A common complaint I hear from leaders today is about a lack of discipline among their staff. These complaints include reports being submitted late, people not coming to work on time, the quality of work being inconsistent, or people not doing what they are supposed to do unless a supervisor is watching.
As a leadership trainer and coach, I am regularly asked how to deal with this problem. My response comes from observing the leaders who have succeeded in creating a culture of discipline and paying attention to what they did differently. I have noticed five common things they did.
They walked the talk. Be prepared to practice what you preach. Don’t expect others to do that which you are not prepared to do yourself. Get to work on time. Deliver on time. Deliver quality work consistently. Keep your word. Keep your promises. Manage your emotions. In other words, become a shining example of self-discipline so that your team can emulate it.
They were very clear about their expectations. Be explicit about the behavior you want to see. Don’t assume people will know what you expect unless you have stated it clearly and unequivocally. You can’t just say it once, you have spell it out repeatedly.
They rewarded disciplined behavior. Publicly recognize and appreciate the disciplined behavior you want to see. Find clever ways to incentivize discipline. This works better when the focus is on the behavior and not the person, by avoiding the perception that only certain staff get recognized. So, if a perpetual late-comer finally comes to work early, this should be celebrated. Appreciate progress along the path to discipline, because for many people, change doesn’t happen overnight.
They held people accountable for their actions. One of the toughest, yet most important things you should do to build a culture of discipline is to hold people accountable for their actions. Just as there are rewards for good behavior, there should also be sanctions for undisciplined behavior. Key things to remember when holding someone accountable: be consistent, be
fair, provide support to prevent subsequent misconduct and document, document, document.
They recruited disciplined people. Adopting the cliché, you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. The same applies to certain people. It is hard to teach an undisciplined person to be disciplined. It is much easier to recruit people who are already disciplined. When hiring, don’t focus only on educational qualifications and previous experience; probe for character. Check references carefully. Use probation periods to assess attitude. If in doubt, don’t confirm them; let them go and keep looking.
So, these are common things I have seen used by the tribe of those leading differently in Africa, not just to address indiscipline but also to shift other negative behaviors within their teams. It is all about creating their desired organizational culture. What are some of the challenges you have been having in this area? What have you seen that works? Let us know in the comments below.