Wednesday, February 17, 2016

RULES, EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR

The following comes from one of the best books I've read on developing and maintaining a successful culture in your program.  "How to Build and Sustain a Championship Culture" was written by Jeff Janssen and it certainly needs to be a book in your personal library.  Below, Jeff discusses the differences between rules, expectations and standards of behavior:
 
“In developing teams, I don’t believe in rules. I believe in standards. Rules don’t promote teamwork, standards do. Rules are issued by a leader to a group, and the group can either follow those rules or break them. When something is presented as a rule, you can’t own it. You can’t live it. Standards, on the other hand, are lived. This is what we do all the time. These are the things for which we hold one another accountable.” –Coach Mike Krzyzewski
“I approached the building of the 49er organization with an agenda that didn’t include a timetable for a championship or even a winning season. Instead, I arrived with an urgent timetable for installing an agenda of specific behavioral norms-actions and attitudes-that applied to every single person on our payroll…” –Bill Walsh
 
“When your team completely embraces the standards that define you, you will begin to see those standards manifested in a shared pride that is reflected in everything you do.” -Coach Mike Krzyzewski
 
·         Rules - Rules do seem too rigid and they are often imposed from above
 
·         Expectations - Expectations, on the other hand, can be too soft.
 
·         Standards of Behavior -Standards of behavior, however, seem to find that effective middle ground between rules and expectations.