Issue-solving works best when you start at the end. Know which issues you need to solve in this week’s Level 10 Meeting®. Know who you need help from.
Compartmentalizing will help you manage all the “stuff” and eliminate all of the other lists in your organization. It will provide a simple system that every leader can follow. Once you master this at the leadership team level, then have each department live by the same system.
Most people would say that consensus is a wonderful thing. When everyone agrees, there will be no battles and the project will go on without a hitch, right? Unfortunately, no.
In his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni says, “Consensus is horrible. I mean, if everyone really agrees on something and consensus comes about quickly and naturally, well that’s terrific. But that isn’t how it usually works, and so consensus becomes an attempt to please everyone.”
Fostering commitment within an organization is a major responsibility for all leaders. Without commitment to a clear vision, there’s simply not enough determination to achieve great things.
One subtle “gotcha” is when you think the vision your people should commit to is clear, but it isn’t clear to them! Commitment builds enthusiasm, but what good is that commitment, if it’s not clearly focused towards a common goal?
Let me ask the leaders a couple questions. Do you find yourself clearly stating what needs to be done in your team? When a team member has an issue, do you tell them the best way to fix their issue? If you are working through a performance concern with a staff member, do you make sure you make the perfect plan to remedy their situation? Sounds like a pretty good description of a nice manager. Unfortunately this “nice” manager isn’t all that effective.
The best parenting advice I ever got was to date my kids. For all the parenting mistakes I made, I took this one to heart and to this day I have strong relationships and open communication with my adult children. The idea is simple. I asked for one hour each week and I’d buy (of course). They pick the place and time, they just have to talk…about anything. Their agenda not mine, I just needed to hear what’s going on. My promise was not to lecture.
