What DOES Good Look Like…
“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”
-Albert Schweitzer
Most leaders can tell you what good work looks like; they've been doing it for years. But now almost none of them ever have to prove it.
You're saying you want quality, better communication, and more professionalism. Each of those words carries the full weight of a standard that you obviously have in your mind, and none of them demonstrates it. Such concepts mean something in a specific way in your head, built up over years of seeing it done well and doing it yourself. Your new teammate doesn't have that history. They hear the word, and they fill in the blank with what they think it is.
The team guesses and guesses. Some might guess close. Most guess close enough to get by, and you keep repeating the word, wondering why the standard never quite lands the way you intended.
A Moment Worth Paying Attention To
Early in my tenure as a community-based mental health supervisor, I received an email pointing out a recurring discrepancy in the completion of documentation related to our organization's SI (Suicidal Ideation) workflow. Seeing an opportunity for a teaching point, I realigned training that week to focus on the purpose of the documentation and the importance of timely, complete completion of all required and related documentation in the client's chart. Following the training, I put the issue to rest, sure that the team understood the "why" and would correct the issues in the future.
About 2 weeks passed, and I received a follow-up notice asking when I planned to correct the issue and encouraging me to do so immediately. I was beside myself. My mind as a leader immediately went to simple refusal from my team, their pride, their insubordination, etc….
That afternoon, I scheduled a "mandatory" meeting with everyone, forcefully realigning their priorities to ensure they understood the importance of the matter and my position. The meeting was very directive…sadly. I told them they had refused to correct the problem. I told them that refusal to follow simple directions was not an option. And in doing so, I acknowledged my leadership shortcomings.
After my rant, one of my senior community specialists spoke up. “You said to do all the documentation, and we are. I’m not sure where the problem is, but we are doing exactly what you said.”
Then it hit me. I wanted to be assertive and make immediate change, but I hadn't mapped out the specific issue or how we, as a team, could change it completely. They understood the "why" and were prioritizing completing the process as they knew it, but I had never walked them through the correct process to ensure they all knew what was expected and understood it. I didn't demonstrate what right was; I expected it to be adhered to.
That day, I created a checklist of all documents required, including timelines and examples, and provided it to each team member. The issue was immediately resolved once the team fully understood the "why" and what the right looked like.
Words Are Not Standards
Almost every standard a leader repeats out loud is an abstraction. Good, thorough, professional. Those words have a full definition in your head that took years to build. The person listening to them has no context to refer back to. They never intentionally guess wrong. Just incomplete and incomplete guesses are what a team runs on when the standard is only ever spoken.
The Demonstration Gap
Most leaders explain the standard constantly and seldom model it. In the huddle, in the one-on-one, in the email, you will say Make sure the documentation is thorough. Most weeks, you won't sit down next to someone and show them what thorough looks like on a real piece of work. And it's that gap between telling and showing where the guessing lives. It's that gap that quietly costs you consistency.
Pick One Real Example
You do not need a new training program or layout. You need one actual piece of work, done by someone on your team, that hits the mark. Pull it up and show it to the person who needs to see it. Be specific about what makes it good: this sentence, this detail, this level of follow-through. A real example does more in five minutes than a month of reminders ever will.
Do It With Them, Out Loud
Sometimes, perform the task yourself in front of someone who is still learning it, and narrate your decisions as you make them. I am highlighting this because. I’m choosing this word instead of that one because. You’re not just modeling the final output. You are simulating the thinking behind it, and that is the part that cannot be copied from an example alone.
Calibrate as a Team, Then Keep It Visible
For the best outcomes, run through an example together and let the team tell you what makes it good. People have a different sense of ownership when they helped define a standard than when it was handed to them. And once the standard is established, don’t let it be a one-time event. Call it out loud every time you see someone hit it. It’s repetition that keeps a standard alive long after the meeting where you introduced it is gone.
Try This Week
Find one real example of the gold standard you want to see: a note, a conversation, a finished piece of work, done by someone on your team. Show it to them, or to the whole team, and be specific about what makes it good. Then look for one chance to do the task yourself, out loud, in front of someone who is still learning it.
Reflection
What standard have you been repeating in what direction or action, and never showing what it actually looks like?
Remember a time when someone showed you a real example rather than just telling you what they wanted. How did that change things for you?
Who on your team will benefit most from hearing you do the work, out loud, this week?
Lace up your Boots and Go Lead
You’ve Got This.
