Reset Expectations Through Action
Create transformation by demonstrating a standard the team did not expect.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 92%
This framework distinguishes exceeding an established standard from resetting the standard itself. In ordinary leading by example, a leader performs a known behavior more intensely, such as training earlier or working harder. During transformation, the leader identifies additional behavior that the group does not yet expect but that the new challenge requires. The leader performs it visibly, creating evidence that the old assumptions no longer apply. That action puts the team on notice without relying only on speeches or formal mandates. Used well, the new behavior spreads because credible contributors recognize and emulate it. The mechanism is a shift in perceived possibility and obligation: once the leader embodies a previously unexpected standard, the team's reference point changes.
Origin
Extracted from Marketing Against The Grain's debate over Kobe Bryant's role in resetting the Redeem Team's expectations.
Core principles
- 01Transformation requires a break from the team's current expectations.
- 02A leader can introduce necessary behavior before asking others to adopt it.
- 03Visible action establishes credibility faster than rhetoric.
- 04Crisis conditions may require a sharper standard than stable conditions.
How to run it
- 1
Name the Existing Standard
Determine what the team currently considers normal, sufficient, and expected.
Pro tip Observe behavior under pressure rather than relying on stated values.
Watch out You cannot reset a standard you have not accurately understood.
- 2
Identify the Missing Behavior
Find the additional action or sacrifice that the transformation genuinely requires.
Pro tip Choose behavior tied directly to the desired result.
Watch out Novelty or aggression without strategic relevance becomes theater.
- 3
Demonstrate It First
Perform the new behavior yourself before demanding it from others.
Pro tip Make the action visible enough to be noticed without turning it into self-promotion.
Watch out A leader who exempts themselves destroys the standard's legitimacy.
- 4
Let the Signal Spread
Give credible team members room to respond and adopt the standard through their own choice.
Pro tip Early voluntary adopters can make the behavior socially normal.
Watch out Immediate coercion may produce compliance without commitment.
- 5
Institutionalize the Standard
Reinforce the behavior through expectations, routines, and recognition until it no longer feels exceptional.
Pro tip Retain only standards the team can sustain.
Watch out A permanent crisis tempo can cause burnout.
In the wild
Kobe Bryant trained at 5 a.m. while teammates were returning from a night out. He did not ask them to join him, but they gradually appeared in the gym one by one. His behavior changed what the team regarded as necessary preparation.
→ An unexpected personal standard became a shared team norm.
During a customer-retention crisis, a founder personally joins the support rotation, resolves difficult cases, and publishes the learning daily. The act signals that customer recovery is not merely a support-department task.
→ Leaders across functions begin participating and customer responsiveness becomes a company-wide standard.
Common mistakes
Performing Aggression
A dramatic act that is disconnected from the required result resets attention, not useful expectations.
Demanding Before Demonstrating
Ordering sacrifice without embodying it weakens credibility.
Keeping Crisis Standards Forever
An intense reset should become a sustainable operating standard rather than endless emergency behavior.
Is it for you?
Best for
Leaders guiding a capable but stagnant team through a turnaround or demanding change.
Not ideal for
Stable teams where aggressive expectation resets would create unnecessary disruption or burnout.
From the transcript
“Is like it's a resetting of expectations versus over exceeding the current expectations.”
“He never asked him to, never told them to.”
“He just did it.”
From the episode
How Team Design Drives Real Growth