People often fail in the performance of their duties simply because they have no clear understanding of the standards and expectations of their job responsibilities or of their supervisor. Job descriptions are written every day, yet few are read, reviewed, or used as the standard for performance of the position. Likewise, billions of dollars are spent writing, developing, and creating performance appraisals, but rarely are they used throughout the year to maintain focus on expectations. Once folks accept the job, we often just expect them to know what to do, yet without continual reminders of the targets, focus, and purpose of the positions, employees lose sight of the what and why.
Supervisors sometimes fall prey to the phenomenon of the “curse of knowledge,” described in Chip and Dan Heath's book, Made to Stick. According to the book, “Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has 'cursed' us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others because we can’t readily re-create our listeners’ state of mind.” In other words, leaders sometimes just expect people to know and remember. To mitigate this “curse,” coach leaders should recognize the importance of clearly articulating standards and expectations and maintaining them at the forefront of all work.
Standards and Expectations for the Leader as Coach
There are non-negotiables for leaders to clearly articulate—such as the standards and expectations of the work of schools. There are numerous common standards and expectations that have repeatedly been identified by school improvement and best practice research. Every employee should know what they are. A few common examples are:
- High levels of learning for students
- Teaching, monitoring and assessing student performance from a standard
- Creating and maintaining safe learning environments
- Using high-yield, research-based best practice tools and strategies for high gain, transfer, retention, and acceleration of learning
- Working in partnership with parents and community
“People improve when they know and look to a standard or example higher and better than themselves.”
—Tyron Edwards