Establishing the right norms as a leader delivers the greatest return on your time.

Norms are not training videos, policies, or signs hanging up around the workplace.

Norms are established by action. By real-world testing.

Inexperienced leaders think that they may be establishing norms by delivering a message in a team meeting. 

But that message is barely step number one in the establishment of norms.

You can announce an attendance policy.

You can print the policy and hang it on the wall for all to see.

But the norm is not established until the rule is tested.

When the best salesperson on the team violates the policy, even by the tiniest of margins, how do you react?

Do you establish a norm that being a little bit late is okay?

Do you establish a norm that top performers are allowed to be late?

Employees seek waypoints.

Actions, not words, define these waypoints.

The alignment of your words and your actions will be tested.

Constantly.

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Inspired by some of the notes I took when reading Monday Morning Leadership