Leading by Course Correcting

Part of the problem with telling someone what to do, if you are a "manager", is you rarely even get what you ask for. It never ceases to amaze me how what seems like simple directions can be misunderstood or at the very lease, not as expected. Maybe your standards are higher, maybe they didn't not know what good looks like. More likely, they heard what they you thought you meant and you didn't say what you really wanted.

As a leader we try to inspire others to reach there potential, not by lighting a fire under them, but helping them ignite the one they already posses. As team members take initiative, you rarely have to tell them what to do. However, as I've learned again recently, they still need to know what winning looks like.

After attending EntreSummit 2016 a few weeks ago I was fired up to knock one project off the list a month. The first one is KRA's (Key Results Areas). The basic concept is you and your team member come to an agreement with the top three or so measurable general job responsibilities and agree that's how you will judge if they are winning. I have 7 direct reports who lead a total of about 70 people in our company. With every direct report, I've found at least one key result missing. The reason I told you we work with about 70 people on my team is to show you how big a problem a little lack of clarity can become. I do not have 7 people not focused on what winning really looks like, I have at least 70.

Yeah it's painful to sit down and go through this. Especially when you think everyone already knows this stuff. But this is exactly what happens in organic growth of a business, you make course corrections, and keep going. Eventually you realize we are still off course, and correct yet again. Plot the course of a sailboat. It goes back and forth, but it still gets to the dock. Successful business is much the same. We have to continue to course correct and stay focused on the end goal. Hold steady and you will get there.