Recently one of my clients asked the following, “What do I do if someone in my sales team never hits their targets? How should I handle that?”
That’s a good question & sadly its one we answer frequently.
Former US Secretary of State, Collin Powell made a powerful observation when addressing a Global Leaders Lecture series;
“Everyone in a team knows who is and who is not performing and they are looking to you as the leader to see what you are going to do about it.”
If you do not hold people accountable and confront poor performers, you cannot create a high performance team. There must be consequences, and the reason for this is to keep your A players, the high performers in your team, engaged. No one wants to be part of a team that accepts mediocrity and if it is allowed to continue it destroys team culture. It also destroys your credibility as a leader and erodes respect.
Some tools for ensuring there are consequences:
Include teams and individuals in planning and setting their team and individual targets. Agree one on one with each team member that what they are setting out to do is achievable, and that they are committed to it.
Discuss results as a team and make results visible on a weekly basis
Manage people individually. Meet with each individual one on one on a weekly basis to support high performers to get better and support poor performers to improve.
Train regularly as a team. Leverage the skills and learnings of the high achievers.
Be consistent. A consequence of not hitting a goal should be that it is confronted each time with a courageous conversation.
Use Core Values and a simple set of team rules as tools to provide a framework for setting and managing expectations.
Your job as a leader is to support, grow and mentor your team.
There must be consequences for poor performance if a team is to grow and win in business today.
Everyone in your team knows who is and who is not performing and are looking at you as the leader to see what you are going to do about it. Move fast, have the courageous conversations and care about results.
I am lucky enough to work with a number of very effective professional leaders (Chief Executives, Founding/Managing Directors & Board Chairs) as they seek to perform & stay at the top of their game. These people are leading high performance teams and growing influential brands.
Reflection requires: A journal, a small amount of regular time & to be a priority. This is what I use.
Most leaders find the reality of leading to be a lonely place. Many seek a confidential sounding board that helps and supports their thinking in a supportive coaching environment away from their work place, their work team & their Board of Directors. They are looking to invest in themselves and in doing so the health and well being of those people and organisations they lead.
Whilst specific situations vary there is always a start point of seeking to be better at leading themselves. It kind…
This is an edited version of a leadership panel I took part in during a recent visit to Florida. It involves leaders from Infinity Energy, Santa Fe College & the University of Florida and covers the topics of Leading in Business today, change, disruption, execution and the challenge of leading people. The audience includes 135 business members from the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce. I learnt a lot taking part in this and it makes for some interesting topics.
How do the top performing teams in the world stay at the top of their game? Sports teams, racing teams, leading brands, innovative teams, military teams and many others? What do leaders at the top of their game do to stay at the top? What does this mean for business?
The best teams change before change is needed. They pivot and iterate to stay ahead of the crowd.
Right now things in business are going pretty well. There is uncertainty in the medium and longer term as to what is going to happen in money markets, commodity markets, the Chinese/US or EU economies. There is a lot of technology disruption starting to show up on the fringes of even the least tech savvy industries. Change is coming and whether it is disruption, a softening economy, a total global meltdown or even a major political event we will all need to navigate it.
The RESULTS Group work with good companies and proactive leaders who want to get better at what they do. Our clients tend to be the long term brands that over decades have performed exceptionally well. They are actively seeking to stay at the top of their game.
In the next 5-10 years all of us leading (me included) are going to face more change than the world has seen in the last century. It will be fast, ongoing and relentless and will be an exciting and challenging time to lead. Some commentators say we are in year 2 of a 35 year technology disruption. How true is this and how will it affect our own business is open to interpretation but we are all starting to see the wave of change.
To stay at the top in any professional environment there is a need to develop a culture of continuous learning. If we look at the All Blacks (the most successful global high performance professional sports team/brand with a winning record of 86%, two back to back world cups & recently voted the best team in the world across all codes). In James Kerr’s book “Legacy: What the All Blacks can teach us about the business of life” you will see Chapter 2 is entitled “Adapt”. In essence the commentary is all around “When you are at the top of your game, change your game.” This is about changing consciously before you need to, in order to stay ahead of the competition and to remain the best of the best. To keep an edge or a sustainable point of difference.
A summary picture of the key chapters & topics of the book “Legacy” by James Kerr.
I like to refer to the term “pivoting”. I saw this in action during some work I recently did at the University of Florida, assessing entrepreneurial engineering teams and the projects they were completing for private business. They were presenting what they had achieved and were seeking feedback so they could iterate and improve their project. They were seeking a “pivot” through good insights and application of ideas.
The best leaders and companies we work with are already pivoting at a time when they are performing well. They know through experience that the good times won’t last. To stay ahead of their competition and to navigate change they must understand what success continues to look like. How do they do this?
Those CEO’s proactively keeping ahead of the crowd prioritise the following;
They invest in their own development and leadership skills so they can lead smart innovative people in a collaborative way.
They spend time in strategic and operational planning with their teams, senior leadership teams and functional teams. They continuously define the priorities and focus of action.
Actively build an aligned plan to execute continuous change and constantly reflect on it, revise it and iterate it to make it better. They empower their people to lead parts for the execution.
Focus on execution and getting the important things done.
Seek the best advice on technology disruption, the economy, competitors, new entrants and possible substitute products and services.
Stay very close to their clients and know what they value, expect and want improved. They build collaborative and close relationships through many channels including social media.
Invest in leadership development (and education) and focus on increasing staff engagement to build resilience and an ownership mentality. This aids the change process and brings innovative and collaborative thinking to the fore.
Focus on the numbers. What gets measured can be managed.
Actively disrupt the companies “business as usual” in a positive way so as to build capacity and capability in a continuous way. This allows the organisation and the team to scale up in a long term sustainable way.
Make the tough decisions early.
Learn the lessons of previous economic downturns and change projects so as to ensure the same mistakes are not made again, and
Recognise success and continue to have fun along the journey.
This all sounds simple (and it is) but it is not easy. It takes focus, good strong proactive leaders committed to ensuring the important things happen and not just the urgent things of modern business. It is about going beyond reactive firefighting and consciously picking & executing the plan for/route to success.
Staying at the top of your game is about changing before you are forced to change. This means having a good team committed to getting incrementally better at what they do.
I am lucky enough to work with a number of very effective professional leaders (Chief Executives, Founding/Managing Directors & Board Chairs) as they seek to perform & stay at the top of their game. These people are leading high performance teams and growing influential brands.
Reflection requires: A journal, a small amount of regular time & to be a priority. This is what I use.
Most leaders find the reality of leading to be a lonely place. Many seek a confidential sounding board that helps and supports their thinking in a supportive coaching environment away from their work place, their work team & their Board of Directors. They are looking to invest in themselves and in doing so the health and well being of those people and organisations they lead.
Whilst specific situations vary there is always a start point of seeking to be better at leading themselves. It kind of stands to reason that if you can’t lead yourself extremely well then there is no way you will lead others at a high level. There has to be be balance. Often while sitting and listening to a CEO articulate an issue, situation or people problem they face they will say “You know what just saying that out loud has given me the clarity I need to make the decision.” The process of reflection is a powerful leadership tool so how do you make it part of what you do?
Reflection is a critical skill for any leader to have and it is always among the first few things that are discussed when leaders seek personal development. In fact there is a considerable body of research that backs this up. This article from HBR: Want to be an Outstanding Leader? Keep a Journal outlines just how powerful this tool is. It has some great suggestions and methodology and online there are many more such articles.
I have personally kept a reflections journal (pictured above) for the last 4 years. It provides insights, clarity and decisions for me as a CEO & consultant;
Setting aside regular quiet time to update and reflect on what I am seeing and how I am feeling about my role and the people I lead & influence. I actually tend to use air flights as the time to do this i.e. travelling to or from Auckland etc. On a recent return flight from the USA I wrote 14 pages of reflections, ideas, lessons learnt, observations about people I had met and who had influenced me.
I tend to write based against my Purpose and Values. This provides a framework and often as I reflect on situations I challenge whether I am living my Purpose and Values. Often this process alone can provide clarity to difficult decisions or provide the reflection that a decision I have made was the right one.
Focussing on the situation and how I am feeling about it allows me to deal with the big issues that tend to keep you awake at night. It allows closure & to reflect on not only my actions but the actions of others.
Every 6 months or so I read back over my journey. When you do this you see how far you have come in the way and level you think at, plus exactly what you have achieved. It serves as a story about your journey.
Use clever titles such as “What am I seeing?’, “What lessons did I learn here?”, “What do I need to change?”, “Did I live my Purpose & Values in this situation?”, “Why did this not work?”.
I find an actual hard copy journal and hand writing is far more effective than online options I have tried in the past. Use a journal with blank pages.
Capturing lessons learnt is vital to ensure the same mistakes are not made time & time again. It means different outcomes occur rather than just those that don’t work.
I use this journal when I seek one on one coaching to keep me at the top of my game.
Like all habits it initially takes disciplined focus to carry your notebook and to set aside regular time to reflect. Supporting other leaders to do this also takes time. Some are naturally good at it, whilst others need help to be able to see that bigger picture & what is really going on. Over time this becomes just part of who we are and what we do. Over time these CEO’s use the same skills to help individuals and teams within their organisation to reflect, learn and grow. The best leaders are the best managers, mentors & coaches. The best leaders develop other leaders.
In this space the focus needs to be on behavioural competencies rather than technical ones. CEO’s will always talk about people (developing others, supporting them with change, altering behaviours, dealing with poor performance, developing a great culture, getting others to step up, building a sense of team) and the softer skills rather than the technical skills. This tends to be because we get taught technical skills all through life, education & work but no one teaches us the soft/people skills unless we are lucky enough to have good mentors, teachers or a work environment that invests heavily in leadership development. They are always seeking to develop their skills as a generalist leader rather than those of a technical specialist.
The role of a leader is to disrupt business as usual & to grow the capability and capacity of people and the organisation. Reflection is a critical tool in self development and the leadership & influence of others.
20 February 2011 (5 years ago) at just after 1pm was one that shook is all, a major earthquake. Our office building evacuated & we headed for home. That in itself was going to be challenge with a full central city evacuation under way & bridges out. Short Texts came through to tell me my immediate family were alive & safe. My brothers house was hit by rocks I knew & Dad was in it…..but just how bad things were was to later be a bit of a shock.
I had left the Army in 2004 but was in the throes of rejoining the Army Reserve.
Central CHCH 1.46pm 20 Feb 11
A call from the XO of the Battalion (the only one to come through in a jammed cell network) redirected me to Army duty. I parked my car and proceeded from Sydenham to the city centre. In my office attire I walked through liquefaction and what was a scene out of a movie. It was 1.30pm.
I walked past a building lying across a lane of Montreal st, stopped to hug a distraught older woman with half a hair dye and foils in. Distraught from watching a bus get crushed she was walking to Oxford 50km away crying.
I overheard builders discussing how they should secure their high rise site and get home.
My task from the Army was to find the Mayor, provide the NZ Defence emergency cell numbers and to proceed to the Civil Defence bunker on Kilmore st. Later I was to discover my wife’s bravery in getting Caetana from school amongst collapsing cliffs and then helping Dad who was trapped in my brothers house that was destroyed by rocks.
The mayors staff had been evacuated after an aftershock from the new gallery building. I passed on the info to Bob Parker & his Ops Manager, gathered a couple of soldiers who were there looking to help and pushed on to find the civil defence bunker, my next task was to fill in as a situation/operations officer until a regular Infantry officer could get in from Burnham. Little did I know it would take many hours for him to arrive.
My first job back in Army service for 7 years.
The bunker was hard to find in the chaos, I passed through the emergency aid station in Cramner square and through many police check points.
In the bunker I found my old Army boss, Baden Ewart in command. Baden was working in the medical world and was stepping up given that the civil defence staff were in Wellington the day of the quake.
I sat in on the briefing of the current situation and it was apparent that a lot of people were hurt and killed. Early sky TV reports showed the CTV and PGG building collapses and I could hear the fire and police radio traffic spelling out the terrible challenges they faced.
Andrew Howe was the ops officer (an ex army friend and colleague). I was put in an office with the fire liaison officer. All the Army assets were in Timaru in preparation for a large defence exercise and by chance HMNZS Canterbury had docked at Lyttelton minutes prior to the big quake. It was full of armoured and military vehicles and soldiers that would help.
The Civil Defence Bunker, 20 Feb 11. Andrew Howe and others discuss the situation, approx 4pm
My role was to link between the civil defence command post and the Army command post in Burnham and to support military flights bringing high risk search teams, generators, water treatment units and medical assets into the city. We were coordinating fuel and power for the fire and police services to keep operating and prioritising transport heavy lift and military communications assets.
40 mins into it someone came into the command post and announced that it looked like the Copthorne Hotel might collapse on the bunker. With ongoing large aftershocks hammering the city it was possible although a bit dramatic I thought. Baden said “Langston go out and check that”. So out I went and looked at a 12 story building leaning over and definitely looking like a potential collapse.
My report ” I’m no engineer Baden but it’s not looking flash”. Someone did mention that the bunker was designed to withstand a building collapsing on it but then who would dig us out. WTF?
And so through the shock and chaos a lot of good people worked to make sense of it and to make a difference.
At a little after 7pm I was relieved by an Infantry Captain (he had to park in Riccarton and find the bunker) and walked the 7km around the cordon to my car in Sydenham. A full cordon was in place and with no ID the police made me go the long way through the park and around the 4 avenues. Our office was in the cordon (for 6 weeks) and I arrived at my car covered in mud.
My trip home to Sumner paused at my brothers place where I surveyed the damage, the rocks on his house, the tunnel my dad escaped the 2nd floor from and the boat that had caught fire. Ed was smiling but shaken. My family had tents on the lawn and Dad was quite badly shocked after his experience. We settled into a night of aftershocks, sleeping on the lounger floor and the start of months without water, sewerage or power.
My brothers house suffering rock damage. My father was lucky to escape unhurt.
I will always remember that day, just how surreal it all was and the part we all played in a difficult situation and uncertain environment.
It was a fitting baptism back into our Army and Months later I received an unexpected letter of commendation from the Brigade commander thanking me for my work that day. Many people did what needed to be done and I was proud to play a small part for the NZ Army.
I never did get around to claiming that first day of army pay (it didn’t seem right) but it was worth it for the adventure & I’ll chalk it up as a donation!
……. And so we remember.
Some of my pictures of that day are attached. We were one of the lucky families that all survived although we were all affected by those who did not.
The definition of insanity – Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
There is a lot of research that shows the best lessons are learnt through experience and from failure. Failures can be big and small ranging. One of the leaders I admire is Winston Churchill. I have read so much of his writing and the various biographies and speeches. He had some of the most fantastic failures and also some biggest successes. His early years were a disaster and yet he went on to lead Britain and the Commonwealth to victory over Germany in the second world war. He adapted, reflected and used what he had learnt and the resulting resilience he built.
When going through hell keep going!!
Most long serving Business Owners and CEO’s have made some big mistakes over their career. Economic changes, currency fluctuations, competitor moves, technology changes have taken most close to the brink at some stage and we add to that the complexity of some bad decisions, no decisions or not changing fast enough. In fact some would say if you haven’t pushed things a bit then you are not even close to peak performance.
The ability to see mistakes early comes from that skill of being able to reflect. As a leader at any level you need to consciously build on that “gut feel” to really understand and reflect on what you are seeing; in the work place, after a meeting, in a project review, after a client discussion, during a Strategic Execution review etc. So often the skills a high performing senior leader seeks to intentionally develop is that ability to self reflect, to be able to change a bad situation, a failing plan or iterate on an initial decision. To be able to understand the impact he or she is having, needs to have and who/what needs to be influenced to achieve success. This allows a Company to move faster and to build on performance.
The ability to understand and interpret (make a professional judgement) what you are seeing, validate it by seeking feedback in many ways and to constantly learn lessons is a very valuable skill. It is especially challenging when it is “cultural/the people” stuff we are needing to interpret especially to support change. I enjoy coaching these skills and you never stop learning from others.
So some of the best leaders also have the best battle scars and the best stories to tell about the lessons they have learnt. They have adapted and overcome big challenges. The ability to tell the story, to reflect on what happened and why and how they have applied the lessons they have learnt is where the true gold lies. In fact the CEO Leadership Round Table Groups I chair in Auckland and Christchurch are based around current Executive leaders telling their personal leadership journey and generating discussion around their reflections.
In fact having to speak about your personal journey forces a significant amount of self reflection as you articulate who you are (background & history) and why you have taken the journey you have as a leader. The lessons learnt and the things they got wrong are where the gold is and it gives us the personal connection and insights.
Try writing your own story.
If you need some inspiration consider being a guest at one of our Business Round Table Breakfasts and hear some great stories.
This year has been a very busy and professionally rewarding year. As a Company The RESULTS Group has grown and moved into a different area. Our core business as “The Business Execution Experts” has remained the same and we have proven our “5 Pillars” framework (Vision, Strategy, Engagement, Accountability and Cadence) across every industry and every sized company imaginable. Ranging from the small 20 person company, the family held medium sized company through to larger NZ & foreign listed Companies, Government organisations and into several big organisations with a Billion or more in revenue. From the straight forward to the incredibly complex, from construction to the professional services (law, accountancy, survey, HR, Banking) to the technical world of IT and fast growth IP.
Ambiguity leads to mediocrity but then so too does continually benchmarking and being realistic.
Our consultants have been challenged and pushed as they have focussed on our purpose of “Making a Difference” and ensuring our clients get the clarity so they they can execute their plans and lead change. It has been a year of change for us as a company and we have truly lived our core value “Live What we Teach” as we have sought to execute our own plan in amongst the busyness that “Business as Usual” presents. We have had to challenge ourselves to focus on the important rather than just the urgent which is the constant challenge of every CEO. So what have been my big lessons across 2014 as a Consultant, Executive Leadership Coach and professional CEO? I keep a journal reflect on the work I do and what I have learnt most days which makes it easy to look back and to reflect on the important stuff over the year. In no particular order;
Better, faster, cheaper: These are most common approaches that Companies have. These are not Strategies. Own the voice of your customer and look after them. Ask them often for feedback and listen to it. The magic will start.
Hope is also not a Strategy. You have to be deliberate and decisive in order to avoid being a victim of the market or dealt to by competitor moves.
A CEO adds at least 15% to the bottom line. (Research shared by Psychologist Dave Winsborough) by being inspirational, creating culture, expectations, a Vision and driving execution. The impact of good leadership is huge and measureable.
The number of senior leaders seeking to leave Corporates and the Public sector so they can have autonomy and so they can actually make a tangible difference is truly staggering! A sense of purpose is critically important to people.
A lot can happen in a year. Good & bad. Roll your sleeves up and make good stuff happen.
CEO’s are often afraid to be human. The soft skills, the least talked about and trained for are the most important ones. Being able to be vulnerable, to make mistakes and learn from them……so important for leaders and so often missing.
Making clear and concise powerful decisions is often a missing skill. Making good decisions based on the best information at the time and backing yourself to alter them if they need it is a really critical skill especially in times of constant change. Just make a decision!
The value of having a massive network of people who you can support, ask for advice, learn from and add value to is truly priceless. I have so many people who support and contribute to our business and it is humbling to be able to support them in their roles and in their companies.
Any leader needs many mentors. Business and personal to grow in the complex world of modern business.
Formalising network Hubs or groups of people who can give you ongoing referrals and support is of high value.
John Spence taught me “you become like the 5 people you hang out with the most” Choose them carefully.
Hang out with those who know and ask a lot of questions. Learn from people with experience and acumen.
Lead from the front. Just lead and learn. People want to be led well. Make it a passion and never stop getting better at it.
As a CEO you need to make the big things happen. Get the rocks or cornerstones in place and make the things happen that move the Company in that direction happen. This is what CEO’s do.
Don’t seek to change people, seek to influence their activity, their behaviour and how they make their decisions. Seek to create an environment whereby they make consistently good decisions.
The art of reflecting and making clear observations and to be able to take an overview of the situation allows for better clarity. Practice it or have your team challenge you to do it.
Be tough. Firm, fair and consistent, but be tough in your standards and expectations of people. Be restless, seek excellence and constantly ask “Have I done enough?”. If the answer is no then step up and do more. Be the toughest on yourself……with power comes great responsibility.
Culture is king and Cash. No one can steal your culture. In fact thought leaders such as Tom Peters, Collin Powell, Richard Branson and John Spence all say that your culture is really your only truly defendable and significant point of difference. No one can steal it and if you get it right it will attract and retain top talent who in turn will look after your products, services and deliver excellent service to your clients. get that right and the magic begins!
Sadly in most companies the culture is just adhoc. No one plans it, discusses it and if they get it right it is by getting lucky. The best cultures in high performing companies are planned, a priority and protected by selecting only the best and by dealing with mediocrity very quickly. Leaving your company culture to luck means you are leaving a critical component of your “mission” success to chance.
Planning the year ahead in detail on a year planner (Sounds basic but try it) remains one of the activities that CEO’s rate as “most valuable”. Map out key dates, board meetings, reviews, training, holidays etc and plan the year ahead. Insist your team plans and gets clear around the year ahead.
Meetings are your number one leadership opportunity. Make them high value, fast, refer to good data/KPI’s and have fun. Most meetings in business today sap the energy from those who attend. Flip that around because leaders do people, leaders communicate and meetings are your number one opportunity to influence and live your culture.
Have more fun. Enjoy the ride. Its not a rehearsal.
Its been a big year and I have loved every minute of it. I’d like to thank my team and our awesome clients for everything. I can’t wait to be a part of the work we do in 2015 and all the challenge, fun and learning it will bring.
Like you I am working some pretty long hours to finish all the things that need to be done prior to Christmas. Christmas is after all the ultimate “deadline” and as a leadership tool the “power of a deadline” is a well know tool for execution. People respond well to it. Come Friday this week I am taking 4 weeks off. It sounds pretty cushy I know but the reality is it actually takes planning, hard work and of course a lot of discipline to actually turn the technology off, disconnect e-mail and truly wind down. I wrote about the importance of leaders taking time out (Link here) some time ago when I was with RESULTS.com.
CEO’s, business owners and leaders are the worst at taking their time off and yet they owe it to those they lead to be at the top of their game. They must make good consistent decisions and lead effectively through all the change and pace of modern business. Any company feeds a lot of families and the responsibility of that alone means they should be led well.
So take some time out, truly disconnect, leave the phone at home, turn the e-mail off and divorce the laptop for a few weeks. It is important for you to have time doing other things, pursuing interests, looking after your family and recharging.
Reflection requires: A journal, a small amount of regular time & to be a priority. This is what I use. 
Leading from the front 