Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JUNE 2019 44 B ack in the day, we used to give a special mug at our Influencing Options events. On the side was embossed a simple statement: In the spirit of specificity, tell me what you want. Fifteen years later, our clients still ask for the mugs. I often tell my clients that if companies were better at specificity, I'd probably be waiting tables as I'd have a lot less to do. The truth is, in most companies there's a rampant lack of specificity that really baffles me. But I get it – we just don't ask for what we want. Specificity is an essential element of a Beautiful Culture. Isn't it obvious that asking clear-cut questions will help our teams and businesses run more smoothly? Yet wherever my consulting work takes me, I find people overlooking the all-important details. Why do we lack specificity? And where should we be focusing our attention? Here are three places I believe being more specific can have a huge impact: 1. Mission, Vision, Purpose, and Values. We need to offer our employees the right language that will help them align with what's important to us and our business. How specific are you in describing who you are, what you do, and your purpose and your values? Helping everyone connect to these core ideas will give them a compass for where you want your company to go, and how they should direct their efforts accordingly. You want them to know, very clearly, the reasons behind your work and your vision, so they'll feel a daily personal commitment to the job at hand. 2. Performance Expectations. This is a lot more than the simple job description we type up for HR. Crystal-clear performance expectations are the most valuable thing we can give a new employee to set them up for success. No one should have to guess what's expected of them, and how they can be good at their jobs. Everyone should have a clear idea of what excellence means in your business. And only you can be specific enough to share this information. What does it actually look like when someone is doing a great job? These can be tangible or intangible, measurable or sometimes subjective items, but you really do need to do your best to educate everyone about exactly how they can do their job well. 3. Team Agreement. As much as we want our team members to be great at their jobs, we also want them to be great people who can communicate, solve problems, deal with issues, resolve conflicts and have courageous conversations. These are the "soft" interpersonal standards we want our people to aspire to. And the risk is that if we aren't specific enough, the definition will simply be up for grabs. Everyone will say that "respect" is important to them and that they want to be respectful toward others. But unless we define respect specifically and behaviorally, people will be on their own, doing the best they can, which might not be perceived as very effective or respectful. Co-creating a Team Agreement is not just wasting time – it's making time for clarity, buy-in and commitment to how you expect them to work together, which is as important as what they'll be working on. You might read this and think, "Oh, yeah, we got that." But do you really? Most of the organizations I consult with will have a few loose parts of a mission or vision on their website. They may hang some values on laminated posters. They might have fragments of a job description. But hardly any have the level of specificity that I've seen, time after time, create trust, performance and morale. Take a closer look at the foundational elements of your own Beautiful Culture. If you ask, "What does it look like when we're doing it well?" you'll have most of the insights you need for creating specificity. Then ask yourself, have you answered that question in the language and documents you give your employees? Or do you need to dig down into the details and, in a "spirit of specificity," really tell them what you want them to know? ELEMENTS OF A BEAUTIFUL WORK CULTURE : CLARITY & SPECIFICITY Libby Wagner Culture Coach RO Libby Wagner, author of The Influencing Option: The Art of Building a Profit Culture in Business, works with clients to help them create and sustain Profit Cultures. www.libbywagner.com

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