Not one football team in the history of the world has been given a Superbowl ring for NOT winning the Superbowl.
If you want to transform your team in 2012 and get different results, then you have to keep your eye on performance and be willing to make the tough decisions to get to your goal.
Here are five ways that leaders can dynamically lead change in this new year:
- Give more time to the top performers. The fastest way to accelerate results is to give time and energy to helping top performers. I see too many leaders who give all of their valuable coaching time to the needy, less effective performers who demand time but fail to provide results. Give your time to the performers that are giving you the results. They already have the acceleration and momentum to get you to goal, they just need some obstacles removed.
- Make sure stories match up with results. I have worked with a lot of leaders who can tell AMAZING stories about their AWESOME teams that deliver INCREDIBLE results. But then I look at their results and I fail to find all of the AWESOMENESS. I talk to executives who are wowed by this dynamic leader, but are baffled by the lack of results. The awesome guy says that it’s a market issue or an economy issue or a budget issue. Don’t buy it. Look into the hype and make sure the stories sync up with the results.
- Inspire through constant communication. Notice that I say “inspire” instead of “inform.” Yes, information is necessary, but it’s how you deliver the information that determines how effectively it will be implemented. Tell your team why they need to do what they are being asked to do, how they can do it, how you are going to sponsor it, and when it needs to be implemented. Every great leader has daily or weekly huddles with their team to both inspire and inform.
- Spotlight the behaviors you want all leaders to show. Save yourself a lot of lectures and one-on-one disciplinary meetings by showing and reinforcing the behaviors that you want. When a leader performers positively, recognize them verbally in a public forum. Let others know that this is the type of behavior that will be showcased and rewarded. If you have a problem with teams working together, set up a roving trophy for collaboration. Don’t reinforce negative behavior by providing it a lot of warmth from the spotlight. Instead, remove the light. Shine it on the deserving behaviors.
- Stop treating relationships as an afterthought. Every war fought involved a breakdown in relationship. That doesn’t mean you have to get along with everybody in every conversation, but it does mean that you must value the human side of every equation. You can rework the numbers and make new Powerpoint decks all day long — neither of those things will drive your initiatives. Plans don’t execute; people do.
Those are my thoughts for creating change in 2012. What would you add?