“I believe in strong discipline,” a leader said to me. “I expect my team members to do what they are supposed to do. We have policies and I enforce them.” 

“Does that approach work for you?” I asked.

“It does,” he said. “I inherited a couple of members who had habit of coming in late. In coordination with our talent manager, I reprimanded them. One quit and the other has improved.”  

Team members described the leader as firm but fair but criticized him for relying too much on the book. One said, “Our work culture is sterile and robotic.”

In another department, the leader said, “I focus on key performance indicators (KPI’s) to measure progress toward our objectives—customer satisfaction, purchase volume, retention, and the like. I review weekly status reports with my team and periodically explain how the objectives serve our mission.” 

Team members described this leader as “. . . supportive and engaging. When we have a shortfall, everyone pitches in to help get back on track.” 

Although leaders who focus on mission may occasionally need to rely on disciplinary to address accountability issues, my experience has been that a mission focus creates more sustainable results than a focus on consequences.