5 Simple Steps To Dealing With Passive-aggressive Behavior On Your Team
Don't fall prey to the one thing that quickly kills a team's energy and culture, and undermines its success.
Don't fall prey to the one thing that quickly kills a team's energy and culture, and undermines its success.
As a strategic coach, I spend a lot of time working with leadership teams on strategy and accountability. My job is to help a team develop and agree to a set of priorities and actions, and then to drive the commitment and accountability process for implementation.
While there are many challenges that face any team, when someone is passive-aggressive, it's the one behavior that will quickly undermine your team's success and put it in a downward spiral. Left unchecked it will eat away at the fabric of your team's culture.
Passive-aggressiveness is when someone seems willing and agreeable at one time, then after plans have been made and put in motion, disagrees with the course of action and works to derail and sabotage the effort. Usually, this is combined with highly defensive language and deflection by pointing out other problems or shifting blame to other people.
Here are the five key steps I suggest leaders use when they see signs of passive-aggressive behavior. Following these steps can help minimize the impact of this behavior on your team and hopefully turn the ship around.
1. Call it out.
Though this might seem easy, this bit is actually quite hard. Someone who is an expert at being passive-aggressive is likely a master at deflection and at bringing up other issues to distracting the team. Unless you step back and see these tricks for what they are, you'll fall into the trap.
Look for two things. First, a quiet and seemingly compliant attitude when discussing key issues and directions. If someone is just going with the flow, they are likely not bringing up deeper concerns or voicing opinions. This is dangerous because left unresolved, their concerns can fester and pop up later.
Second, look for me-versus-you language. If someone is talking about how they did or didn't want something and how someone else did or didn't do something, suspect a passive-aggressive dynamic. A true team member sees everything from the perspective of the team and will use 'us' more than 'I' in their conversations.
Once you've identified it, call it out. My suggestion is to use the phrase: "I feel we didn't get your complete buy-in on this approach and now you are not supporting the priorities we're trying to implement, is that the case?"
2. Ask for a change in behavior.
Get clear on what you want to happen differently going forward. Make it a request and wait for them to either accept the request or say they are unwilling to change. If the latter occurs, then you have a different problem and you need to decide if they should stay on the team.
Typically the request has two parts. First, you want to make it clear that it's critical for everyone to support and work to implement decisions and priorities the group decides on together. There can be no ifs, and's, or buts about this one. Second, ask them to be more vocal in the discussion, to contribute more to the debate, and to make sure they have either voiced any and all concerns or let them go.
3. Acknowledge your own contribution.
Even if you think you've done a pretty good job in making sure everyone was heard and your team had an engaging debate, you need to look at what you can do differently, too. Finding things you can improve upon and acknowledging how you can make the situation better will create more possibilities for the other person to be willing to make changes as well.
4. Confirm everyone's commitment.
When discussing decisions and directions as a team, pay extra attention to the conversation. Make sure everyone not only has a chance to speak but actually insist on everyone voicing their concerns and opinions. Don't give anyone wiggle room to avoid speaking, even if you have to wait through a few minutes of silence. While you may feel pressure to push through the process, you'll only pay more for it later if you do.
5. Address the underlying issues.
Sometimes there are real and valid issues at the core of someone's passive-aggressive behavior. While it's not an excuse, consider what might be driving the situation and address the issues constructively. However, don't let that distract you from calling out the behavioral issue as well. Both need to be tackled head-on.
Passive-aggressive behavior is not always easy to spot and can be even harder to deal with. And there is a real possibility the behavior won't change. The most important thing is to spot it early and address it immediately so you can minimize its deteriorating impact on your team's culture.
5 Simple Strategies To Grow Your Professional Network
Knowing the right people with the right connections can be one of the best ways to create value for your business.
Knowing the right people with the right connections can be one of the best ways to create value for your business.
As a business coach, I've worked with dozens of executives and entrepreneurs on how to become stronger leaders and more effective strategists. However, one asset I find most people have woefully underdeveloped is their professional network. Developing a strong collection of people you know inside and outside your industry is one of the best investments of your time and energy. While your skills and capabilities are important to your entrepreneurial success, knowing the right people with the right connections can be one of the best ways to create value for your business.
1. Cultivate relationships.
Before you try to expand your network, leverage the people you already know. A network is not just a collection of business cards. People do business with people whom they know, like, and trust. If you haven't built real relationships, you won't have a strong network.
Unfortunately, there is no shortcut here. You need to spend time with people to get to know them, and for them to get to know you. Having a coffee or tea or even a meal with someone is much better than just being connected on LinkedIn. If you're looking to create efficiency, invite a small group to lunch and get to know several people at once.
2. Give first, then ask.
Before you start strategizing on what you can get out of your network, focus on what you can give. Look for opportunities to offer help or expertise in an area you know well. You need to build up credit before you can make asks of others.
These don't need to be big things or things directly related to business. If you hear someone is traveling to a city you know well, follow up with a few restaurant recommendations. Have a good book you've read? Send someone a copy who you think might like it. Another great strategy is to make introductions to other people in your network; that's two birds with one stone.
3. Leverage your second degrees of connection.
Just because you can't find someone in your immediate network who can help you with your need, don't give up. Every one of your contacts knows many people. Look for someone who's likely to know someone who can help, and reach out to them. If you're looking for a good trusts and estates attorney, ask some of your attorney friends who they know. This not only gets you a warm introduction, it gives your friend the credit for a referral.
4. Look for weak links.
One of the challenges in building a broad network is that you can get stuck meeting people who all know each other and operate in the same circles. Since they all know each other already, you won't be expanding your reach very well.
The key here is to find weak links. These are people who you may not know well, but operate in a completely different circle of people. And while it's hard to find and connect with these folks, when you do, you open up connections to large groups of new people that you otherwise wouldn't have access to. This is one of the quickest ways to expand your network in a strategic way.
5. Communicate regularly.
Once you have connections, you need to stay connected and top of mind with them. Tools like LinkedIn can help publish content and updates to your network on a regular basis. And a newsletter or a blog is another great way to create value and stay on peoples' radar. The key here is to create a steady and regular stream of quality content and updates so that people learn who you are and what you do. Done well, this will keep you front and center in the minds of people in your network, or those you want in your network.
The hardest part of developing a good network is that it takes time and investment. Good networks take years to build and develop. Have a plan and put in the time on a regular basis. Your hard work will pay off when done right and consistently. If you wait until you need your network to build one, you're too late.
How the Japanese Word 'Ikigai' Can Help Your Business Be More Successful
These Japanese islanders have a long tradition of finding the secret to a successful life. And businesses can use the same idea to find their niche.
These Japanese islanders have a long tradition of finding the secret to a successful life. And businesses can use the same idea to find their niche.
Okinawa is a small island off the southern coast of the main Japanese island. Some might know it from the U.S military and the bases located there. However, according to Japan's ministry of health, the island is also known for having one of the highest populations of centenarians and amazingly low rates of illnesses that plague the rest of modern societies.
Why? Well, many factors are likely at play; however, one of the more interesting ones is that the residents of Okinawa have a long tradition of creating productive and personally meaningful lives for themselves. And, according to National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author Dan Buettner, this has led to high levels of happiness and personal satisfaction, and a strong sense of purpose in life.
The Okinawans have given this general sense of living a meaningful life a name. The Japanese word is ikigai (pronounced eek-ee-guy) and it represents a balance among four key factors that drive satisfaction and motivation: passion, expertise, demand, and value.
As a strategy coach, I've found that businesses can use these same four factors to find a perfect balance that creates a unique and powerful driving force for the growth and momentum of a company. While applying them to a business is a little different, the core ideas are the same and they transpose rather well.
These are the four factors of ikigai and how we can apply them to businesses to help balance and align your organization.
1. What you're passionate about
First is discovering and clarifying what you're truly passionate about. For an individual, it's what you just love to do. For a company, it's what work motivates the organization's culture. This could be a specific activity, an impact you have in the world, or a customer you love to help.
A few examples that come to mind: Apple loves to create beautiful technology, Toms Shoes loves to help communities that are underserved, and Google loves to organize information. The trick is that though there may be many things you love to do, only some of them will also meet the other criteria below.
2. What you're good at
While you might love to do many things, you will only actually be good at some of them. And to live a meaningful life and be a well-balanced business, you need to make sure you're good at what you do. This is where ikigai departs from the common advice to just "do what you love" and everything else will follow. In fact, just doing what you love won't lead to a meaningful life. You need to be good at it too.
3. What the world needs
Regardless of whether you are an individual or a business, if the thing you focus on isn't really needed in the world, you're going to spend a lot of time making and doing things that will go unused and unappreciated. Your focus needs to provide a product or service that is desirable and needed by someone somewhere.
While it's fine to have a niche, you need to make sure you have a sizable enough market to build a business around. Thankfully, in today's highly connected world, you can create very niche markets and reach them globally through the internet. I'm always surprised when I run into incredibly focused companies that have significant markets behind them.
4. What you can get paid for
While you can find something you love, something you're good at, and something people need, if you can't charge enough for it to cover your costs plus make a reasonable profit, you won't be very successful. The problem your product or service solves needs to be important enough to incentivize people to part with their hard-earned money. If not, you're building a charity, not a business.
Just like the residents of Okinawa, great businesses have found a sweet spot that covers all four of these factors and have mastered the art of ikigai. And, as they evolve and change along with the world, they continue to monitor and hone this balancing act.
Done poorly, it will result in subpar performance and frustration. Done well, it can create a life full of meaning and impact.
Good Leaders Are Powerful Systems Thinkers. Here’s How You Can Become One
Seeing your business as a system can help make you a better strategist and a more insightful leader. Here are five ways to get started.
Seeing your business as a system can help make you a better strategist and a more insightful leader. Here are five ways to get started.
I wasn't always a businessperson. My training was in architecture. While this didn't put me directly on the path of becoming an entrepreneur and an Inc 500 CEO, it has served me well in many ways. The one thing my architecture training has taught me which I've been able to leverage as a business leader is my ability to be a systems thinker.
Every business is a system, a collection of elements and forces that interact with each other to produce a given set of results. People implement processes that produce products and services, which create value. That value creates money, which allows you to hire more people. Change one element and you impact all the others.
Systems thinking seeks to understand the subtle and long-term impact of how one change can aall the elements over time. And being a good systems thinker can help make you a better strategist--and a more insightful leader. Here are five ways it can improve your ability to create and deliver results in your business.
1. Search for connections.
Business is a combination of customers, employees, processes, products, competitors, investors, and many more. Knowing the factors that drive your business results is key. Missing one will mean you'll miss key elements that can make your business successful and hinder your ability to effectively plan.
When faced with a business problem, start by mapping out the key elements that are in play, then look for how these are connected--how they impact each other. If you want to increase quality with more quality checks, know that your development time will increase, as well as your production costs.
2. Understand the cause and effect of decisions in your business.
In business, you can increase your prices but that will likely decrease the number of deals you close. However, you may make up for it through the higher profitability of the remaining customers. A good systems thinker understands how these types of decisions can affect multiple areas of the business.
When faced with a business problem, build your map and then ask yourself how changes might change the system. Do elements have direct or indirect relationships? Does one factor increase or decrease as another one changes? Is there a time delay? Is the rate of change continuous or varied over a specified range? These types of questions will give you key insights into what might be impacted by the changes your considering.
3. Find feedback loops.
These are often situations where two or more elements in your business feed each other. For example, if you develop a great product and people love it, they will tell other people, which will increase the number of customers who will love your product and so on. These positive feedback loops are what you want more of because they will naturally grow and scale the business.
However, you might find reverse loops. Cutting salaries to save money will lead to your best people leaving, which will decrease your ability to deliver, which will lead to unhappy customers, and so on. When you're business is in trouble, you need to find and correct these vicious cycles.
4. Look for balancing forces.
In business, growing sales is a good thing, but without also increasing delivery capacity, you'll run your business off the rails. And if you don't hire more people as you grow, you'll overwork your existing teams and they will likely quit.
Business is full of short-term strategies that can lead to long-term problems. And unless you have a good understanding of how your business works as a system--and where you need to balance and level the forces at work--you'll run the risk of digging holes and painting yourself into corners.
5. Learn through experiments
The best way to know if you have the right system model for your business is to experiment and measure. If you're not sure how many customers will stay with you if you raise prices, don't make the change all at once. Pick 10 percent of your customer base, try it, and see what happens. Once you're confident, then roll it out en masse.
If you get your predicted results, then you probably have a fairly good model. If you don't, then you're missing some factor that's at play or interaction that's changing the system. Take measurements and observe each component so see what you're missing.
Whether you're trying to increase sales, hire more or better people, enter new markets, or bring on new investors, having a good understanding of your business as a system will help you with both developing and correcting your strategy and empower you to achieve the success you want.
5 Simple Steps to Dealing With Passive-Aggressive Behavior on Your Team
Don't fall prey to the one thing that quickly kills a team's energy and culture, and undermines its success.
Don't fall prey to the one thing that quickly kills a team's energy and culture, and undermines its success.
As a strategic coach, I spend a lot of time working with leadership teams on strategy and accountability. My job is to help a team develop and agree to a set of priorities and actions, and then to drive the commitment and accountability process for implementation.
While there are many challenges that face any team, when someone is passive-aggressive, it's the one behavior that will quickly undermine your team's success and put it in a downward spiral. Left unchecked it will eat away at the fabric of your team's culture.
Passive-aggressiveness is when someone seems willing and agreeable at one time, then after plans have been made and put in motion, disagrees with the course of action and works to derail and sabotage the effort. Usually, this is combined with highly defensive language and deflection by pointing out other problems or shifting blame to other people.
Here are the five key steps I suggest leaders use when they see signs of passive-aggressive behavior. Following these steps can help minimize the impact of this behavior on your team and hopefully turn the ship around.
1. Call it out.
Though this might seem easy, this bit is actually quite hard. Someone who is an expert at being passive-aggressive is likely a master at deflection and at bringing up other issues to distracting the team. Unless you step back and see these tricks for what they are, you'll fall into the trap.
Look for two things. First, a quiet and seemingly compliant attitude when discussing key issues and directions. If someone is just going with the flow, they are likely not bringing up deeper concerns or voicing opinions. This is dangerous because left unresolved, their concerns can fester and pop up later.
Second, look for me-versus-you language. If someone is talking about how they did or didn't want something and how someone else did or didn't do something, suspect a passive-aggressive dynamic. A true team member sees everything from the perspective of the team and will use 'us' more than 'I' in their conversations.
Once you've identified it, call it out. My suggestion is to use the phrase: "I feel we didn't get your complete buy-in on this approach and now you are not supporting the priorities we're trying to implement, is that the case?"
2. Ask for a change in behavior.
Get clear on what you want to happen differently going forward. Make it a request and wait for them to either accept the request or say they are unwilling to change. If the latter occurs, then you have a different problem and you need to decide if they should stay on the team.
Typically the request has two parts. First, you want to make it clear that it's critical for everyone to support and work to implement decisions and priorities the group decides on together. There can be no ifs, and's, or buts about this one. Second, ask them to be more vocal in the discussion, to contribute more to the debate, and to make sure they have either voiced any and all concerns or let them go.
3. Acknowledge your own contribution.
Even if you think you've done a pretty good job in making sure everyone was heard and your team had an engaging debate, you need to look at what you can do differently, too. Finding things you can improve upon and acknowledging how you can make the situation better will create more possibilities for the other person to be willing to make changes as well.
4. Confirm everyone's commitment.
When discussing decisions and directions as a team, pay extra attention to the conversation. Make sure everyone not only has a chance to speak but actually insist on everyone voicing their concerns and opinions. Don't give anyone wiggle room to avoid speaking, even if you have to wait through a few minutes of silence. While you may feel pressure to push through the process, you'll only pay more for it later if you do.
5. Address the underlying issues.
Sometimes there are real and valid issues at the core of someone's passive-aggressive behavior. While it's not an excuse, consider what might be driving the situation and address the issues constructively. However, don't let that distract you from calling out the behavioral issue as well. Both need to be tackled head-on.
Passive-aggressive behavior is not always easy to spot and can be even harder to deal with. And there is a real possibility the behavior won't change. The most important thing is to spot it early and address it immediately so you can minimize its deteriorating impact on your team's culture.
Immediate priorities for CEOs and their leadership teams facing the COVID-19 crisis
Over the last two weeks, I’ve spoken with over a dozen CEOs and their leadership teams discussing the recent developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and actions by federal, state, and local governments. While every business will be hit hard by both the restrictions in travel, the shut down of non-essential businesses, and the general economic impact, there are steps you can take to lessen the impact and position yourself for a faster recovery.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve spoken with over a dozen CEOs and their leadership teams discussing the recent developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and actions by federal, state, and local governments. While every business will be hit hard by both the restrictions in travel, the shut down of non-essential businesses, and the general economic impact, there are steps you can take to lessen the impact and position yourself for a faster recovery.
The situation continues to change and develop and different parts of the US and the world are facing different sets of challenges. While China seems to be abating, Italy, Spain, and France are particularly hard hit and the rest of Europe is quickly being affected. In the US, NYC appears to be the hot spot and will be facing severe increases in cases over the coming weeks. If you or your team members are in a hot zone, please plan quickly and accordingly. That said, every community will be impacted in the coming weeks and months and every business needs to have a plan.
Below are the general items I’m working with all of my CEO and leadership team clients on to make sure they have a plan in place now or will have in place quickly. If you haven’t considered and put in place a response to these items, I highly recommend you add them to your next executive meeting agenda.
1) Active priorities
Given the rapidly changing situations in most communities, teams are moving from a quarterly to a weekly planning cycle. The beginning of each week (or the end of the previous week), set 2-3 key business priorities for the next seven days. Each executive should also set 2-3 individual/departmental priorities as well.
These should be the top areas of focus to stabilize the business, identify immediate risks and mitigation strategies, caring for your people, and what to communicate to all customers and business stakeholders. As things play out the next few weeks, add strategic objectives based on your analysis of the next 6-12 months and what actions your business needs to take to be well-positioned on the other side of the pandemic.
2) Weekly planning meetings
Your weekly meeting should be your core rhythm at this point and time. Bring your leadership team together to assess and reflect on the current situation and set/update your active priorities for the coming week. Focus on triaging immediate issues and get clear what actions need to take place over the next one to two weeks.
This meeting should take 90-120 mins and focus on the following core agenda items. Don’t get bogged down in details, focus on clarifying and assigning tasks to executives and getting clear action plans.
Weekly Meeting Agenda
Top 2-3 updates from each executive
Review/revise top 2-3 priorities for the company
Issue processing (define, assign, discuss, decide, and then plan)
Update working assumption and implications
Review action plans and individual/departmental priorities
I recommend that a company communication go out after each meeting letting all stakeholders know of all important decisions and updates. I also recommend that you communicate to your clients and other partners as needed to keep them updated on what business services will be available over what periods of time. Regular communication is key, even if it’s repetitive, in times of uncertainty.
3) Issue list
There will be a lot of issues coming at you and your team over the coming weeks. Focus on tracking, prioritizing, and process them quickly. Use a triage process to sort them in order of importance and urgency. Delegate/assign things quickly wherever possible, then tackle them in order of importance and impact on the business.
For items that need to be discussed by the leadership team, focus on getting clear on the issues before trying to solve them. Once well-defined, focus on clarifying who will be responsible for the issue then have that person lead the discussion. Drive to a clear set of commitments and a plan of action with deadlines.
4) Working assumptions
Given the uncertain nature of the coming months, teams need a set of working assumptions around what may happen with the economy, the market, your business, and communities in general. Discuss these as a team and make a decision on what parameters you will assume for your decision making.
These should include what travel and community restrictions will be in place for what period of time, what will happen with capital markets, likely competitive responses, etc. For many of these, you will need to develop a 20/50/80% probability and time estimates to work against. Update these as you get new information and discuss the changes in your priorities, decisions, and plan that result.
5) Scenario planning
I’m recommending that all teams create a revised 2020 forecast that includes three scenarios against your current plan. These three plans should include a 10%, 25%, and 50% drop in revenue and the resultant drops in COGS and operating expenses, including staff.
Have your finance lead develop a revenue and expense model for each of these scenarios and send out to the team. Each team/department lead should then create a plan for their functional area as to what action they need to take to get to these new targets in each case and which decisions they will need to make under each scenario.
For all three scenarios, identify a last responsible moment for implementing each plan. This is the timeframe that you must make a decision by for keeping the company in reasonable financial health. For some business, this may happen very quickly; others may have some time to see how things play out before needed to take action.
6) Daily huddles
Your key teams, including your leadership team, should all be doing daily huddles at this point. If you’re not, start ASAP. The daily huddle agenda is simple and each member answers three questions with two to three items: 1) what got done yesterday, 2) what are you focused on today, 3) where are you stuck. These meetings should be less than 15 minutes in total.
For the next several weeks, I would open your huddles with any important news or updates to your assumption list as well. And be sure to check in with your team on their personal/family situation and mental/physical health issues.
7) Communication system
At this point, your team and your company should have standardized its communication platforms and protocols. I recommend video as much as possible and using a chat tool (such as Slack) over email for immediate communications.
I also recommend daily communication (email or slack or even video) from the CEO with updates and news to the entire company. Reinforce messages and priorities and remind people where they can find help and resources. Again, don’t worry about repetition. Sending out updates consistent, even if there is little/no new news will help reduce uncertainty and fear.
8) Continuity planning
It’s clear that many people will be affected by COVID-19. I have had one CEO client and several members of leadership teams I work with hospitalized at this point. Do not underestimate the impact and severity of this situation and be prepared.
For each member of your leadership team, including the CEO, have a least two people identified who can step into the role for at least two weeks should someone become incapacitated. Establish how the role will be handed over and communicated and share the plans with all of your key leaders and stakeholders.
If you have any questions or need help with any of the above items, please reach out ASAP. I am offering free coaching calls to CEOs and leadership team members to help develop and we’ll set up a time to discuss your action plan.
I am also running regular webinars on key topics for companies during the COVID-19 crisis including: Running Effective Virtual Meetings, Advanced Zoom Facilitation Techniques, and Running Virtual Daily Huddles. You can register and access the archive here: http://www.eckfeldt.com/webinar.
5 Simple Strategies to Grow Your Professional Network
Knowing the right people with the right connections can be one of the best ways to create value for your business.
Knowing the right people with the right connections can be one of the best ways to create value for your business.
As a business coach, I've worked with dozens of executives and entrepreneurs on how to become stronger leaders and more effective strategists. However, one asset I find most people have woefully underdeveloped is their professional network. Developing a strong collection of people you know inside and outside your industry is one of the best investments of your time and energy. While your skills and capabilities are important to your entrepreneurial success, knowing the right people with the right connections can be one of the best ways to create value for your business.
1. Cultivate relationships.
Before you try to expand your network, leverage the people you already know. A network is not just a collection of business cards. People do business with people whom they know, like, and trust. If you haven't built real relationships, you won't have a strong network.
Unfortunately, there is no shortcut here. You need to spend time with people to get to know them, and for them to get to know you. Having a coffee or tea or even a meal with someone is much better than just being connected on LinkedIn. If you're looking to create efficiency, invite a small group to lunch and get to know several people at once.
2. Give first, then ask.
Before you start strategizing on what you can get out of your network, focus on what you can give. Look for opportunities to offer help or expertise in an area you know well. You need to build up credit before you can make asks of others.
These don't need to be big things or things directly related to business. If you hear someone is traveling to a city you know well, follow up with a few restaurant recommendations. Have a good book you've read? Send someone a copy who you think might like it. Another great strategy is to make introductions to other people in your network; that's two birds with one stone.
3. Leverage your second degrees of connection.
Just because you can't find someone in your immediate network who can help you with your need, don't give up. Every one of your contacts knows many people. Look for someone who's likely to know someone who can help, and reach out to them. If you're looking for a a good trusts and estates attorney, ask some of your attorney friends who they know. This not only gets you a warm introduction, it gives your friend the credit for a referral.
4. Look for weak links.
One of the challenges in building a broad network is that you can get stuck meeting people who all know each other and operate in the same circles. Since they all know each other already, you won't be expanding your reach very well.
The key here is to find weak links. These are people who you may not know well, but operate in a completely different circle of people. And while it's hard to find and connect with these folks, when you do, you open up connections to large groups of new people that you otherwise wouldn't have access to. This is one of the quickest ways to expand your network in a strategic way.
5. Communicate regularly.
Once you have connections, you need to stay connected and top of mind with them. Tools like LinkedIn can help publish content and updates to your network on a regular basis. And a newsletter or a blog is another great way to create value and stay on peoples' radar. The key here is to create a steady and regular stream of quality content and updates so that people learn who you are and what you do. Done well, this will keep you front and center in in the minds of people in your network, or those you want in your network.
The hardest part of developing a good network is that it takes time and investment. Good networks take years to build and develop. Have a plan and put in the time on a regular basis. Your hard work will pay off when done right and consistently. If you wait until you need your network to build one, you're too late.
The Transition From Founder to CEO Is Not an Easy One. Here’s What to Focus on
As your company grows, you need to evolve from a founder into a CEO. Here’s how your focus will change.
As your company grows, you need to evolve from a founder into a CEO. Here’s how your focus will change.
What it takes to start a company is not what it takes to scale a company. In fact, the mindset and skills that made you successful as a founder can work against you as you step into the role of CEO. Your strategies and your focus need to change, and if you fail to make those changes, you'll hinder the development of both you and your business.
As a strategic coach, here is what I zero in on when working with Founders versus working with CEOs. Each role has a unique and different area of focus and skill set that makes it successful. Through coaching, I help my clients identify the role they need to be in, based on the stage of the company's development.
What makes a great founder...
1. Finding unmet needs in the market
To start a business, you need to find that unmet need--the one that causes a lot of problems. Great founders can hone in on problems that haven't been solved well, and when solved will generate value.
2. Developing early solutions
Once you find a problem, you need to develop a solution. This could be either a product or service, but it needs to directly address the problem in a way that is truly a solution in your customer's eyes. The best way to know you're onto something is if people are willing to part with their hard-earned money.
3. Defining a clear vision
You must see into the future and paint a vivid picture of a better version of the world that you see. Not only will this drive your own passion and motivation, but it will also help people get on board and drive engagement within the company.
4. Selling to customers right away
Good founders might not know the latest sales tools and techniques, they are natural storytellers and highly persuasive. As a founder, one of your core jobs is to meet with the right prospects and convince them to buy what you have to offer.
5. Securing early-stage investors
Startup capital is key to a healthy launch. Getting money from friends and family, angel investors, and venture capitalists is one of your top tasks. Knowing how much you need, what you're going to do with it, and who to get it from is key.
6. Recruiting founding team members
Finally, you must build the initial founding team with the right people and put them in the right seats. And while skills and experience are critical factors, so is getting the right culture and core values. At this stage, one bad apple can be disastrous.
What makes a great CEO...
1. Developing market segments and channels
Once you have traction and your business is growing, one of your key tasks is to identify the best segments to sell to and what channels to sell through. By slicing and dicing data and looking at who buys at a good price, who is easy to serve, and who promotes you in the market, you ensure that your company continues to make progress.
2. Refining and optimizing products/services
With a product or service successfully in the market, your job is to ensure it is continuously improved and optimized. As CEO, when you improve the value you deliver to customers, while also looking for ways to remove waste that doesn't add value, you will drive growth.
3. Setting strategy and key milestones
Once you have a foothold in the market, the CEO's job is to plot the course for growth and success through strategy and focused execution. Defining your strategic position and articulating the key operational milestones for getting there is your responsibility.
4. Developing marketing and a scalable sales process
While early sales are opportunistic and ad hoc, developing a defined and repeatable sales process will be key to scaling the business. As CEO, you need to put these in place and ensure they are being followed.
5. Managing investors and the board of directors
Investors need to be informed and managed. They also need to be leveraged for insights, contacts, expertise, and resources. A good CEO leverages their board for the success of their company.
6. Organizing your team and developing your culture
Rather than directly recruiting individuals, a CEO needs to create a people system that will serve the future vision of the company and a culture that attracts and retains the right people.
While these are not all of the differences between a founder and a CEO, they are some of the most important ones. While nobody goes to sleep a founder and wakes up a CEO, making the transition quickly and efficiently can help fuel your company's growth and evolution.
Want Your Business to Be More Successful? Think Like These Japanese Islanders
These Japanese islanders have a long tradition of finding the secret to a successful life. And businesses can use the same idea to find their niche.
These Japanese islanders have a long tradition of finding the secret to a successful life. And businesses can use the same idea to find their niche.
Okinawa is a small island off the southern coast of the main Japanese island. Some might know it from the U.S military and the bases located there. However, according to Japan's ministry of health, the island is also known for having one of the highest populations of centenarians and amazingly low rates of illnesses that plague the rest of modern societies.
Why? Well, many factors are likely at play; however, one of the more interesting ones is that the residents of Okinawa have a long tradition of creating productive and personally meaningful lives for themselves. And, according to National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author Dan Buettner, this has led to high levels of happiness and personal satisfaction, and a strong sense of purpose in life.
The Okinawans have given this general sense of living a meaningful life a name. The Japanese word is ikigai (pronounced eek-ee-guy) and it represents a balance among four key factors that drive satisfaction and motivation: passion, expertise, demand, and value.
As a strategy coach, I've found that businesses can use these same four factors to find a perfect balance that creates a unique and powerful driving force for the growth and momentum of a company. While applying them to a business is a little different, the core ideas are the same and they transpose rather well.
These are the four factors of ikigai and how we can apply them to businesses to help balance and align your organization.
1. What you're passionate about
First is discovering and clarifying what you're truly passionate about. For an individual, it's what you just love to do. For a company, it's what work motivates the organization's culture. This could be a specific activity, an impact you have in the world, or a customer you love to help.
A few examples that come to mind: Apple loves to create beautiful technology, Toms Shoes loves to help communities that are underserved, and Google loves to organize information. The trick is that though there may be many things you love to do, only some of them will also meet the other criteria below.
2. What you're good at
While you might love to do many things, you will only actually be good at some of them. And to live a meaningful life and be a well-balanced business, you need to make sure you're good at what you do. This is where ikigai departs from the common advice to just "do what you love" and everything else will follow. In fact, just doing what you love won't lead to a meaningful life. You need to be good at it too.
3. What the world needs
Regardless of whether you are an individual or a business, if the thing you focus on isn't really needed in the world, you're going to spend a lot of time making and doing things that will go unused and unappreciated. Your focus needs to provide a product or service that is desirable and needed by someone somewhere.
While it's fine to have a niche, you need to make sure you have a sizable enough market to build a business around. Thankfully, in today's highly connected world, you can create very niche markets and reach them globally through the internet. I'm always surprised when I run into incredibly focused companies that have significant markets behind them.
4. What you can get paid for
While you can find something you love, something you're good at, and something people need, if you can't charge enough for it to cover your costs plus make a reasonable profit, you won't be very successful. The problem your product or service solves needs to be important enough to incentivize people to part with their hard-earned money. If not, you're building a charity, not a business.
Just like the residents of Okinawa, great businesses have found a sweet spot that covers all four of these factors and have mastered the art of ikigai. And, as they evolve and change along with the world, they continue to monitor and hone this balancing act.
Done poorly, it will result in subpar performance and frustration. Done well, it can create a life full of meaning and impact.
Every Brand Stands for Something. the Best Brands Make That a Promise.
Your brand communicates to your customers what you stand for. The best brands make it a promise to their customers.
Your brand communicates to your customers what you stand for. The best brands make it a promise to their customers.
One of my favorite parts of being a business coach is working on strategy. While many things need to go right for a business to succeed, without a solid and effective strategy, your business won't stand a chance of rising to the top.
The best strategies stand for something. They make a clear choice about what they deliver and what they don't. It's about differentiating yourself from the competition in a unique and compelling way. A strategy is about choosing to be extremely good at a few things and a willingness to be bad at many others.
Once you successfully do this, you can truly stand behind your brand in a way that nobody else can. Once you pick how you're going to be different, you create a powerful position that you can fully own. And since nobody does what you do, as well as you do it, you can confidently ask for a superior price and reap an above-average profit.
With a solid strategy, you can back up your brand with a clear promise to your customer. And if you're really good, you can back up that promise with a guarantee. This promise and guarantee communicate why customers should choose your product/service and should remove all buying concerns in their mind.
A great example is the famous Domino's pizza brand promise and guarantee. While there are many aspects of pizza delivery, their focus is on fast and hot. They don't have to have the largest selection of toppings or the highest quality ingredients, but they make a promise that they will deliver your pizza in 30 minutes or less (their promise): and if they don't, it's free (their guarantee).
Creating a brand promise and guarantee will allow you to be more effective in your market. It broadcasts your positioning and draws the right customers to your business and repels the wrong ones. It also helps align your organization to deliver on those key and select-few processes and services you need to get absolutely right.
Here are the key steps for developing your brand promise and guarantee. Done well, these can transform your business and fuel your growth.
1. Who is your best customer?
Before you develop your positioning, you need to know who your target customer is. That starts by looking at your current customers and identifying who your best ones are and what they need and how they think. Once you understand these you can decide which needs and preferences you want to focus on in your strategy.
2. What do you want to be known for?
By focusing on your best customers and choosing the handful of things they care about, you create your positioning. Your positioning is what you are known for and what your reputation is built on. And by choosing a few key areas of focus, you make it easy to communicate. You can't be all things to all people; it's better to be a few things to a focused market segment.
3. What gives the customer hesitation to buy?
Once you have your positioning, focus on what gives your buyer hesitation to buy. What gives them pause or concern? Maybe they aren't sure it will work, or that the motor won't last, or that the color will fade, or that they will change their mind next week when they get home? Figure out what gets in the way of them saying "yes" to your offer.
4. What promise can you make to them?
Take those key hesitations and figure out what you can do to assuage their concerns. If they are worried that you'll be out of stock of the right colors, promise that you'll have the colors they need. If they are worried that the fabric will stain, promise that your fabric is stain-free.
5. What are you willing to suffer on?
Now that you have your promise, you need to decide what you're willing to put on the line. A good guarantee communicates to your customer that you're so confident in your ability to deliver that you're willing to suffer serious pain if you don't live up to your promise. Maybe the customer doesn't have to pay, or you'll provide another one for free, or you'll redo the work until they are completely happy. It says to the customer, we stand behind our promise and put our money where our mouth is.
By focusing your positioning on just a few key customer needs and then building your promise and guarantee, you will communicate to the right customer what you stand for and why they should buy from you. But while a good promise and guarantee should be simple, getting them right will take hard work and tough decisions.
A Leadership Team War Room Creates Alignment and Focus. Here’s How to Create Yours
Like a great general, a great CEO knows that having the right information at the right time is key to success.
Like a great general, a great CEO knows that having the right information at the right time is key to success.
While military analogies have limits in business--and are often more cliché than practical--one that I find highly effective is the idea of a war room. A war room is a space where information is gathered and displayed where your team can meet to discuss and decide on strategies and objectives. Done well, a war room can be a powerful tool in creating focus and alignment in your team.
As a strategic coach, I'm always looking for an edge that I can give my clients. And while more ideas and information can help, more often than not, it's about creating deeper insights and making a better decision with the information you already have.
The problem is that information can be buried in binders and folders or on hard drives (or the cloud these days) and inaccessible to the team. Making this information accessible and placing it in clear view allows it to be used more effectively.
This is what a war room does so well. It takes the key information, data, and plans that a team has developed and organizes it in a structured and visual way so that it's at the team's fingertips. Here are five aspects of a great war room.
1) Close to the action
The best war rooms are located in a central place close to where the work is being done. It should be easy to get to and easy to access. High-performance teams meet daily to review updates and action plans. If your space is too far away to easily access, you won't establish a routine that will drive the pace.
Your war room need not be physical. Several teams that I work with are virtual, with leadership located in disparate parts of the world. A virtual war room creates common data sets, meeting tools, reports, and documents that give everyone on the team the right information in the right format.
2) Common ground
It's important that your war room be accessible to everyone at all times. Don't put it in the CEO's office or the main conference room if these are closed or occupied during the day. You want your war room to be open and available to everyone on the leadership team at all times so they can access information, update plans and reports, and have a space to think about strategy and long-term goals.
3) Information radiators
Having spent almost two decades in Lean/Agile software development, I've borrowed many ideas and concepts and applied them to my business coaching strategy. One of the core ideas that I've borrowed is an information radiator. By organizing information and insights in large format charts, diagrams, and models and putting them on the wall, you create visual access to the critical resources the team needs to plan and make better decisions.
4) Meeting space, not working space
It's important to set up your war room as an ideal place to meet. Generally, war room meetings are short and focused. You need enough space for everyone on the team to be in the room and still see everyone and everything on the walls. I tend to like open spaces where people stand or sit in chairs that can be quickly moved around, rather than conference tables.
Don't encourage people to work in the war room. This allows other people to come in and quickly access the information they need without disrupting others. Quick meetings and work sessions are fine, but for focused work, use another space.
5) Invite change and updates
Everything in the war room should be easy to update and change. I like stickies on walls that can be edited, replaced, moved and reorganized as needed. Don't get attached to any particular setup or format. The key to a good war room is the ability to adapt quickly to changing situations and strategies. Whiteboard and glass walls create great surfaces where diagrams, sheets, notes, and documents quickly posted and edited.
In today's rapidly changing business world, having the right tools and information at your fingertips is key. With the right information in the right format, teams will be able to gain insights and quickly execute strategic moves that will win in their market.
Want to Improve Your Company Performance? Improve the Performance of Your Teams
Talent is not the only requirement for success.Teamwork is essential.
Talent is not the only requirement for success.Teamwork is essential.
Over the last several decades, the nature of work for many people has shifted from assembly line manufacturing to collaborative knowledge work. We are no longer an economy driven by raw production requiring a large quantity of manual labor. We are an economy of ideas and innovation where a small team of highly skilled experts can create enormous value by leveraging technology and networks.
The most valuable companies innovate by developing software, algorithms, connections, and intellectual assets. The challenge with this new type of business is that raw talent is not the only requirement for success. It takes teamwork and collaboration to create these sophisticated solutions.
As a business coach, helping companies rethink their approaches to how they design and manage teams is one of my main areas of focus. Gone are the days when managers lay out a defined work process and then focus on getting their people to follow standard operating procedures. Today's companies are based on self-managed teams with high degrees of autonomy.
For many executives, managing these types of teams is a challenge. Traditional management techniques don't work; in fact, they can hurt the success of a team. Here are five techniques I suggest that managers of modern, high-performance teams use to help them be more successful.
1) Set clear outcomes
The first thing you can do as a team manager is to set clear goals and objectives. Defining the desired outcome and work product will help a team understand where they need to go and what they need to do. By articulating good success criteria, you help evaluate their strategies and tasks and understand what will work, and what won't. Without clear outcomes, a team will struggle to decide what to focus on and increase conflict around the right approach.
2) Clarify boundaries
Once you've set a clear understanding of the final end state of the project, you then need to set the boundaries that the team needs to operate within. Don't overcomplicate these: focus on the hard edges the team needs to stay within. These could be dates, budgets, or tools/technologies that they need to either use or not use. Leave everything else up to the team and let them decide how to get it done.
3) Highlight success
Many managers love to give their teams critical feedback and focus on digging into problems and things that didn't go well. While it's important to reflect and retrospect, focusing on problems will demotivate the team and only draw more attention to the ways not to do things.
Instead, focus your time and energy on the things that went right and are going well. Catch them when they do something successfully, and reflect on what led to a positive result and how the team can leverage their learning to create even more success.
4) Don't interrupt
One of the worst things you can do as a manager is to interrupt a team in flow. Modern teams are engaged in complex and dynamic tasks. It can take a long time for a team to get into the zone and fully immerse itself in their work. Asking questions, getting updates, and making suggestions when a team is in the zone will disrupt the process, which can take hours to rebuild.
Instead, set up a time at the beginning and/or end of the day for check-ins and discussion. For the rest of the time, the best thing you can do as a manager is to protect the team from external distractions. Set up systems and policies that allow the team to have sustained periods of focused time.
5) Remove roadblocks
While a high-performance team is self-managing and can handle their own processes and workflow, they always operate within a larger company context. This can create external obstacles and friction. As a team manager, one of your most important jobs is to remove these blocks for your team. Find out what external forces are holding a team back and use your clout and organizational power to make things easy for the team to be effective.
As the nature of work in companies becomes more complicated and organizations become more team-based, these leadership skills will increase in demand. Effective leaders who know how to create and support high-performance teams will thrive in the future world of business. And companies that develop and promote these types of leaders will quickly become leaders in their own markets.
Here Are the 3 Key Metrics to Evaluate Your Performance as CEO
Everyone in the company needs a scorecard, even those at the top.
Everyone in the company needs a scorecard, even those at the top.
Performance management is key to any successful business. Making sure you have clear goals and responsibilities defined for everyone in the company is important to create alignment and focus. Without a good system of measuring success, results tend to be lackluster.
As a business coach, I work with leadership teams on defining strategic goals and outcomes and developing performance management systems for guiding the execution process. This includes functional and process accountability, standard operating procedures, and role definition.
Key to this are role scorecards. These define the core responsibilities and success metrics for each role in the company. With good role scorecards, management becomes much easier and you can ensure alignment across the organization.
Typically, one of the hardest scorecards to develop is for the CEO. As the head of the company it's hard not to put everything on your scorecard. And this is the mistake I typically see CEOs making.
As the company grows, the CEO roles need to be focused on fewer and fewer things. If you try to focus on too much and keep your fingers in too many pies, you'll hinder the development of your people and slow the growth of your company.
Here are three key areas that I advise CEOs to focus on and which I generally put on their scorecard. If you're looking to grow and scale more quickly, consider focusing on these and creating metrics to define your success.
1. Senior leadership team scorecards
One of my favorite metrics on a CEO's role scorecard is the percentage of leadership team members who are successful on their scorecards. I typically do this as a measure of the green, yellow, and red metrics across all of the leadership team. And if there are any empty seats, those count as zeros.
One of the most important jobs of a CEO is to design their leadership team structure and then find the right talent to put in those seats. By putting the average of their team's score on their scorecard, it forces them to either train and develop their leaders, redefine the roles so people are more successful, or recruit better talent.
2. Customer conversations
As your company grows, you need to spend more time on external strategy than internal processes. Too often, I see companies stuck in their growth because the CEO just can't give up control of operations and deliver.
If you want to grow your business, you need to get out of the office. One of your most important roles as CEO is to have an intimate understanding of the market and to develop insights and predictions about where it's going.
One of the best ways to do this is to spend time with your customers and deeply understand the challenges and struggles they have and where you can provide value and solutions. This is more than just going out to lunch. Go to their offices and watch their people working. The more time you can spend understanding their pain and struggles, the more opportunities and value you can create.
3. Allocation of time to strategic planning
The hardest part about strategy is finding time to do it. When you're a high-growth company, there are a thousand things vying for your attention. Salespeople want help to sell, delivery teams want you to provide insight, and HR wants you to interview and spend time with new employees.
Yes, you need to do all of those things, but you also need to dedicate time for strategy. And since nobody else is demanding that from you, you need to create the structure and discipline to make the time, not find the time.
I like a CEO to set aside at least one two to three hour block of time to focus on strategy development. This could be collecting data, developing insights, or creating potential paths for the company. This could also include products/service development and innovation if you have more time. The key is to have a larger block of focused and uninterrupted time to really steep yourself in creating the future of the company.
There are many other factors that show up on CEO scorecards, and each one will be unique to the company and the leader's unique strengths and weaknesses. But these three will drive your development as the head of the company and help accelerate your growth.
Don't Let Your Meetings Fizzle. Be Sure to End Strong for Maximum Productivity
While having a good opening and sticking to an agenda is important, the best meetings have a strong finish as well.
While having a good opening and sticking to an agenda is important, the best meetings have a strong finish as well.
As a coach, I spend the majority of my time facilitating meetings with senior leadership: upwards of 200 to 300 meetings a year. And over that time, I've learned a few tricks.
There are many good meeting habits. At the top of my list is having an agenda: basically a list of topics and decisions. Having a good facilitator is also a great way to boost a meeting. And there are opening conversations and ground rules as well.
However, the one thing I see most meetings get wrong is the ending. Failing to properly wrap up a meeting can be a huge mistake. Without a proper close, all of the hard work that went into your meeting will likely fizzle.
Most meetings end by people trying to cram in one more topic or by people excusing themselves to make other appointments, leaving things half-baked. Instead, take 5-10 minutes at the end of your meetings to cover these five items--you're sure to see an improvement.
1. Identify anything that wasn't covered.
It's often the case that you don't get to everything on your agenda. And if you use a parking lot (which I highly recommend), you'll have new items that need to be processed. At the end of your meeting, be sure to walk through your list of open topics and decide if they need to be on the agenda for the next meeting. You can also assign owners to work on them between meetings to keep the process going.
2. Review action items and commitments.
A good meeting has several action items and commitments. I recommend that you track them during the meeting. Either assign someone to be a scribe who can take notes or record them yourself on the wall or a whiteboard. Capturing action items and commitments is one of the keys to a great meeting.
At the end of a meeting, I like to review everyone's takeaways and next steps. This will help make sure everyone is on the same page as to who is doing exactly what and by when. I can also check my notes and make sure everything was captured. By reviewing people's commitments at the end in front of the group, you further instill a sense of ownership and accountability to the group.
3. Confirm decisions and next steps.
Every meeting has at least a handful of decisions. These can be both big and small. The challenge is to have every decision lead to both an action plan and a communications plan. Too often, teams make decisions but then don't act on them or fail to tell the people who are directly affected.
At the end of the meeting, walk through the decisions that have been made and make sure there is an owner and an action plan for each. Also, confirm who else needs to be notified about the decision that's been made. A lot of organizational drama is caused by decisions being made by one group and another group not being informed.
4. Discuss changes and improvements.
One of the habits of highly effective organizations is developing a culture of continuous improvement. They know they can be better, and they make a focused effort to constantly find ways of improving.
End your meetings with a quick review of what went well in the meeting and what didn't. Bake in the things that have proved effective for the team so you don't lose that value. And then identify one or two things you want to do differently next time. These small improvements will add up over time.
5. Confirm the date and time of the next meeting.
Finally, make sure the next meeting is on the books. Don't leave the meeting hoping someone will figure out the schedule later. While you have people in the room, open up the calendars and find the next date. Better yet, if this is a regular meeting, establish a standing date and time so that it's in the calendars going forward automatically.
Meeting habits are key to organizational effectiveness and a core part of any business. And while many people complain of being in too many meetings, the truth is that they are in too many bad meetings.
This Simple Approach to Time Management Will Boost Your Productivity
Time blocking will help you create more focus and productivity.
Time blocking will help you create more focus and productivity.
I spend a lot of time with senior executives on strategy and business planning. We conduct a deep analysis of their business and the market to develop innovative approaches to their business and detailed plans on how they are going to execute over the coming quarters and years.
However, all of this is wasted time if the teams that I work with can't manage their schedules to have the time to actually do the work. When coaching executives in this situation, I typically use an approach I call a defensible calendar.
This system focuses on allocating blocks of time based on your priorities and your optimal hours of the day and week. At the center of this approach is the use of time blocking to create interrupted time, which in turn creates flow.
If you're struggling to find the time to work on long-term strategy, try these steps to create more focused time for these important, but not urgent, tasks.
1. Determine your allocations
Start by listing out all of the projects and responsibilities you have on your plate. Figure out how much time you ideally need to spend each week. Note if you need one big block of time or if you need to do a little each day. If you keep a good calendar, look back over previous weeks to catch things you may have missed on your list.
You should end up with a list of weekly tasks with total times and frequency. If you have more than 30-35 hours on your list, your first task is to prioritize and delegate this list so that it's down to a reasonable workload.
2. Identify your peak times
Here is where most people get time management wrong. They assume that every hour in a day is the same as every other hour in the day. In fact, our hours vary wildly in terms of quality and focus. Before you plan your schedule, it's important to know what time of day you should be working on which types of tasks.
If you're a morning person, your best hours might be right after breakfast or even when you first wake up. For others, it might be after dinner when you can focus for longer stretches of time and be more creative. To identify your peak times, create a journal and make notes for a few days on the times you feel like you have the greatest mental focus and clarity.
3. Allocate your time blocks
Once you have your prioritized task list and your peak times have been identified, you can begin mapping out your week. Start with the big blocks of time you need for focused, uninterrupted work. This could be each day, or this could just be one or two days a week. Better to start with too many than too few.
Once you have the bigger blocks scheduled, start putting in the medium and smaller blocks. Make sure to include blocks of time for standard tasks (getting to inbox zero, team meetings, reviewing reports, etc.) I typically suggest you allocate 6-7 hours a day and leave one or two buffer blocks during the day for things that come up last minute.
4. Defend your schedule
Once you have your ideal schedule planned, your job is to defend it tooth and nail. When someone calls you for a meeting, make sure to offer them the box you had allocated for that activity. If you forgot to plan for it, give them one of your buffer blocks. But don't move your other blocks! This is the key to this strategy. Make other people adjust to your plan.
5. Adjust and optimize
Sometimes you have to give: your boss needs to meet with you, your most important customer needs to come to a meeting. These things happen. If they come up and you must accommodate their schedule, do so, but don't delete your blocks! Force yourself to shift things around to keep your blocks together as much as possible. Even if you need to move blocks between days and reschedule other meetings.
If you run out of time in a day, move blocks between days. And if you absolutely need to drop something, make sure you're dropping the block that is the least important of all of your tasks. Don't just delete the block that has the conflict; move things around to optimize your schedule.
Adopting this strategy can be hard at first. It will take time to figure out your most important tasks, optimal block size and timing, and your natural energy flow during the day. But once you dial it in, you'll find yourself not only getting more done but getting more of the right things done to accomplish your biggest goals.
If You Want to Grow Your Business, You Need to Develop Leaders
The big challenge to growing a business is developing leadership skills at all levels of the organization. Here are five areas that will help.
The big challenge to growing a business is developing leadership skills at all levels of the organization. Here are five areas that will help.
As a business growth coach, I've worked with dozens of CEOs and their leadership teams on how to scale their business. And while companies who want to grow 50-100 percent a year will consistently face many challenges, finding and developing leadership skills within their teams remains one of the most difficult.
The best strategy in the world will go unrealized if you don't have the right team to implement it. And while it might be easy to find talent with good technical skills, finding good leadership skills is much harder. Unfortunately, without good leaders, you'll be left with a team that struggles with focus and prioritization, and one that lacks the ability to navigate the inevitable change that comes with growth.
I encourage all of my clients to make leadership development a key priority in their business. This will help them to not only grow more quickly, but it will also reduce drama and conflict in the process. Here are five leadership skills that will help you and your team increase your company's leadership quotient.
1. Set clear priorities.
One of your key roles as a leader is to clarify what's important and what's not. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and chaos of a high-growth company. And for most employees, it can feel like everything is important and urgent.
I like to say that is everything is important, and nothing is important. As a leader, you need to sort through all of the distractions and shiny objectives and make it crystal clear to your people what they need to focus on first and foremost.
2. Manage to outcomes.
Great leaders leverage the skills and brainpower of their team. They don't try to micromanage and, instead, give their people space and freedom to figure out the best way to accomplish goals and complete tasks. This not only frees up your time, but it also creates great engagement within your group.
In order to do this effectively, however, you need to be super aware of your desired outcomes. Very often, the reason people micromanage is because they haven't actually taken the time to figure out what they want to come out of the process. A good manager starts with the end in mind, sets a clear definition of success, and then lets their people find the best way to accomplish the work in the most efficient way possible.
3. Delegate more to directs.
Delegation is both a skill and an art. As a leader, it's a critical skill you must master in order to be effective and advance. Failing to delegate well will leave you stuck in your current role and hinder your advancement. You need to move anything that is not your most valuable and strategic work on to your direct reports.
The best way to decide what to delegate is to assess all of your work and tasks and sort them by importance and complexity. Keep your focus on highly important and complex tasks. Then delegate starting with simple and unimportant and work your way up.
4. Develop talent through coaching.
Everyone wants to grow and improve. However, many managers just focus on keeping their people happy and productive in their current positions without a view of the future. True leaders know they need to support education and evolution if they want to keep their people engaged. And the best way to do this is to think like a coach.
Set learning and development goals with your people so they can advance and add more value to the company. Then meet with them regularly to review progress and help them when they're stuck or need resources. Yes, you might need to pay them more when they prove successful, but that's nothing compared to having to recruit to fill senior positions.
5. Engage in critical debate
While everyone wants to play nice on a team and be collaborative, as you move into a leadership role it's important to learn to engage in critical debate. Senior leaders have important skills and experience that need to be shared to make good decisions and create proper plans. Effective leaders don't shy away from conflict; however, they do so while keeping things professional.
Developing leaders at all levels of your organization is a sound investment of your time and energy regardless of your business size and growth ambitions. But if you're hoping to scale significantly and in a short time period, leadership development is not just a nice to have, it's a must do.
Calculating Your Business's Rainy Day Fund Is Not Hard If You Follow These Steps
Every business needs cash in the bank to weather the ups and downs. Here's how to figure out how much you need.
Every business needs cash in the bank to weather the ups and downs. Here's how to figure out how much you need.
Business is uncertain by its very nature. If it wasn't, everyone would be an entrepreneur. It's what makes business both exciting and stressful. However, good business leaders know the risks they take and make sure they have strategies in place to mitigate downside risks.
Having the right rainy day fund to help cover shortfalls can be the difference between making it through some hard times and finding your business on life support. However, squirreling away too much cash can mean anemic growth and missed opportunities.
As a business coach who works with CEOs in many different industries and in companies of different sizes, I've learned that calculating this number is a balancing act. Here are some of the factors that you need to consider when deciding how much to squirrel away for a rainy day.
Core staff payroll
For most businesses, people are the most critical and important asset. A company with a team of A-players will outperform the industry every time. Losing these people can be disastrous for the business. You need to make sure you can cover their salaries and benefits for however long you think it might take to get back on your feet.
Non-critical staff payroll
While some staff are no longer needed if your business takes a downturn, you may not be able to cut them quickly. Make sure you have enough to give them enough notice and runway to find another position. Another option here is to put them on furlough if you think business will come back in a reasonable timeframe. I've also had clients who negotiate a partial pay package or a deferred pay arrangement.
Fixed critical expenses
Some expenses can't be reduced or cut without serious deleterious effects on the business. This includes things like rent, insurance, utilities, etc. Make sure you have enough to cover these items and avoid a painful disruption to the business.
Variable and semi-variable expenses
Things like costs-of-goods-sold will directly lower in a downturn. Other costs, like attorney fees associated with new contracts, will also decrease with slower business. Look through your chart of accounts and identify those expense items that will get cut or lowered if sales and revenues fall unexpectedly. Taking action on these items quickly can give you more runway for critical expenses.
Accounts receivable
Another thing to factor into your calculation is your current accounts receivable. For invoices that have been delivered in full and there is no work remaining, you should be able to collect on that money. If you have invoices associated with partial delivery or need-to-complete future work, you might need to factor them to some level.
Accounts payable
Your accounts payable will be a big factor in how much of a cushion you need. If your business hits a few bumps and you don't have new cash to make payments, you'll need to start prioritizing quickly. Focus on critical vendors and suppliers first. And try to negotiate payment terms and a schedule sooner rather than later.
Access to outside funds
If you have access to outside funds, you might not need as big of a cushion. This could be liquid or semi-liquid assets from the owners. You can also look to debt options; however, asking for debt when things are not going well can be a very difficult and expensive option.
Cost of re-hiring
One of the best calculations you can do is to figure out the break-even time between how much you save by letting someone go in a downturn and what it will cost you to replace them when things pick back up. Often times, it's cheaper to pay someone even if you don't need them for a few months than to later go through the pain and cost of recruiting and training someone new.
Reinvestment opportunities
Sometimes I see clients that have too much tucked away. They've amassed large sums of cash out of worry for the next downturn. In the meantime, they've neglected to re-invest in their business to help it grow and prosper, and have missed key financial opportunities. Strike a balance between protecting against undesirable events and pursuing growth and scale.
Risk tolerance and stress
In the end, everyone has a unique risk profile. If keeping your emergency fund lean means you're on-edge and having sleepless nights, then put more away. Increasing your stress and anxiety will reduce your performance and hinder your ability to deal with the situation should a downturn show up.
The amount you should put away is a combination of rational logic and emotional security. However, don't just put money away and forget about it. As the business grows and evolves, so should your calculation and the balance in the account. Forgetting to do so can expose you to risks you didn't intend to take.
7 Simple Secrets to Running a Better Virtual Meeting
Virtual meetings can be challenging to run. Try these seven techniques to make them worth every minute.
Virtual meetings can be challenging to run. Try these seven techniques to make them worth every minute.
As a business strategy and leadership coach, I spend a lot of time with teams on setting and developing priorities and goals. Most of my time is spent in meetings: facilitating conversations, getting to root causes, and working through different opinions on where a business should focus and what it should prioritize.
This work is tough enough in person, dealing with conflicting personalities, differing opinions, and misaligned objectives is a core part of my job. Listening to what's being said while also watching body language and non-verbal cues zeros me in on critical issues that need to be addressed.
Over the years I've worked with more and more companies who have distributed leadership teams. As a result, I'm doing more of my work via video and having to adapt my process and flow to an online meeting format. And while meeting virtually is not the same as in-person, you can still create a powerful and productive experience. In fact, virtual meetings can have some benefits if you leverage the format.
Here are seven key principles that I use with my virtual teams when we host online meetings. Whether you're having a quick 15-minute chat to catch up, or an all-day session to develop strategy, these will help you get more done in less time.
1. Accept that virtual meetings are different.
The trick is to accept that an online meeting will not be the same as an in-person meeting. And once you let go of that expectation, you can begin to apply more efficient virtual meeting strategies.
2. Limit one person per login.
One of my hard and fast rules is that each person in the meeting needs to have their own login, screen and camera. When two or more people try to share a computer, sound and video quality goes down considerably. It also makes it difficult to use the "breakout room" features that are now on many online meeting tools. I want one face per login and good, up-close sound and video.
3. Use two screens.
I encourage everyone in my meetings to have two screens or even two devices. One is for the video meeting tool, the other is for the collaborative documents we're working on. Switching between the two disconnects people from the team. I want everyone to be able to see both the other people and the document at the same time.
4. Leverage collaborative documents.
While many video call apps have screen sharing tools to allow anyone to share a document, this doesn't really allow for collaboration. Instead, I like using a virtual document that everyone can access and edit at the same time. A virtual document like Google Docs allows this to happen. And while you will need some facilitation and structure to avoid chaos, it makes for a much more collaborative meeting.
5. Pay attention to visual cues.
I encourage everyone to use the "gallery view" for the video meeting so they can see everyone at the same time. This way, we can all see people's reactions and non-verbal cues while we're working. A questioning look on someone's face or a hand raise can cue the facilitator to back up and make sure people are following.
6. Invest in good technology.
Once you factor in everyone's billable time, meetings can cost a company thousands of dollars an hour. So when you have delays or interruptions because of technology issues and bad connections, the costs can quickly add up. There is no excuse not to invest in good hardware, software, and bandwidth to make things run smoothly and easily.
7. Have someone facilitate
Once a meeting has more than a few people, it's critical to have a facilitator who can set ground rules and keep the agenda moving. This can be someone in the meeting already; however, it's better to have someone who's not a participant so they can really focus on running the meeting.
While the level of interaction and collaboration of in-person meetings can never be duplicated by virtual meetings, if you follow these tips you'll find that they can still be extremely effective and productive. And for remote and distributed teams, they are a must if you want to create organizational excellence.
5 Simple Steps to Constructive Team Conflict
Teams need healthy debate to advance ideas and strategies. Here's how to keep it constructive.
Teams need healthy debate to advance ideas and strategies. Here's how to keep it constructive.
I spend the bulk of my time working with CEOs and their leadership teams on developing and implementing business strategies in high-growth companies. Done correctly, these strategies can create a significant amount of value. Done poorly, they can squander a unique opportunity these companies have worked hard to create.
You would think with all of that pressure and intensity, there would be lots of drama and conflict among stressed-out executives. However, that's typically not the case.
In fact, I find that most teams are playing too nice. In an effort to be more collaborative and be better team players, they end up avoiding conflict, unwilling to engage in any meaningful discussion. As a result, important issues are avoided or glossed over.
As a coach, my job is to teach teams how to fight fair and tackle issues head-on while being respectful and supportive of each other's opinions, even if there is disagreement. Done right, constructive conflict will build a team's ability to advance ideas and come up with better, more creative solutions.
When working with teams on increasing debate and discussion, I focus their attention on five key steps. If your team is playing too nice, give these a try.
1. Reaffirm the relationship.
Before launching into a heated debate, it's best to start by reaffirming your relationship with the other person and your intentions. The fact is, even the most confident person's ego is fragile. If you launch into disagreement first, you'll risk putting the other person on the defensive.
Start tough conversations with "I respect your view ..." or "I want to find a solution that works for both of us ..." or "I appreciate the work you've done here ..." rather than launching into a direct attack. Once you put someone on the defensive, the discussion will quickly go downhill.
2. Don't attack--add to the discussion.
Start your comment with "That's a good point. I have a different opinion I'd like to share ..." or "I appreciate that perspective, and I'd like to add mine to the discussion ..." Don't use the words but, however, no, or disagree, as these will set up a fight.
You can also borrow a technique from improv comedy called "yes, and ..." By starting every reply with this phrase--even if you disagree--you create a positive, open energy that advances the discussion rather than tearing it down.
3. Focus on issues, not people.
It's important not to make things personal, and not to take things personally. If you start a reply with "I don't like your idea," it comes across as a personal attack. By saying "your idea," you are implying that you are not only challenging the idea, but also challenging the individual who proposed it. This will trigger the other person to become defensive.
Instead, start with "That idea has a few challenges I'd like to discuss ..." This puts you and the person on the same side of the table, working together on the idea. Even better, if there are elements of the idea that you like, try saying, "I was thinking about a similar approach and was concerned about ..." Again, separate the person from the idea.
4. Clarify your desired outcome.
One of the best ways to avoid personal conflict is to focus on a common goal. This signals that while you might have a disagreement over a detail or path, you're both aligned at a higher level toward a shared desired future. Try a phrase like "I know we both want this project to be finished by the end of the year ..." or "We all want to make sure we're working efficiently as a team ..."
5. Make the first offer.
If neither party wants to flex or compromise, the team will end up in a deadlock. The fallacy here is that the person who moves first "loses" the fight. It's not a competition, and if you treat it that way, everyone will lose.
Instead, focus on developing and offering options and strategies for meeting the other person's needs, while maintaining your own needs as well. Don't just give in to make it work--but you might need to be flexible and creative. Everyone wins on the team when you work hard to find new solutions.
While not all team conflicts are easy to resolve quickly, with some focus and bigger-picture thinking, the vast majority of them can be resolved. In fact, getting good at resolving tough conflicts is the sign of a mature and high-functioning team.
The Best Way to Improve Your Team’s Results Is to Develop a Culture of Accountability. Here’s How to Do It
The Best Way to Improve Your Team’s Results Is to Develop a Culture of Accountability. Here’s How to Do It
The Best Way to Improve Your Team’s Results Is to Develop a Culture of Accountability. Here’s How to Do It
It's easy to make promises. It's harder to deliver on them. Yet, you need consistent delivery if you and your team are going to get the results you want. You need clear goals and disciplined execution.
Unfortunately, I see teams struggling with this on a regular basis. In each meeting, there is a flurry of commitments and agreements that all sound great, but as soon as people leave the room, everyone forgets what was said and weeks go by with no results or even recollection of what was promised.
Great teams take commitments seriously. They know that to be successful they need to work collaboratively and depend on each other to complete their work. Members of successful teams don't take promises lightly because they know others will be affected if they don't deliver how and when they promised.
Here are several behaviors that I see in high-performance teams that you can use to raise the bar on commitments and improve your team's results.
1. Set clear long-term goals
Understanding the big picture and long-term goals will allow everyone to better see what work needs to get done. It is also important to establish clear definitions of done and of overall success. This will allow your team members to be more specific with tasks and timelines. Compelling long-term goals will also increase motivation and engagement by aligning people around a bigger idea and a vision for a better, more desirable future.
2. Define roles and responsibilities
Much of the drama on teams around commitments is caused by not having clear roles defined. If each member's responsibilities are not well-defined and not broadly understood, it leaves members guessing about who's working on what and how handoffs will take place. It will lead to incomplete tasks or excessive communications and negotiations on tasks, or both.
Beyond basic roles, it is also important to work out the key processes that you and your team are responsible for. Map out the steps and who will do what at each step. Having clarity on each process will increase efficiency and reduce drama.
3. Capture commitments
I've been in too many meetings where many important items are discussed and plans are made, but no commitments are captured. People leave the room feeling good, but with no clue as to who is doing what and when. It is impossible to build a culture of accountability without capturing and tracking commitments and responsibilities.
All of the best teams I work with as a coach have a central document or system that tracks all of the outstanding and completed commitments for the team. At the beginning of each meeting they review outstanding commitments and identify any delayed or at-risk items. Then, at the end of each meeting, they review who is committed to doing what and when it will be completed.
4. Ruthlessly prioritize
Another bad habit I see in underperforming teams is over-committing themselves. The fact is there are only so many hours in a day and you can only commit to those items you know you can comfortably complete. Committing to more than this is irresponsible and will end up letting the team down.
Good teams continuously prioritize their work and manage their time to focus commitments on those items that are strategic and important. They will challenge each other if they think someone is either working on something that is low priority or has a full plate and risks over-committing themselves.
5. Focus on personal accountability
I've been in many meetings where people drone on about why they didn't get something done when promised. Unfortunately, this is generally a waste of time. There are challenges with any task and reciting them to your teammates doesn't help.
Instead, focus on what is in your control. When you have or might miss a commitment, focus on what you've learned, what you're going to do differently moving forward, and what your new plan of attack is going to be. By taking personal accountability, you will empower yourself rather than look for excuses beyond your control.
Creating a culture of accountability is not easy. Great teams focus on it during each and every meeting and continuously improve upon it over time. Use the points above to begin defining your commitments. When you follow through, you will see your results improve over time.