How Do You Define Great Work?

Are you a leader who wants consitently great work from your employees?
You may want to ask yourself a simple question first: What does great work actually look like?

VIDEO

As head of content at a national TV network, I was lucky to have great reporters who consistently delivered high-quality news stories that often won awards. They accomplished this even though we had dramatically fewer resources than our competition.

But was it really luck?
Or was it clarity?

Early on, I established what a great story looked like. I clearly mapped out the elements I was looking for. And once my reporters understood that framework, they were free to do almost anything they wanted, add their personality, follow their muse – as long as the guidelines of great work were followed.

An Example: Good, Fast or Cheap?

So how would you explain what good work looks like — and do it in a way that’s actually helpful and realistic.

Here’s a start. There are a myriad of choices in any project. If your employees know what matters most, it guides them toward outcomes that work.

For example, what are the most important two aspects: speed, perfection, or cost? After all you can’t have good, fast AND cheap. So for my team, they knew there was a strict budget, but they also knew I’d give them extra time if they were on a story they could do really exceptional work on. So in our case we emphasized Good and Cheap.

So once your team knows what you expect from them be consistent in your evaluation. You’ll train them in no time. Oh and one other thing. If they give you exactly what you ask for and leadership above YOU doesn’t like it, then it’s your responsibility. Never punish your team for giving you what you asked for.

Interested in how communication intersects with vulnerability to form a potent management tool? Check out Jason’s Awkward Leadership™ Framework.