Inspect what you expect...

en·dur·ance

/inˈdo͝orəns,enˈdo͝orəns/

noun

the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.

 

Getting your employees to do what they’re supposed to do is about the same as getting your children to tuck in their shirt and stand up straight. I know. I used to be a kid, and my mother was constantly telling me to do those things (and more). And it was like I had a hole in my head: that instruction seemed to fall out as soon as she was out of sight. Just like how employees act when you tell them to make eye contact and smile at every customer they see. Tell them and they have enthusiasm for a short period of time. Getting that thought to endure in their minds is possible, even though it seems as if it’s not easy. You must not only remind them regularly, but also tell them why (because that's a great customer service tactic that promotes customer satisfaction and loyalty) regularly, catch them doing it right regularly, and congratulating them for doing it regularly, all the time. Tell them every day when they clock in, catch them every day when you’re walking around, and thank them for doing it at the end of each day. And for those that do it regularly, remember that the next time you have occasion to nominate one of your peeps for an award, or using it as one of the reasons to select someone for something, or promote someone. Endurance is reinvigorated when you inspect what you expect today.

 

Angela Lee Duckworth (born 1970): American academic, psychologist, and popular science author. She is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studies grit and self-control. She is also the Founder and former CEO of Character Lab, a not-for-profit whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development.