Chapter 6 – The Five Leadership Practices, page 59.
“The essence of leadership is to get others to do something because they think you want it done and because they think it is worthwhile doing.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Practice 1. Giving Clear Direction
- Great leaders are masterful at providing clear direction and providing a clear opening for their people.
- When you create an opening, it produces a vacuum that is always filled.
- The best way to create an opening and provide clear direction for your people is by sharing a compelling vision.
- A clear vision has three primary components:
- Clarity around your culture
- Clarity around your Core Focus
- Clarity around your goals
- Creating a compelling vision is a collaborative effort by an organization’s leadership team to answer the following eight key questions:
- What are the Core Values that define who you are – your company culture?
- What is your Core Focus that articulates why you exist and what you do best?
- What is the 10-Year Target that creates an opening to inspire and motivate your company?
- What is your Marketing Strategy that defines your ideal customer and the message that attracts them to you?
- What is the 3-Year Picture that creates an image of what your organization will look like in the not-too-distant future?
- What is your 1-Year Plan that clearly establishes your financial objectives and your three to seven goals for the year?
- What are the Quarterly Rocks – the three to seven most important priorities that must get done in the next ninety days to ensure that your yearly goals will be met?
- What are the Issues – the ideas, opportunities, obstacles, and barriers that need to be addressed and resolved in both the long-term and short-term?
- Sharing the answers to these questions with your team every ninety days will provide your people with clear direction.
- A tried and proven method to do this is through the Quarterly State-of-the-Company Meeting. The agenda follows:
- Where you’ve been?
- Where you are?
- Where you are going?
Practice 2. Providing the Necessary Tools
- Once you’ve provided clear direction for your people, you must give them the tools and support they need to succeed.
- Necessary tools include:
- Training
- Technology
- Additional people
- Your personal time and attention
Practice 3. Letting Go of the Vine
- Now that you’ve provided clear direction and given your team the necessary tools to succeed, it’s time to get the heck out of their way and let them run with it.
- Important Disclaimer: You cannot let go until you are certain you have the Right People in the Right Seats.
- Your people want the freedom to do what you’ve hired them to do, and they can get frustrated when you meddle with them while they are trying to do it.
- Give them some rope – the freedom to succeed and to show you what they can do.
Practice 4. Acting with the Greater Good in Mind
- The compelling vision that you conveyed to your people in Leadership Practice 1 is the greater good that we are describing here.
- Once you have completed the previous practices, all of your actions must align with the greater good.
- All the words in the world mean nothing to your people if you don’t back them up with your actions.
- Your people are watching you, and before they commit to change, they will evaluate how well you walk the talk.
- As you go, so they go.
Practice 5. Taking Clarity Breaks
- To stay sharp, confident, and at your best for your people, you must take Clarity Breaks.
- By definition, a Clarity Break is time that you schedule away from the office. You must be off the daily grind of running the business, in order to think and work “on” your business, department, or self.
- Stephen R. Covey calls it “Sharpening the Saw.”
- Bill Gates calls it “Think Weeks.”
- All great leaders have their own formula. You must choose yours.
- Decide the time, place, and frequency that works best for you.
- Schedule an appointment with yourself (away from the office).
- Here are some questions you can ask yourself during a Clarity Break:
- Are the Vision and Plan for the business/department on track?
- What is the number one goal?
- Am I focusing on the most important things?
- Do I have the Right People in the Right Seats to grow?
- What is the one “people move” that I must make this quarter?
- How strong is my bench?
- If I lose a key player, do I have someone ready to fill the seat?
- Are my processes working well?
- What seems overly complicated that must be simplified?
- Do I understand what my direct reports truly love to do and are great at doing?
- Am I leveraging their strengths?
- What can I delegate to others to use my time more effectively?
- What can we do to be more proactive versus being reactive?
- What can I do to improve communication?
- What’s my top priority this week? This Month? This Quarter? This Year
The Leadership Self-Assessment
- Now that you have a clear understanding of the Five Leadership Practices, we’ve created a one-page self-assessment so you can do a quick checkup on yourself.
The Five Leadership Practices – Next Steps
- Schedule a date on your calendar for when you will be able to answer yes to all of your no’s.
- Schedule a date, time, and place on your calendar to take your next Clarity Break. Right now.
