Monitoring employee performance and holding people accountable makes many business owners uncomfortable. Many owners don’t provide job descriptions for their coworkers and spell out functions for each position. This leaves everyone confused and frustrated. Owners ask why this person doesn’t perform and employees are asking what does the boss expect them to do.
Patrick Lencioni wrote an excellent book titled “5 Dysfunctions of a Team”. In it, Lencioni says these dysfunctions are:
- Absence of trust.
- Fear of conflict.
- Lack of commitment.
- Avoidance of accountability.
- Inattention to results.
Ultimately, I hold the view that it’s the CEO or business owner’s responsibility to exhibit the necessary leadership to minimize these dysfunctions.
I had the privilege of coaching a high-profile, successful interior design firm that has won numerous creative awards. This owner had been in business for close to 20 years before I started working with her. When I asked about job descriptions and sales, client delivery, and billing processes, this owner pulled out a binder, “The (Company Name) Way”. It spelled out each position in the firm, what their role and responsibilities were, and how each role worked within the whole. She was excellent at building trust with coworkers.
While she admitted that it was uncomfortable dealing with conflict, she still dealt with it because she knew the benefit it produced for her and the employee. Each person had a clear understanding of what they were accountable for and therefore, this firm performed at a high level. I worked with her for several years on achieving the results she wanted. The groundwork had already been laid by her and the results followed.
I’ve also worked with many organizations that don’t build trust well. People avoid conflict and don’t hold each other accountable, and execution and results suffer.
There’s an upfront price to be paid for a high-performing company. John Maxwell said, “Teamwork makes the dream work, but the vision becomes a nightmare with a good dream and a bad team.” To have a high-performing company, the team builds trust quickly and handles conflict in an empathetic manner. This keeps employees engaged and accountable for results.
