People Perform Better When They Know What “Good” Looks Like

Sometimes we tell people:

“You need to work harder.”

“You need more activity.”

“You need better follow-up.”

“You need to have better conversations.”

But what does that actually mean?

One thing I’ve learned managing people is that expectations feel very different when they’re clear.

If I tell a producer they need more activity, I should be able to explain what a good day looks like.

What are we expecting?

What should their pipeline look like?

How quickly are we following up?

How are we handling leads?

What does a strong customer conversation sound like?

The clearer we can make those things, the easier it becomes for somebody to improve.

This is especially important with new team members.

They’re already trying to learn everything.

If the expectations are vague, they’re constantly wondering whether they’re doing a good job.

Show them.

Let them listen to a strong call.

Walk through a good follow-up.

Show them how an experienced producer structures their day.

Explain why one conversation worked better than another.

Now “get better” becomes something they can actually work on.

And when people know what good looks like, accountability becomes easier too.

There’s less confusion.

We agreed on the expectation.

Now we can look at what happened and talk about the difference.

People don’t always need another motivational speech.

Sometimes they just need clarity.