, "What did we fail to make clear?" My solution is the 𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱: 𝗖 - 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲: Define exactly what "good" looks like. No vague terms. 𝗟 - 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱: Connect their daily work to the bigger company goals. 𝗘 - 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀: Show them a finished product or report that nailed it. 𝗔 - 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱: Ask them to repeat the expectations back to you to confirm. 𝗥 - 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱: Check in weekly. Don't wait three months for a formal review. That employee? Once we implemented CLEAR, he became a top performer. The problem was never his ability. It was their communication system. Have you ever had a major gap between what you thought you communicated and what your team actually heard? #PerformanceManagement #Leadership #Communication #ManagementTips

If someone is surprised by the feedback they receive, this is a management failure. After witnessing multiple instances of this failure at Amazon, we realized our feedback mechanism was deeply flawed. So, we fixed it. In order for the organization to perform at its highest, employees need to know not only what is expected of them, but also how those expectations will be measured. Too often, managers assume that capable people will simply “figure things out,” but this is difficult and destined to fail without explicit expectations and continuous feedback. I remember the experience of an employee we can call “Melinda.” She had been a strong performer for two years before she transitioned into a new role on another team. She attacked the new opportunity with enthusiasm, working long hours and believing she was on the right track. Then, her manager expressed concerns about her performance and the criticism came as a shock. The feedback was vague, and there had been no regular check-ins or early signs to help her course-correct. This caused her motivation to suffer and her performance declined significantly. Eventually, she left the company. Afterward, we conducted a full review and we discovered that Melinda’s manager had never clearly articulated the expectations of the new role. Worse, her previous achievements had been disregarded in her evaluation. The system had failed her. This incident was not isolated. It illustrated a pattern. It revealed broader gaps in how we managed performance transitions and feedback loops. So, in response, we developed and deployed new mechanisms to ensure clarity from day one. We began requiring managers to explicitly define role expectations and conduct structured check-ins during an employee’s first 90 days in a new position. We also reinforced the cultural norm that feedback must be timely, specific, and actionable. These changes were rooted in a core principle of leadership: you have to make others successful too. Good management does not involve catching people off guard or putting them in “sink or swim” situations. When employees fail because expectations were unclear, that failure belongs to the manager. The best thing to do when you see those failures is to treat them as systems to improve. That’s how you build a culture of high performance.

Role clarity is one of the most underestimated psychosocial controls at work. When roles are unclear, people don’t just feel confused — they feel exposed. They’re unsure what success looks like. They’re pulled in competing directions. They take on work that isn’t theirs “just to be helpful”. They hesitate to push back because expectations were never explicit. Over time, this becomes a predictable psychosocial hazard. Poor role clarity often shows up as: - Chronic work overload - Role conflict (“everyone thinks this is my job”) - Decision paralysis or constant rework - Tension between teams - Burnout driven not by effort, but by ambiguity And yet, when organisations try to address the fallout, they often reach for the wrong controls. More resilience training. More wellbeing apps. More reminders to “have better boundaries”. But you can’t boundary your way out of a role that was never clearly designed. From a psychosocial risk perspective, role clarity is a primary prevention control. It sits firmly in the “change the work” category of the hierarchy of controls not “change the worker”. Good role clarity means: - Clear accountabilities (not just job titles) - Explicit decision rights - Agreed priorities when trade-offs are required - Alignment between workload, capability, and authority - Consistency between what leaders say and what they reward It doesn’t require a big transformation program. Often, it starts with better conversations: - “What decisions do you actually own?” - “What work can you safely stop doing or push back on?” - “What does ‘good’ look like in this role - and what doesn’t?” If your psychosocial risk assessment keeps flagging work overload, fatigue, or friction between teams, don’t just ask how hard people are working. Ask whether the roles themselves are clear enough to work sustainably. Because when roles are clear, work gets lighter - even when it’s still demanding. Updating position descriptions, decision rights and operating models are a January 2026 priority for us. What are you doing to improve role clarity for your employees? #psychosocialsafety #psychosocialhazards #workdesign #roleclarity #psychhealthandsafety #ISO45003 #workplacementalhealth

When times are tough, leaders start talking (a lot) about accountability, but here’s the thing: most of them don’t actually define what they mean. Teams are left guessing—or worse, wasting energy signaling contribution instead of making an impact. That’s not accountability. That’s theater. I think of accountability as a three-legged stool. If one leg is missing, it topples. If it’s standing but wobbly? You’ve got a weak leg to reinforce. 1️⃣ Expectation – Spell it out. What exactly does accountability look like? How will you know it’s happening? What would you see if you were watching Accountability on a movie screen? Without clarity, you get performative effort—which might look helpful but doesn’t move the needle. 2️⃣ Support – Acting like an owner is a great mindset, but it doesn't matter much when significant skill gaps exist. Once the expectation is crystal clear, ask folks: What would you need to meet this expectation? If people care but can’t execute, that’s on you. 3️⃣ Authority – People can’t own what they aren’t empowered to do. If they know what’s expected and have the skills to deliver but feel they need permission to move? Expect stagnation. Make authority as clear as expectation. This isn’t easy, but it's the most important thing any leader can do to unlock speed and performance. Most companies don’t have a talent problem—they're just missing a leg of the stool. What’s worked (or toppled over) for you?

Unclear expectations are a project killer When I first started managing projects, I thought everyone would be on the same page. Alignment on roles, responsibilities, timelines, & deliverables Spoiler alert - they weren't. Fast forward 6 months: → A task was delayed because no one owned it → A stakeholder expected something we never agreed to → The team was frustrated by murky priorities It all came back to unclear expectations. Now, every time I kick off a project, I focus on 3 key things: ☝ Define roles & responsibilities Who owns what? Don't assume people know. Spell it out. RACI charts work wonders. ✌ Clarify deliverables & deadlines What are we delivering and when? Be specific. Confirm alignment with your team/stakeholders. 🤟 Overcommunicate early Repeat key details. Document agreements/decisions. Follow-up to ensure understanding. Clarity by setting expectations prevents future problems. It also establishes trust, teamwork, and successful delivery. When everyone knows what's expected, they can execute instead of guess. PS: what's your go-to strategy for setting clear expectations? 🤙

When roles aren’t clear, progress stalls. A fast-growing startup I worked with had everything - talent, vision, and funding. Yet, execution dragged. Why? No one was clear on ownership. 🔹 50% of employees don’t fully understand their role (Gallup). 🔹 Unclear roles slow decisions by 25% (HBR). 🔹 Teams with defined accountability are 31% more productive (McKinsey). Work fell through the cracks. People hesitated. The leader assumed things were moving - until deadlines slipped. Some employees were overwhelmed, others were disengaged, and cross-functional collaboration felt chaotic. How We Fixed It ✅ Shift from tasks to outcomes → Instead of “handles reporting,” it became “ensures accurate, timely insights for decisions.” Employees started seeing their work as contributing to a larger goal, not just ticking off tasks. ✅ Clear accountability → Clearly define who’s responsible, for what, by when, for every key process. This eliminated bottlenecks and ensured that decisions weren’t delayed because "no one knew whose call it was." ✅ Make clarity a habit → Quarterly check-ins with two simple questions: → Do you know what success looks like in your role? → Where do you feel stuck? This helped leaders spot gaps before they became problems. Once roles were clear, execution sped up. Meetings became more efficient. Accountability improved. People weren’t just busy - they were moving in the right direction. Productivity increased. If your team is stuck, start here: What role ambiguity is slowing them down? #team #leadership #highperformance

🔎 90% of People Performance Issues Start Here Before you label it a performance problem, ask yourself one question: Have you made the expectations 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳? Not "they should know." Not "it's obvious." Not "well, I told them." 𝘾𝙧𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧. And 90% of the time when I ask this... the answer is actually "no." Recently, I worked with an entrepreneur who was frustrated with her sales leader's performance. When I asked her to show me the documented expectations, she paused. Then admitted, "Well, that's mostly in my head... but we've talked about it." Classic case. That's a management failure. The cost? Burned-out teams churning through projects without direction. Frustrated top performers who leave. And countless hours of "feedback conversations" that never address the root cause. Because... Before you can hold someone accountable… Before you call a strike… Before you even think about their performance curve… You must first do 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙 job: ⏎ Define the Core Values we live by - and share real examples of what they look like ⏎ Define the Core Roles of the specific seat ⏎ Define the Key Numbers that matter. Then you must: ⏎ Align on current priorities ⏎ Communicate these expectations consistently - and often ⏎ Identify and clarify any "expectation gaps" that exist - and close them swiftly ⏎ Re-align constantly The lights should be so bright - that there's no way the person could NOT know the expectations.  In fact, everyone knows! That's where accountability 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 starts. Not with a confrontation. Not with a warning. But with clarity. Clarity about: ⏎ What we value in how people "show up" ⏎ What the job actually is ⏎ What "great" looks like in that role Here's the 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢 that changes everything: 𝗖𝗿𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹-𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (Core Values + Role) × 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 (Leadership + Management) This simple formula literally creates your 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 culture. I've seen teams transform in weeks once this clarity exists.  Productivity jumps, confidence soars, and suddenly those "performance issues" resolve because everyone knows exactly what's expected. You can't skip the first part of the equation and expect the second part to work. No amount of feedback or coaching will fix a lack of clarity. And if you call a strike too early—before you've done the hard work of creating clarity—it's 𝘯𝘰𝘵 management. It's avoidance. Before you consider calling a strike, ask yourself: 🤔 Have I truly made it crystal clear? If the answer is no, then 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 your next move. --- 📢 Next up: ⏳ The one quote I've heard 100% of the time after leaders finally make the call. 🔄 Repost to share with someone who needs to create more clarity. 👉 And follow Mark C. Winters here for more freedom unlocking insights. 📧 Go deeper. Join my email Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gD6ZcSaS 

It’s hard to fairly judge someone’s performance if you haven’t been clear about what you expect from them. One of the first things I do when coaching a CEO is look at how the team is being managed: Step 1: Write out the org chart as it SHOULD be (roles, before assigning names). Step 2: Create a simple one-page Roles and Responsibilities document for each position, clearly spelling out expectations — both in terms of behaviors and role-specific outcomes. Step 3: Review each person against the Roles and Responsibilities for their position, and build a Performance Maximization Plan for them. Step 4: Meet with each person to walk through the org chart, review expectations for their role, and talk honestly about how their current performance compares to what the role requires. I often find that performance issues start with a lack of clarity. Once expectations are clear, performance often improves on its own. This doesn’t solve every underperformance situation. But it does make it much easier to tell whether the person is a bad fit for the role, or the company, or if the expectations themselves need to be adjusted. I’ve included templates below for this exercise: https://lnkd.in/gd65A3r5

In working with teams across different businesses, I have realized something simple yet surprisingly overlooked: 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. This oversight often leads to significant misunderstandings and inefficiencies. The result? Some team members work tirelessly, trying to anticipate what their manager wants, while the manager looks on thinking, “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵.” In a recent discussion with some managers, one of them remarked that one of his workers was "𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚" been overpaid for the work he was doing. My immediate question was: 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭? Does he even know what he’s being judged on? Research supports this concern. According to Gallup, only 45% of employees clearly know what is expected of them at work, a decrease from 56% in 2020. In addition, the available data shows that this lack of clarity can lead to: 𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐞: Unclear or unrealistic expectations can demotivate employees, resulting in disengagement and low morale within the organization. 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: Companies with unclear communication and expectations experience 25% higher turnover rates compared to those with clear communication. 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲: Organizations with clear expectations see 21% higher productivity compared to their peers. 𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Managers whose teams score low on clarity receive 27% lower performance reviews than those whose teams rate them high on clarity. If you're a manager and your evaluation metrics aren't clear, you're setting your team up for failure. Your judgment becomes entirely subjective, and frustration builds on both sides. The better approach is to communicate expectations clearly from the outset. Define what success looks like, specify the outcomes that matter most, and establish how performance will be measured. When expectations are clear, everyone understands the goalposts. And your team can deliver results that truly matter.