As a subscriber to this weekly newsletter, it’s likely you know that I have been involved in leadership and leadership development for well over a few decades. And if you didn’t you certainly do now.

In fact, I’ve been in the leadership game for so long that I still remember receiving monthly faxes (that paper teleporter that screamed really loudly while delivering important information or messages—then jammed at the worst possible moment) from Harvard Business Review on the latest trends in leadership.

On one of these faxes was an article (I still can’t recall or find the author) that shared a concept halfway through the piece, declaring that all employees deserve to receive four things from their leader:

• To know what is expected of them.
• To know how they are going with those expectations.
• To know what they are doing well and what needs improvement.
• A supportive plan to help them achieve all of the above.

They were titled as the 4 Basic Rights and I have been using and sharing them with leaders wherever I can because they are a huge component of building trust, engagement, accountability, and developing others.

One of the things I also love about the 4 Basic Rights is that they’re a win for your people and a win for you as a leader.

Here are the three biggest advantages I’ve seen them create over the years:

For your people:

• They get the clarity they need to stay focused and keep moving in the right direction.
• They receive ongoing feedback and feedforward, so they always know where they stand and how to grow.
• They feel supported, which builds confidence, develops their skills, and helps them perform at their best.

For you, as a leader:

• You get a high-performing, self-sufficient team that requires less micromanagement.
• You spend less time fixing problems because clear expectations and continuous guidance prevent performance gaps.
• You build stronger trust, which means more engagement, better results, and a team that sticks around.

So this week, I encourage you to think about these 4 Basic Rights and ask yourself:

• Where and how am I incorporating these consistently?
• Where and how could I level up and use them more?

As always, I trust this has been helpful in some way, shape, or form.

Until next week—be well and lead well!

Kylie