There’s a reason I frequently write, coach, and speak on the topic of leaders and managers defining the rules of success. Clarifying your group’s values or creating a Manifesto for Success gives substance and meaning to the working environment you want to bring to life with your group members. This activity is essential and impactful whether you are leading a senior management team, a functional group, or a project team.

The Manifesto for Success defines what it means to be a part of your group. It outlines the principles that govern working together and the behaviors expected by all involved.

Perhaps more importantly to many frustrated managers, the Manifesto for Success directly or indirectly highlights the unacceptable behaviors in the daily pursuit of work. When the positive behaviors and principles are crystal clear, the inappropriate or disagreeable behaviors are as well. (This is double important for CEOs, General Managers, and Managers of Managers who regularly lament they wish their management team members would find a way to work together instead of against each other.)

How to Work With Your Group to Create the Manifesto for Success

I love introducing this initiative as an effort to define what it looks like to create a high-performance working environment where everyone is motivated and supported to be their best selves. You might get some eye-rolls, but that’s fine. People will buy in as the initiative gains steam. And, whether they admit it or not, everyone is interested in reducing stress, inefficiency, and dysfunction in their day jobs.

Start by facilitating discussion around these questions:

  • What does it mean to be a member of this team?
  • What does it look like to show we respect everyone involved, even in difficult situations?
  • How important is it that we trust each other, and how do we get there?
  • What are we accountable for in working with each other?
  • How can we best support each other, even when we have differences of opinion?
  • How do we resolve differences of opinion?
  • What are the expected feedback behaviors on this team?
  • What does accountability mean on this team?
  • How do we problem-solve?
  • How will we make decisions?

Add in other questions and topics you deem important in your environment.

I suggest running multiple sessions and focusing on just one or two of the questions at a time. Make sure someone takes notes (visible to everyone) and that the notes are left accessible for everyone to return to between sessions for additions or to identify questions.

Once you’ve facilitated through the above questions (and others you deem necessary) and collected ample notes, it’s time to parse and thrift the words into a series of positive behavior-focused statements. Many managers I’ve worked with ask for a small group to do this, and others do it themselves.

Ultimately, a document emerges, offering behavior-focused, actionable statements that describe the Manifesto for Success on your team. (The Agile Manifesto inspires what your group’s manifesto can look and sound like.)

Now comes the hard part—bringing the good words, principles, and aspirational behaviors to life.

Five Ways to Bring Your Group’s Manifesto for Success to Life

In almost every instance I’ve facilitated this activity, the process is energizing. It starts slowly, and as the initial cynicism wears off, most individuals feed off the energy generated from taking control of defining what it takes to be successful. The completion of your group’s manifesto is the symbolic firing of the starting gun for bringing it to life. You and your team members have work to do!

1. Model the behaviors defined or implied in the manifesto.

Ask everyone on your team to live the principles and behaviors daily. Modeling the behaviors is the best way to bring them to life.

2. Frame issues in the context of the manifesto.

For example, when facing a challenging issue, say, “This is exactly one of those situations we created this for. How can we act together to resolve this following the manifesto?”

3. Coach according to the manifesto

As you observe people and groups in action, identify opportunities to draw upon the manifesto and offer coaching guidance. For example, when navigating significant differences of perspective, suggest: “I can see you are passionate about your idea. We spelled out the need to look at complex issues from all perspectives in the manifesto. How might you make this work if you adopted their approach?”

You will find a consistent stream of opportunities to link coaching and the manifesto if you pay attention. From individuals griping about each other to people failing to give each other the necessary respect or trust, you will wonder how you ever coached without the backstop of these rules for success.

4. Hire and promote to the manifesto

Your group’s manifesto is the ultimate tool for constructing behavioral interviewing questions and striving to make the right choices for new hires and promotions. Much as it serves as a coaching tool, the manifesto offers the ability to filter for character and values typically lacking in hiring situations.

5. Ask them to hold you accountable for the manifesto

No one is exempt from the principles and behaviors singled out in your group’s manifesto, especially you. Done correctly, this tool opens the door to feedback important for your growth and development. If your “do doesn’t match your tell,” they should feel comfortable calling you out on it, and they should expect you to listen and adjust.

Some leaders struggle with this part of the manifesto process. I find it the most important.

The Bottom-Line for Now

Imagine you had a tool at your disposal that defines what it means to be a part of your group and identifies the expected behaviors as everyone chases high performance. Imagine further that this same tool clearly advises how to avoid the behaviors that create friction, promote distrust, and detract from performance. This would be one powerful tool for success.

Art's Signature