Drive performance through aligning your leadership team's behaviours
Using the leadership wheel to steer your team to make a step change.
Going through a period of growth?
Want to create more pace?
Find your management team isn’t solving enough problems?
Whatever it is you want to achieve, you want to ensure you are role modelling the behaviours that will drive the outcomes you want to see.
I’m often in rooms with leadership teams that want to create a step change in the business. For example:
launch a new product
Expanded into bigger regions
Increase their revenues
Do better at cost savings
So we spend time at offsites, planning aligning, concepting, challenging and coming up with strategic plans and vision.
We then go to launch said plan, get everyone rallied around the key priorities and off we go.
Then nothing (of significance) really happens and we get frustrated that we are not seeing the change we expected to see to make the ambitions a reality.
What gives?
When I work with clients to help them create the strategic direction and plans, I make sure that we also look at behaviours. Because, although it’s great that we are clear on what we want, and where we want to go, but as one CMO client is always reminding us:
Just because we say the thing doesn’t mean we will do the thing.
And there’s the rub.
Story time.
Hear how a CEO tried to drive accountability when they weren’t able to hold their C-level accountable to implementing the accountability framework.
Make the change you want to see.
It’s so easy to become that CEO, but it’s not that complicated to make the shift.
For example; If I really want to change my life then MY behaviours will have to change, often quite drastically.
I have to:
get uncomfortable (wake up early).
I have to do things I don’t really want to do. (Posting on LinkedIn).
I have run towards things that make me feel psychically ill (doing a video).
And I have to say no to things that get in the way of my progress(champagne).
I do all these things because the thing I want in the future (house on the water with dogs) surpasses the option being presented in the moment.
This is the hardest part of change but the key to unblocking the growth of your business (or yourself).
The OverTime Leader Wheel:
Wheel’s are not unfamiliar shapes in the coaching world, but I like to use this as a team exercise as well. It helps teams objectively think about how they need to show up as a collective in order to achieve the business results.
You can do this exercise as a team or as an individual, or both.
Here’s how to use it:
First align with your team what the greater goal is. The one that is the most motivating (is it money, impact, pride) to all of you.
What’s your teams “house on the water with dogs”?
Then think ahead of the next few months and reflect what you have planned.
Now, be an objective viewer. Put a ‘consultant hat’ on and describe the leadership styles that would be needed to achieve that plan.
Get about 5-8 descriptive attributes.
Plot them on this wheel.
Rate where you are now. Be ruthless and honest. Don’t bullshit.
Pick the 3 that you really really need to role model.
Write down tactical actions that would demonstrate that behaviour. (Examples I’ve seen: sit near the team, fire someone, etc. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
Hold each other accountable.
This should be a live and active discussion, where you can pull each other up on when you’re moving into old habits and also celebrate when you’ve demonstrated new ones.
Check in against yourselves weekly if you really want to change.
Revise and review at least once a quarter.
Have fun with it.
You got this.
Gillian