In our continuing focus on Team Leadership and how clear agreements create workability and drive results, we look at part one of creating an agreement: “the request”.

Why it Matters

Imagine a workplace where everyone knows exactly what needs to be done and expectations are met the first time. A clear request also opens the door to building trust, enhancing loyalty, changing attitudes, and increasing productivity. Yes, clear requests are that impactful to an organization’s overall performance!

Leadership Strategy

A clear request means that there is nothing up for interpretation on the expected outcome, there is no vagueness. In business, we use the phrase “by the end of the day” as in “Please send me the report by the end of the day”.

One might see the end of the day as 5:00 pm or before you end your “office day” and someone might see that as “I have till midnight” when the day actually ends.

A clear request needs to have specific dates and times so all parties involved with the clear request are on the same page.

Leadership Challenge

If you want to improve performance in your team, take inventory of the requests you make and receive that are vague. Recreate them so they are clear/locked in with no room for interpretation.

Awesome Resource:

Living a Life of Integrity (4-minute video)

Have an awesome month leading with impact!