Mandate Letters

Shawnee Love   •  
November 17, 2015

Today I reviewed the mandate letters of Canada’s ministers.  Our new prime minister shared them publicly.  In these letters to each minister, he outlines his expectations of them over their service terms.  Points covered include values, outcomes, priorities, and clarification on how this government will do business, i.e., how they will behave as his ministers.

Laying out your expectations clearly while offering each individual the chance to find their own methods for living the values and accomplishing the goals is a beautiful demonstration of leadership -one that business leaders can embrace too.

Particularly since these clear statements of expectations area also the foundation of accountability.  Once people know exactly what they are supposed to do, they are more likely to be able to do it. Which enables leaders to follow up on progress, obstacles, and accomplishments, confident in the knowledge that their staff knew what was expected.

Whether you have a strategic plan or goals for the organization or not, consider mandate letters for your teams and key executives.  Get together to review those letters regularly.  accountability ahead

Accountability in action demonstrated beautifully by our new prime minister.  In taking these steps, he is also showing his vision, presence, integrity, and capability to lead.

Can’t say enough good things about these mandate letters.  It will be interested to see how this bold move is received and how the ministers do with this type of public accountability tracker. What do you think?