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In our previous articles we spoke about FOCUS and AUTHENTICITY. With your focus already communicated and hopefully understood, it’s now time to work collaboratively with others to ‘make it happen’. This means figuring out the myriad details that must fit together into a coherent plan of action…in fact many plans. It also means keeping options open for as long as possible to allow for changing circumstances, and new opportunities.
It means, as a leader, that you are going to be challenged to ‘nail things down’ (“What we need around here is more accountability…”) and at the same time, ‘uproot things’ (“Why can’t our people be more innovative risk takers?”).
Achieving a delicate balance between these two distinctly different orientations is challenging. As you grapple with this challenge, you must demand the same of the people who report to you.
And this is where it can get messy.
In pursuing your FOCUS, you need to ask the following key questions, and it will demand a great deal of courage, especially on your part, to find the answers:
What do we need to STOP doing? Which existing lines of business, programs, products, services and processes do we need to discontinue or phase out because they no longer support the focus?
The greatest challenge here will be disturbing the status quo. People who run these programs have invested long hours, much sweat and a great deal of themselves in making them work. They probably even have ‘new’ plans on the drawing board to improve or revitalize them. They may even be passionate about them.
Expect the strongest resistance here. Emphasize the need to honor past accomplishments, give people sufficient time to mourn the losses they are experiencing, to close the book on the past and then move on.
Keep in mind that it’s not just the people who are directly affected by these changes that you need to be concerned about, but other people in the organization are also affected in a more subtle ‘it could be me next time’ way.
What do we need to START doing? Which new lines of business, programs,
products, services and processes do we need to introduce in order to achieve the focus?
What new competencies will we need to introduce in order to make these new initiatives work? What existing competencies will we need to transfer into these new initiatives?
This is the ‘glamorous’ side of change. Expect a lot of interest and competition for positions on project teams here. Emphasize the need for innovation, and expect some failures. Celebrate the successes…and personally lead these
celebrations.
What do we need to keep doing and IMPROVE at? Which existing lines of business, programs, products, services and processes do we need to dramatically improve, in order to achieve the focus?
Expect a lot of jockeying for favor here between those things that people want to discontinue versus improve. Sometimes the distinction is fuzzy…a fine line between what works and what doesn’t. Again, this disturbs the status quo.
To improve means a substantial improvement over a short period of time, not just more of the same incremental improvements that perhaps have already
been taking place…it means a new higher standard.
Watch out for competitiveness between this and the other two approaches. Some folks will want to escape to the more ‘glamorous’ project teams who are starting out on a brand new journey, while still others will want to escape the possibility of becoming a victim of a discontinued function.
As you can imagine, you are going to need to have your wits about you. In particular, you are going to need to refine your listening skills. More about that in our next article on
The Empathic Leader.
About Brian Ward
Brian Ward is a Principal in Affinity Consulting, an Edmonton Alberta based consulting practice. He is the author of Lead People...Manage Things. He has over 25 years of experience working with all levels of leaders and teams as a leadership coach, facilitator and consultant. His website is at www.affinitymc.com
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