I recently heard a client say, ” I have never seen an employee stick around after having been through a performance improvement process.”

The challenge in many organizations is that they view discipline the wrong way. The process is filled with warnings, threats, and ultimatums, and as a result good people leave bad managers.

On the other hand, when discipline is done correctly, it can be a process that helps an employee and team be successful.

In Part 1 of this blog series, I wrote about the underlying assumptions that makeup the positive discipline process. Part 2 was focused on overcoming some of the common and costly mistakes leaders make that derail behavioral change. Part 3 was about the scaling levels of the Discipline Continuum. Today's post is focused on having the actual discipline conversation.

In Part 1 of this blog series, I wrote about the underlying assumptions that makeup the positive discipline process. Part 2 was focused on overcoming some of the common and costly mistakes leaders make that derail behavioral change.

Today's post is focused on what I call the Discipline Continuum.

In part 1 of this series, I presented some assumptions about how the positive discipline process should work. With this new set of assumptions, you'll replace your out-dated, old-school policies of "threats," "warnings," and "ultimatims" that create compliance instead of commitment.

I recently heard a client say, " I have never seen an employee stick around after having been through a performance improvement process."

The challenge in many organizations is that they view discipline the wrong way. The process is filled with warnings, threats, and ultimatums, and as a result good people leave bad managers.

On the other hand, when discipline is done correctly, it can be a process that helps an employee and team be successful.

It's really about building commitment instead of compliance.

We hear a lot about accountability. But, what does it really mean? What can leaders do to create an accountable organization?

Here are a few questions to consider.

Numerous leadership books will tell you that having a vision is important. But for many people, the idea alone is difficult to understand, which makes developing a team vision elusive.

Having a vision for your team is critical because it gives the members clarity on the team’s purpose and where it’s going. That clarity helps in day-to-day decision making, prioritizing, and understanding expectations.

Here is a simple 6-step process to help you create a meaningful and compelling vision for your team.

Your life today is an answer to the questions you have asked up until now. The good news is that you can change the questions anytime you wish. Ask better questions and you get better answers. Sometimes changing our lives can be as simple as changing the questions we habitually ask ourselves and others.

- Matthew Kelly, Off Balance

Entitlement:

• What will you (boss, team, organization, community) do for me?
• What will you (boss, team, organization, community) provide for me if I do that for you?
• I am waiting for you (boss, team, organization, community) to give me an opportunity.
• I am stuck with these choices.

Empowerment:

A challenge in too many organizations is that teams and leaders often seek agreement instead of commitment.

You probably know what I'm talking about.

Agreement happens when people sit in meetings, nod their heads, and then afterwards either fail to take action or deliver on time.

Commitment, on the other hand, occurs when people take responsibility and then follow through to completion.

Agreement results in head nods. Commitment results in action.

Is your team stuck in seeking agreement instead of commitment?