It's amazing how often managers tell me that their employees fail to meet expectations. But then I dig down a little bit deeper and find out that the manager has never spelled out expectations for that employee. And I always say to the managers, "You can't expect someone to do something unless you tell them what to do. And you can't expect someone to do something in a particular way unless you tell them how to do it."

Tell people what to do and how to do it. That's just another way of saying spell out expectations in vivid terms. You're not doing anybody any favors by throwing them in a sink or swim environment. You're not doing anybody any favors by making them reinvent the wheel. If there's a best way to do something, you have an obligation to your employees to tell them, "Here's the best way to do it. Here's what I want you to do and here's how I want you to do it. Are you with me? Are you sure? Let's write that down." Sometimes managers say, "Well shouldn't you facilitate rather than give orders?" Great. Facilitate. You want to be gentle? Facilitate all you want. But you better be prepared to lead your employees swiftly to the right conclusion.

Well sometimes managers say, "Well we shouldn't have a one way conversation. Shouldn't I ask questions (like), how do you think it should be done?" Great: ask questions. But if you want to ask "How do you think it should be done?" you better be prepared to say, "Oh, no, no, that's not right. I want you to do it this other way instead."

You want to facilitate and ask questions? Great. Ask really good questions, like, "Here's what I need you to do. Do you understand? Can you do this? How long do you think it will take? What will be your first step? What will be your second step? How are you planning to do this?" And then be prepared to lead that person to the right conclusions. Tell people what to do and how to do it. If there's a best way to do something, you should make it a standard operating procedure and you should turn standard operating procedures into checklists. And maybe you should consider tattooing checklists onto your employees' forearms. Set them up for success by making expectations clear, up front and every step of the way. Tell people what to do and how to do it.

BONUS MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICE
Help your people earn more! Choose one direct-report who needs your help earning. Make a list of that person's tasks and responsibilities. Can you break each task/responsibility into a list of concrete goals? Now make the goals more concrete. Can you break each goal into a list of concrete actions? Can you break each concrete action into a step-by-step check-list? Now can you attach a "price"---what portion of the person's ordinary rewards---to each check on the checklist? How much is each check on the checklist "worth" in rewards?

From now on, in your one-on-ones with that direct report, consider explaining that scale of "checks" to "rewards" to that person and consider making reference to it on a regular basis. Even if you can't tie each person's actual compensation to those checks, you might find it a useful reminder of the ongoing earning process.

If this approach has the desired impact, consider doing this with all of your direct reports.