For the first 10-plus years of my career, I led from a singular focus on results, KPIs, outcomes and tasks. I strove for perfection in everything I did, and I expected the same out of my team. I have shared some of my past mistakes and awakenings in other columns. Therefore, I won't go into much explanation here; other than to say, my laser focus on completing a task moved the priority of people and relationships well out of focus.
From my experience, leaders tend to either focus on tasks or people, but not both. What I have learned over the years is, it is not one or the other; it is indeed both. You will not lead long if you cannot produce results, and you will not produce sustained results without developing relationships with your team members. What is the magic formula? Let me say there is none, although there are proven principles that will lead to a culture of Caring for people and delivering Excellence. It is also a tough road to walk every day. Most are either people-focused or task, but we must be intentional to focus on both. For me, I tend to focus on tasks, so when things get stressful, or we are not producing the outcomes we need, it is easy for me to start barking orders and firing data at people. I love the quote from Craig Groeschel, "When the leader gets better, everyone gets better." That is so true. When the leader chooses to grow personally and professionally, that growth naturally filters throughout the team. How then do we practically lead with both people and KPI's as the focus?
People
It always starts with people. We must select the right people and then put people in the right place. According to the Gallop State of the American Workforce Report, sixty percent of employees say the ability to do what they do best in a role is "very important" to them. Studies show that employees are most fulfilled and engaged when they are working in their area of strength. If you have an Estimator who is excellent with customers and technical knowledge but not good with follow-through, team them up with a detailed Customer Service Representative who can manage all the details with Excellence. Look for ways to place people in positions where they can use their strengths.
Give people purpose. People who believe they play an essential role in the organization's success are more likely to take the initiative, maintain a positive attitude, and react well to change. Giving people purpose starts with asking why your organization exists and what role do team members play in the success of the team. Typically, it is the people "on the front lines" who have valuable insights into how business can be improved. We need to open the lines of communication and demonstrate that we value their input. If people see the relationship between their contribution and the team's success, or how they impacted a customer, they will sense a purpose.
Connect with the people on your team. People in relationships naturally do things for others. When we connect with people, we will always gain better results. The results should not be the purpose of connecting; it is the byproduct. If you solely attempt to connect to get results, people will see right through your manipulation and ulterior motives. You must show a sincere desire to connect with your team members.
Communication
The next principle in developing a successful business is clear and compelling communication. Communicate your values. First, it is essential that every person on your team knows, believes, and embodies the company's values. Your values should be what drives your organization, answers the question of why you exist, determines how you make decisions, and how people are held accountable, including yourself, if you are the leader. Values should be talked about daily. Our conversations and meetings should revolve around our values. What gets talked about is what gets prioritized. At our organization, we are driven to Care for people and deliver Excellence. When we hold our weekly KPI meetings, we discuss Caring and Excellence. If everyone embodies these two values within our organization, we will exceed our Key Performance Indicators consistently. When we celebrate the "wins," we talk about Caring and Excellence, when we look for ways to improve, we talk about Caring and Excellence. Yes, other things are important to us, but ultimately, they all fall under one of these two categories: Caring for people and delivering Excellence.
Foster healthy communication between departments, groups, and locations. No matter the size of your organization, healthy dialogue between all groups and departments is essential. It is usual for there to be some form of competition between groups and teams, but we must foster it in a way that is healthy for the organization. All groups need to be mutually committed to the common goal of the organization. We win together, and we fail together. I have seen too many times; different groups attempt to tear each other down or try to make one another look bad to make themselves look good. Instead, we should be looking for ways to work together, helping one another for the common goal of the organization.
Communicate goals regularly and consistently communicate the status of each target. Everyone must understand where we are going and how each goal is measured. Talking about the goals daily and giving updates on the scoreboard is necessary. We send out weekly KPI reports to all team members and spend ten minutes each Wednesday morning going over the scores with the entire team. When you see a gap in performance, it is easy to apply more pressure to your team to reach the target. However, what I have learned is that it typically does not create sustained results. The pressure tactic usually causes people to go backwards or quit. For the leaders who tend to focus on tasks and outcomes more than people, it is easy to let that be our default. Coaching your team on how to fill the gaps is a more practical and useful approach.
Getting the job done. How you do it depends on where you want to be in a few years. If you want to be at the same place as you are today…then just have at it. If you want to build your brand, then do so together as you build your team first, and the brand will follow.
