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.
