“What I heard is you don’t have faith in your people,” said the owner to his leadership team in a recent client session I had. The owner has succeeded in letting go to delegate and elevate his leadership team so the company was less dependent on him. The leadership team has stepped up in accountability and solving issues openly and honestly to move towards the company vision. However, things were still being dropped in their own departments. When asked if they were implementing the tools they learned at the leadership team level down to their own direct reports . . . blank stares and silence. Hence, the statement from the owner.
To gain sustainable traction towards your vision, your leaders have to learn to delegate and elevate themselves so they’re not the bottleneck of the organization. Individuals in your leadership team may be hitting a ceiling in their own personal development to lead their team, thus impacting the whole organization. Here are four steps to get them unstuck to take your company from good to great!
Leadership Team Growth
First, get them past their belief that nobody else can do what they do. You, as the owner, had to get past this belief as well which has allowed you to grow your leaders and thus your business. When one of your leaders feels that their department cannot survive without them, egos and entitlement start setting in.
Second, support them in conveying a compelling vision to their team. Owners usually have no problem getting their leaders excited about the vision and expect the same passion from their leaders in communicating said vision to their team. When owners are involved with their leadership team in conveying the vision to the rest of the company, it grounds everyone in the importance of doing their part towards that vision.
Third, get your leaders to take action by following the process and using the tools that has made your leadership team step up. In EOS®, this is rolling out the 5 Foundational Tools (VTO, Accountability Chart, Rocks, Meeting Pulse, Scorecard). It may not be easy, but it is what’s required for the whole company to embrace the vision, gain traction towards that vision, and operate in a healthy and cohesive way.
Lastly, check progress along the way. Set up checkpoints to ensure your leadership team is following the process and using the tools. You may have to observe some meetings and establish measurement points to validate progress with your leadership team. The Organizational Checkup is a great way to measure progress in these areas.
Traction Towards Your Vision
Following this process will reduce the anxiety of your leadership team with a path towards success. Most of the time, leaders will step up to the challenge. If a leader doesn’t step up, then that’s an issue for another article.
Implementing these tools at the leadership team is only half the battle. To gain real, sustainable traction towards your vision, your leadership team has to deploy the tools to their own teams. Otherwise, you’ll just settle for good. You want to be GREAT!
Take the Organizational Checkup to gauge the health of your company! For more information on creating a healthy business lifestyle, read about the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).