Accountable Leaders

CHAPTER 11Define and Embed Clear Leadership Expectations

When an organization defines a clear set of leadership expectations, it makes explicit the behaviors all leaders need to demonstrate. These desired behaviors, consistently evident, will create the desired leadership culture. I believe defining and reinforcing clear leadership expectations to be a primary obligation of the senior leaders of any organization. However, here’s the challenge. As we have already seen, my research reveals only about half of organizations do this consistently. Imagine for a moment what happens in a company when leadership expectations are not clear. There is a high degree of confusion, on the part of both leaders and employees. The leadership experience for employees is inconsistent. There is no mechanism to hold leaders accountable for their behavior.

Depending on how you look at this, it could be either a missed opportunity or an excellent chance to set your company apart from others. This chapter will help you understand your obligation to create, communicate, and embed a clear set of leadership expectations for your leaders.

Leadership Expectations in Action—the Amazon Story

Before we explore how to define and embed a clear set of leadership expectations in your organization, let’s look at a company that has done this with success—Amazon. Now, it’s important to state that their story is controversial. Not everyone supports Amazon’s unique culture. I share their story because they provide ...