At this point, we assume you have a solid understanding of your organization's purpose, have communicated this purpose to your staff, and have documented how each role contributes to the purpose. In addition, each of your employees has a job title and, most likely, a job description to go along with it. With this information, does your staff know precisely the expectations for their role? Probably not. Your purpose is concise and high-level, but your employees need more guidance on what good looks like at their job level.

For example, a Junior Analyst will have different duties and expectations than a Sr. Analyst. However, both resources contribute to the purpose in the role of Analyst. Clarity at each level is needed, so folks know how their performance is measured. Clear expectations give employees confidence that they know what good looks like, allowing them to focus on their work. In addition, with transparency, the productivity and well-being of your employee increase with a decrease in anxiety.

Transparency on expectations at each level also shows the requirements after a promotion is given. If your Level 2 knows the Level 3 expectations, they can see what they need to work on to advance in their career.

When I publish expectations, I use a table format with different columns per level.

For example 

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Update existing modules Build new modules from provided design Module designer and code reviewer

… … …

Next comes my favorite part - watching and helping employees fulfill their roles. You must tell folks clearly what the expectation is and any requirements and standards they need to follow. However, as much as possible, DO NOT dictate how they hit those expectations. When you allow folks freedom in approach, the magic starts to happen.

1. You get diversity in execution, leading to new ways of working and innovation.

2. Employees will start to brainstorm and work collectively.

3. Folks feel ownership and pride in their work.

4. Employees feel that they "belong" and feel safe to bring their ideas.

On the flip side, when you tell your employees HOW to hit expectations, you may set them up for failure. Interestingly, in this scenario, it is common that the employee doesn't even know the problem they are trying to solve! The manager will give a solution (without providing the problem) and asks the employee to execute the solution as THEY, the manager, would do it. The result is that the employee is trying to implement a solution in someone else's style, giving a deliverable to someone who already has an image in their mind of exactly how they want to see the end product. The best you can hope for is that the employee completes the task close enough to how you would do it, more slowly than you would, as they struggle to imagine what you want to see.

So give them their guardrails, the expectations, and get out of the way. Let each person figure out how they will implement solutions and tap into the creativity and individuality of your staff. Everyone on your team thinks differently and brings different work and life experiences. I have been pleasantly surprised many times when I have seen an employee execute to success in a way that I didn't think would be successful. 

Now, your folks will probably struggle, and you will find that if they have been working under a task-based manager style, they may not be comfortable with this direction. If they are stuck, coach them and guide them with prompts like :

1. Brainstorm on a solution and bring a few ideas for us to discuss.

When they bring ideas, continue the prompts

1. What are the pros and cons of each approach?

2. What other concerns do you have moving forward?

3. How will you measure success?

Avoid giving them the answer. It might be hard to watch and take more time and patience, but it will make them much stronger and confident employees. 

Let them have the struggle and own the win. When I was a programmer, my most significant breakthroughs were when I was so incredibly frustrated that I wanted to throw my computer out the window. Those breakthroughs after feeling like I was on the brink of failure - WHAT A RUSH! Do not deny your employees the struggle.

If they execute in a way that does not bring success, they have learned and gained more experience. 

Now I understand that sometimes the stakes are too high, and you need to dictate execution, especially with an employee with less experience. When situations occur where you need more control over the outcome, be transparent about it. Tell your employees you need to be more heavy-handed in that particular instance and why. In this case have them shadow you and treat and the execution as a coaching opportunity. Folks are amazingly responsive and understanding when they understand why there is a change in the normal process. Even though you may be dictating a solution, providing transparency shows a measure of respect that your employees will appreciate