I understand that when leaders say they’re looking for employees to go “above and beyond” they mean well. But there’s a problem with this attitude.
Because if you’d have clearly defined the tasks and outcomes the person is responsible for, you wouldn’t need them to go above and beyond that. But most managers skip all that. They just look for a “rockstar” and trust that they’ll figure out how to stay on top of everything.
This is unfair.
And lazy.
What if instead of asking our employees to go “above and beyond,” we spent the hour-or-so it takes to write down…
The required attitudes & talents you need them to display.
The specific problems you need them to solve.
The specific tasks you need them to complete.
The measurable success metrics for their key areas of responsibility.
Because once you’ve done that, you don’t need your employees to go “above and beyond.” They just need to hit the mark.