If your team doesn’t do what is expected of them, it’s often because of a difference between what you say and what you tolerate.

It’s easy to create clear rules and expectations on the front end. Making new standards is simple. But it’s the back end of this process that’s difficult and where problems arise. People care about what is enforced and tolerated, not what is said.

In his book Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, former Navy Seal Jocko Willink explains:

When leaders who epitomize extreme ownership drive their teams to achieve a higher standard of performance, they must recognize that when it comes to standards, as a leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate. When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable – if there are no consequences – that poor performance becomes the new standard. Therefore, leaders must enforce standards.

Well-intentioned standards don’t matter at all if they’re not rewarded or enforced. People quickly know the “real” rules for an organization. What gets rewarded and punished is often different than what is said. It’s this gap that creates frustrations for leaders and teams when desired behaviors don’t match actual behaviors.

Former General Colin Powell shares a similar message in his book, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership. Don’t ignore mistakes, even small ones. When small details are ignored, the team takes it as a sign that cutting corners is acceptable.

Never walk past a mistake. This is one of the first lessons drilled into young military leaders. To put it another way: first, and most obviously, correcting the mistake shows attention to detail and reinforces the standards within an organization. Thus a young Second Lieutenant will always correct the soldier who fails to salute when he is passing by or who is wearing his insignia an inch off center. Tolerance of little mistakes and oversights create an environment that will tolerate bigger and ultimately catastrophic mistakes.

Second, it teaches aspiring leaders to have the moral courage to speak out when standards are not being met. Never looked the other way and pretend you didn't see it just to avoid confrontation or to be seen as petty.

Third, it shows the followers that you care about them, the unit, and its mission. If a follower knows that he has just made a mistake and gotten away with it, he loses confidence in the competence of the leader and has less respect for him.

Fourth, you set the example for all of your subordinate leaders to act in the same manner. High standards and mutual respect will flow up and down the organization.

Fifth, it keeps mistakes and screw ups from moving to another level or, even worse, propagating. Take care of it now. Don't assume somebody will take care of it later… even if it's their responsibility.

Creating more standards is rarely the answer. Instead, focus on enforcing what you already have. If an expectation is not enforced, get rid of it, because your team likely dismissed it long ago. A concise set of standards, consistently enforced, is better than a sprawling mess of ignored standards.