Team Building 101: Make Your Expectations Clear Or The Pretty Burger Principal
When you’re a leader and working with a team, it’s important everyone know what is expected of them. Are you the kind of leader that inspires your team to work harder and better or do you lower your expectations based on what they do? There are far too many people who accept low quality or less efficient work because that’s what they expect, but you can work with your team encourage them for higher expectation and expect more too them.
It Starts With Realistic Expectations
When a new project begins, it’s easy to be gung-ho with pie-in-the-sky expectations. There’s excitement. There’s promise. The team is excited. You’re excited. The problems arise when the deadlines for those unrealistic expectations come and go. What happens is it demoralizes your team and you.
It’s like seeing a television commercial for a new sandwich at a fast food restaurant. What you see is an elevated expectation of what can realistically be done. The sandwich on your screen probably isn’t even edible. A team of professional food people work on that burger for hours. Professional lighting experts and photographer set up the perfect shot.
How’s a burger flipping teenager making minimum wage with 20 orders behind yours supposed to make something look that good? They can’t and your left feeling disappointing feeling despite the fact that the burger tastes great and they teen the best he could with what was available.
If you hadn’t seen that commercial and set your expectation so high, then you would have been more than satisfied with that burger. There’s no harm in setting the bar high, but don’t make it so high that it’s unattainable. I like to call it the pretty burger principle.
Explain Your Expectations to Your Team
People need to know what their expectations are before they begin the project. Tell them what you need to be done, set attainable deadlines and listen to them if they have questions. Your team should practically repeat back to you the expectations as a way of clarifying exactly what you want.
If your team doesn’t understand what you want, then what you get could be far different than expected. Once the expectations are clear, give your team encouragement to finish the tasks on time. Reward good behavior and provide encouragement to those falling behind. Be a part of the solution to work out the issues and your expectations will not only be met, but exceeded.
Use Team Building to Strengthen Your Team
A team works best when they know and trust each other. Team building exercises done either in the office or at a facility such as Upward Enterprises can turnaround inefficient and unmotivated to team to make those expectations attainable.
When it comes to team building in Maryland, Upward Enterprises is the area’s leading facility with climbing rock walls, ropes courses and more. We even have portable equipment that we can bring to you. Contact us and see what we can do to help your team.