1. The What and How of
Effective Leadership
Learning the Key Ingredients that
Get Things Done
Dan Conrad
Sales & Marketing Vice President
2. What and How
Knowing what to do is the basic first
step in performing any job
Knowing how to do it is the difference
between success and failure
Knowing what to do produces efficiency
Knowing how produces effectiveness
3. What’s “What”?
In leadership, “What” is achieving the
goal or objective of the team
There are many “What’s” in a
leadership role
Use a “first things first” approach to
define those overarching principles that
drive the performance of any team
4. Key Drivers
There are many things that drive a
team, but the three key functional
elements of organizational performance
at the highest level are People,
Process, and Strategy
5. Key Drivers
People are most important. People get things
done
Process is the what enables people to do
their jobs. Work can’t be advanced through
an inadequate or broken process
Strategy is the master plan that combines the
skills and abilities of people and the process
capabilities of the organization to achieve a
business outcome
6. The How
Work is done by people utilizing
process to execute strategy
The goal is to ensure maximum
efficiency and effectiveness of the three
key drivers
7. The How
You must communicate effectively
You must know your people and your
business
Everyone must be on-board, engaged,
know what to do and how
They must understand how what they
do contributes to the team’s objectives
8. Organizing an Approach
Applying the most effective “how”
tactics to the most important “what”
elements of organizational performance
will drive the most consistently positive
results
9. People
Clear, concise, frequent, and personal
communications is essential
Use the correct mode for each purpose
and message
Be personally engaged
Strive to ensure maximum participation
across the organization
10. Process
Effective documentation
Cross organizational communications
Use of benchmarks
Root cause analysis
Customer-supplier model
Effective and frequent inspection
11. Strategy
Communicate strategy in terms of
measurable execution of activity
This creates a tie between the work people
do, the processes being used, and the
expected outcomes
Engagement taps bottoms up feedback
Participation brings the doers into the process
and introduces realism to the strategy
12. People
What
WHAT
People
• Direct, regular, and measured commu nications using a variety of media with
a bias oward face-to-face
t
• “Skip level” meetings with front line
Communications • Be approachable, direct, & honest
• Frequent and visible recognition of performance with emphasis on the
“how”
• 40-60% o your time is spen with people
f t
How
• Manage by Walking Around
• “Skip level” meetings with front line
Personal • Frequent, persona interaction and an open door policy
l
Engagement • Personal involvement in sk improvement, coaching, and feedback
ills
• Are the right people in the right jobs?
• Broadinvolvement ge nerates a diversity of useful opinions and views
• Maximum number of salespeo at or above quota to sustain consis
ple tent
Par
ticipation success
• Use skip level and manage by walking around techniques to stay engaged
13. Process
What
Process
• Playbook approch to docu
a mentation
• 80% o processbreakdown occurs at boundaryand interface, so cr ss
f o -organizational
commun ications on a regular and personalbasis is important
Communications • Regularly scheduled reviews with partner teams
• Attainment to goal and progressagains benchmarks is widely sha
s t red
How
• Employa “ customer-supplier” approach to all interactions. Estab who isthe
lish
Personal “customer” and who is the “ supplier” in every interaction and respect the needsof
Engagement others
• Always perform root cause analy to isola process breakdowns and fixes
sis te
• Inspect processes regularly. Cross organizational chan ca impact process
ge n
effectiveness by changing work assump tions and may demand adjustment to
s
Par
ticipation process
• Maintain awarenessof important metricsand use benchmarking to set targets for
meas urable improvement
14. Strategy
What
Strategy
• Clear, concise, articulation of strategy sha with all personnel at all levels made
red
relevant to eac area of responsi ility
h b
Communications • Goals& objectives, tactics, and strategy are all clearly and logically linked
• All goals are SMARTand benchmarked to illustrate attainment of the goa and l
define success
How
• Tact cal execution of the strategy is ens red through eng
i u agement and inspection
Personal • A bottoms upfeedback oop is esta
l blished to gain e warning of changing
arly
Engagement circumstances or wrong assump tions
• Concep and ideas tested with doers to establish sha ownership of the plan
ts red
and ensu relevance to actual day to day operations
re
Par
ticipation • Re al-time field intelligence from front line employees is gat
hered to shar en the
p
strategy and keep it current
15. Summary
People Process Strategy
• Direct, regular, and measu red • Playbook approch to docu
a mentation • Clear, concise, articulation of strategy
commun ications using a variety of • 80% o processbreakdown occurs at
f share with all personnel at all levels
d
media with a bias toward face-to-face boundary and in terface, so cross- made relevant to eac area of
h
• “Skip level” meetings with front line organizational commu nications on a responsi ility
b
• Be approachable, direct, & honest regular and persona bas is mportant
l is i • Goals& objectives, tactics, and strategy
Communications
• Frequent and visible recognition of • Regularly scheduled reviews with partner are all clearly and logically linked
performance with emphas on the
is teams • All goals are SMARTand benchmar ked to
“how” • Attainment to goal and progressagains
s t illustrate attainment of the goa and
l
• 40-60% o your time is spen with
f t benchm arks is widely sha red define success
people
• Manage by Walking Around • Employa “ customer-supplier” approachto • Tactcal execution of the strategy is
i
• “Skip level” meetings with front line all interactions. Esta
blish who isthe ensu through e
red ngagement and
• Frequent, persona interaction and an
l “customer” and who is the “ supplier” in inspection
Personal open doo policy
r every interaction and respect the needsof • A bottoms upfeedback oop is
l
Engagement • Persona involvement in sk
l ills others estab lished to gain early warning of
improvement, co ng, and feedback
achi • Always perform root cause analy to
sis changing circumsta nces or wrong
• Are the right people in the right jobs? isola process breakdowns and fixes
te assumptions
• Broadinvolvement ge nerates a diversity • Inspect processes regularly. Cross • Concep and ideas tested with doers to
ts
of usefu opinions and views
l organizational chan can imp process
ge act estab sha ownership of the plan
lish red
• Maximum number of salespeo at or
ple effectiveness by changing work and ensu relevance to actual day to
re
above quota to ustain con
s sistent assumption and may demand
s day opera tions
Par
ticipation success adjustment to process
s • Re al-time field intelligence from front
• Use skip level and mana by walking
ge • Maintain awarenessof important metrics line em ployees is gathered to sharpen
around techniques to stay eng aged and usebenchmar king to set targets for the strategy and keep it cu rrent
meas urable improvement
16. Summary
Focus on the key business drivers -
People, Process, and Strategy
Communicate, stay personally involved,
and make sure everyone participates
Know your job, your people, and know
your business
Hinweis der Redaktion
Every job has a “what” and a “how.” Even before you take a job, you probably have a pretty good idea of the “what.” You may have a good idea of “how” you’re going to do the job, but most of the time it’s something you learn as you go. Knowing what to do produces efficiency. The better you get at segmenting, prioritizing, and organizing tasks the more efficient you will become. Simply knowing what to do is clearly important. But a lot of people know what needs to be done and but may struggle with how to actually do it. And it’s not just knowing how something is done, but truly knowing the best and most effective way. It short cuts trial and error and provides a straight line to results.
So far I’m sure all of this is nothing earthshaking. You’re probably thinking, “this is just common sense.” But when you’re talking in general terms about a subject as broad, personal, and potentially nebulous as leadership, you have to start with some basic definitions. What, exactly, is the “what” of leadership? What is the basic goal of a leader? I propose that it is organizing, managing, and ensuring the execution of work to achieve an outcome. In reality, of course, it is more complex and granular than that. There are dozens if not hundreds of sub tasks leaders perform. Steven Covey, the famous “Seven Habits” author and efficiency guru reminded us to put “first things first.” In that spirit, allow me to propose that there are three basic drivers of performance in an organization.
The three key functional drivers of organizational performance are: People Process Strategy These are the three things that leaders utilize to achieve results.
Of these three, People are most important. We can brainstorm, experience flashes of insight, and create brilliant plans, but in the end it is people who make things happen. Without people, there is no one to execute our strategy or follow even the best of plans. Collectively, process represents the mechanisms, both social and physical, that combine to produce an outcome. It’s the digestive system of the python converting the pig to energy or waste. Processes are the tools and direction that coordinate work. Our processes have to respect the skills and abilities of our people. If our people are incapable of understanding and using existing processes, they will fail and the organization will fail. Strategy is the master plan. Ideally, it takes into consideration and respects the capabilities of our people, and acknowledges the capacity and limitations of our process. If our strategy overestimates either people skills or organizational process capacity, it will fail.
The How is always the secret sauce in getting work done and in leadership itself. It starts with realizing that work is done by people, utilizing a process to execute a strategy. As we said, leadership is the art and science of getting and keeping these three drivers in sync, keeping in mind that achievement of your goals depends on both efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is how quickly we can gets something done and effectiveness is how successful we can be at it.
Communication plays a critical role in managing people, process, and strategy. As a leader, you must know your people and know your business. That can only be achieved through real engagement. Superficial awareness of what’s going on can lead to disaster. Not only do YOU need to be engaged, so does everyone in your organization. Further, the better your people understand the goals of the organization, the means through which it is to be achieved, and their own personal role in it, the more likely success becomes.
Applying the best communications practices and personal engagement to address people, process, and strategy, and getting everyone on the the same page is the best way to produce consistently positive results.
If People are indeed the most important “what” element, then is it surprising that communicating effectively is so important? Communications must be clear; it has to be understandable and something to which the target audience can relate. Communicating arcane financial acronyms to field service technicians will probably be a poor way to explain about the need for growth in profits. Communications must also be concise - just long enough to effectively do the job. You will lose people along the way with a long message. And the most effective means is always personal, although it may not always be the most practical. You have lots of means at your disposal - email, voice mail, blogs, postings, newsletters, etc. Consider the message and the impact and choose what’s best. With people, staying personally engaged increases the likelihood that people will pay attention. You also make your communications two-way, gaining instant feedback and instant confirmation that your message has been understood. Finally, the goal of communicating with people is to enable their participation in executing the plan. The more people understand and accept the goals and the means to achieve them, the more likely it is that they will participate.
Process is the second key business driver Effective communication impacts process in the form of clear, accurate, and up-to-date documentation. Creating and maintaining playbooks that serve as a common cross-organizational references helps ensure a good understanding of roles and responsibilities. Having meetings to inspect workflow and process adherence is also a good idea. Most processes have natural benchmarks in the form of hand-offs between people or organizations. If possible, add benchmarks that reflect quantifiable progress in the advancement of a project or piece of work to compare with assumptions in the design of the process. This will also help you in conducting root-cause analysis when flaws or gaps in process are detected. A good way to improve inter-organizational workflow is to implement something called the customer-supplier model. This is simply a distinction made in every interaction where one party is the customer and the other is the supplier. This could flip-flop depending on circumstance. Treating partners the way you would treat a customer helps ensure they will treat you the same way when roles are reversed. The key to maintaining the heath and relevance of any process is effective and frequent inspections, usually involving all parties and stakeholders.
Strategy may typically be complicated, filled with jargon, and sometimes detached from day to day operations. Strategy, instead, should be very clearly tied to the daily functions of the business and part of everyday life for the people doing the work. The best strategy is one that people can easily associate with the job they do and their part in the larger process. When people understand and can relate to the plan, they can give you feedback that makes sense and helps you make adjustments based on real world experience. That’s assuming, of course, that you are talking to them. As people become involved, and see their role in the tactical plan and how it feeds up to the strategic plan, their participation and contribution will drive their behavior and make them participants rather than disconnected observers.
Here is a summary of what we touched on in the area of applying the practices of communications, personal engagement, and participation to the key business driver represented by People. Clear, effective, targeted communications makes people more productive and has the added benefit of improving individual and team morale. People see their role and their contributions more clearly. Personal engagement is critically important as it often represents a two way street that lets you see and experience first hand the opinions and concerns of people. It puts you on display as a caring, involved leader as opposed to someone who merely presides over an organization. When people see that YOU are engaged, the greater the chance that they will also see their role in a different light. Having people doing the best job they can do for the sake of meeting a personal obligation to you and to the business is far better than having people operate out of either fear or greed.
Like People, Process is also a key business driver. The three management practices of Communications, Personal Engagement, and Participation can be applied to sustain and improve processes. Documentation and communications of processes to all members of the team, and especially across organizations, is critical. 80% of all process failure occurs at the boundary and interface between organizations, Effort invested in promoting and maintaining a shared understanding of everyone’s role in deliverables is time well spent. Benchmarking, and the sharing or results and progress against clearly communicated goals goes beyond tracking and management and reinforces morale and a sense of contribution and ownership. Engagement opens your eyes as a leader to what’s really going on, and elevates your standing among team members. Setting expectations with regard to team cooperation and support also pays dividends. Inspection goes beyond the perusal of data and spreadsheets. Really effective inspection seeks to validate and confirm what data merely suggests. Meeting with and talking to people is the best way to inspect the performance of a process.
Strategy, the third business driver, relies on a trained, able, and informed workforce, properly equipped and supported with stable, efficient processes. In some environments, Strategy can be an arcane, disconnected expression of mission statements and marketing language that inspires no one and certainly doesn’t offer a clue as to how it should or could be executed or what it will produce. A good strategy supports specific goals whose achievement is quantified and measurable, and is tied to a tactical plan that gives the field specific steps and activities to follow. Personal engagement ensures that what the plan presumed, is correct, and that what was expected in terms of results is being achieved. Engagement gives you a first hand view of the action, and if changes are needed you’ll have a better handle on what to do from front line feedback. When people are engaged they understand how their actions support the tactics that in turn enable the success of the strategy which in turn helps the company achieve clear and measurable objectives.
There are certainly many more things needed to bring about success as a leader, I do believe, however, that a high level set of recommendations such as these will help you. Communicating effectively and clearly, tying people, process, and strategy together, and increasing your personal involvement and engagement as a leader can only help increase your success and that of your team.
In closing, ask yourself: Do I have the functional skills needed to be successful? Do I know the mechanics of my job and of those of my team? Do I know my companies products and their application? Do I work to improve my business skills? Do I know the structure, processes, and functions of the business and my role in it? Most important, do I know how the business makes money? Do I work to develop my management skills? Can I organize, direct, inspect, and drive the performance of others? Am I dedicated to the principles of leadership? Do I embrace my obligations and do I exhibit honesty and integrity? These are the unwritten tenants of leadership. Good luck in building a great team!
