Leading By Agreement
6-Minute Read
How would you like to increase the productivity of your business AND workability of your team while simultaneously minimizing frustration and friction in the process? The most powerful thing you can do to get this result is to stop leading by expectation and start leading by agreement instead.
You may be asking, "What's the difference and why should I care?" We have three reasons as to why leading by agreement is much more effective than leading by expectation. If you're not already leading by agreement, it's safe to assert that half of your productivity and personnel problems will resolve once you do. It's THAT big of a deal. And it’s why we’ve made it a priority to bring it to your attention.
We want to credit today's topic to an extraordinary business coach, Steve Chandler. Steve originated the distinction Expectation Vs. Agreement with his coaching clients years ago. All members of The Plenteous Life and The Grip have direct access to Steve Chandler’s original audio teaching located in our private coaching library. If you are not yet a member, and would like to receive a copy of the Expectation Vs. Agreement audio, please subscribe HERE and we will send it to you as a welcome to our community.
Today’s focus builds on Steve’s teaching; it's not a duplication so be sure to tap into Steve’s work as well The Grip to get the most out of agreements in your life.
We contend that Leading By Agreement will produce ever-increasing workability for you both at work and at home. This capability will transform every area of your life where you put it to use.
THREE REASONS TO LEAD BY AGREEMENT
1. SKIN IN THE GAME
In general, people resent having expectations put upon them but enjoy fulfilling agreements they have chosen to make. One of the biggest reasons that leading by agreement is superior to leading by expectation is the intrinsic ownership and responsibility it elicits from everyone involved.
Even when expectations are clearly communicated—and frankly many are not—they fail to harness the powerful energy of a person who has committed to being responsible for the outcome. Agreements, on the other hand, require that each person involved acknowledge the responsibility they are taking on as owners in the result; they now have skin in the game.
You will ALWAYS produce greater results when you see yourself as owning the outcome. The same is true for each member of your team.
2. INNOVATION & COLLABORATION
High performing teams excel when the creativity of team members is utilized. Expectations are completely one-sided and leave no room for innovation or collaboration from the talented team you have cultivated. Expectations cut off the creative possibilities team members would otherwise contribute.
Agreements, however, are not inherently one-sided. Agreements are co-created. This is why they naturally generate ownership as discussed earlier. The more you operate through agreement, the more you empower your team to creatively advance the mission. Your business will attract and retain innovative talent when you foster an environment that welcomes and utilizes their input.
“An agreement empowers people to to be responsible for the quality of their communication; it increases their awareness of not only what they are saying but also of what they are hearing. ”
3. CLEAR & DIRECT COMMUNICATION
Humans are meaning-making creatures, and that meaning shows up every second of every day in language. Every culture has euphemisms, slang, metaphors, etc. that MEAN something to its members. So people speak in code—we don't say what we mean, and we mean what we don't say. Communication experts suggest that 80% of communication is non-verbal, and countless courses have been taught on how to "interpret" these non-verbal cues.
This exercise in interpretation may be useful in the counseling room between client and therapist or in efforts at cross-cultural communication, but I find it ineffective and utterly exhausting for everyday communication at work and at home. In fact, leading by expectation is just an extension of this tiresome guessing game. We talk past each other, each bringing our own undeclared meanings and interpretations to everyday situations, assuming we have understood one another when in reality, we haven't. It doesn't work.
What does work? The direct language of agreements. The very act of creating an agreement allows for defining and clarifying what is meant by the particular words used. Be aware that even when you believe you are bending over backwards to be clear and direct, everything you say is passing through the mind-filters of the listener. Words are constantly altered and skewed by the meaning ALREADY & ALWAYS present in every human being. Agreements help elicit and clear up these filters. The more you practice agreements, the more alignment there will be between what you say and what actually gets heard, and the more workable your relationships will become.
When company culture operates by expectation, assignments are often ambiguous. Take the following exchange for example; it’s very common today:
Manager: “I need that proposal right away.”
Employee: “I’ll get on it have it to you soon.”
A company culture that operates by agreement, however, actively works to clarify ambiguous language. Contrast the first example with the following:
Manager: “I'd like to make an agreement with you for finalizing the proposal. It needs to be done and turned in to me by Wednesday. How does that work for you?”
Employee: “I believe that works, but before I confirm, I have three questions to make sure we're on the same page. Does "done" mean ready to be submitted to the client as is, or something else? By Wednesday, do you mean this week or some other week? By what time specifically on Wednesday?”
An agreement empowers people to to be responsible for the quality of their communication; it increases their awareness of not only what they are saying but also of what they are hearing. In the example above, we could just as easily have had the manager initiate the clarifying questions, but the beauty of agreements is that EVERYONE in this system takes responsibility for the outcome, so we wanted to demonstrate what that looks like when subordinates are empowered to co-create agreements. Through your leadership, you can create a company culture where this kind of clear and direct communication becomes the norm.
How might Skin In The Game, Innovation & Collaboration, and Clear & Direct Communication make a difference for you at work and at home? Be sure to listen to the Steve Chandler Audio for helpful examples of constructing agreements in everyday situations. You can learn more about Steve’s work at stevechandler.com.
In an upcoming issue of The Grip we will give you a simple guide—the mechanics—for creating and communicating effective agreements. You can use it not only to train yourself on how to do it but to empower your team to operate by agreement as well.
May you prosper in every way!
Becky & TPL Team
52 Maxims of Conscious Choosing To Create the Deeply Satisfying Life You Desire.