Synopsis
Leaders of profitable businesses with predictable cash flows don’t rely on their position or power as a means of daily influence. They connect people to their vision of what needs to be done and how they’ll know it’s done because they have the management skills to see that outcomes are measured, and the two compared. They use their brains to think things through so they can make rational judgments, not irrational assumptions.
A GREAT business is never a well-oiled machine 100% of the time. Instead, it is a business-led by an individual that understands the relationships of its parts. They know who is accountable for what and where the critical hand-offs across functions performing separate tasks need to occur to get paid for the work you sold and performed for the customer at a profit.
A GREAT business exists when goals are set, outcomes are measured, and the two compared. The best success is when the goals are realized. Whenever your best intentions fall short of producing your desired results, there is still great value to be captured through learning what you did wrong and where you will improve.
The best leaders are strong thinkers
Humans don’t simply respond to stimuli – humans think. They anticipate what is going to happen if they do certain things and then choose accordingly. Thinking is the process of using one’s mind to consider or reason about something. The best leaders take time to think their options through before taking significant action.
They use their brains to think things through so they can make rational judgments. Irrational actions lead to stress, frustration, and loss. Stress causes people to do stupid things, and when people are angry, they become less rational, fair, or objective.
Anticipated consequences are the number one driver of action
All humans are propelled into action by the same thing – the consequences they anticipate:
- If people act one way, they expect that it will yield the best bundle of consequences.
- If you want people to act in another way, you have to let them know how a different behavior would yield a better consequence package.
- When people don’t want to do something, they believe the consequences are insufficient to warrant the activity.
- Natural consequences are those consequences that naturally occur because of an individual’s actions. You help people understand natural consequences by linking all requests to the what is to be done by when and why.
- Administered consequences are those consequences which a boss or leader imposes to reward or discipline an individual. They utilize a leader’s power to convey rewards or discipline to motivate.
- When people produce solely out of fear, once the fear is removed, so is the motivation to continue doing what they had been doing out of fear.
Smart leaders do not rely on their position or power as a means of daily influence
The most effective leaders are skilled problem solvers who recognize when it is best to jointly work through problems over immediately jumping in with their answer. They slow down their natural tendency to leap in with an answer and instead involve the other person in coming up with a permanent solution. They are also known to do the following to influence people to act:
- They are slow to use their power base to influence others.
- They recognize that the use of threats leads to lost teaching moments.
- They know the use of position power cuts off the conversation that keeps people from the information they need to make effective choices.
- They value employees acting because they see the value of what they are doing, not because they fear their leader.
- With changes, they slow down to explain what differs and why.
- They keep employees informed and motivated by timely updates that explain how circumstances are changing.
- They look for the “why” that will motivate naturally when they see their people are unmotivated. To find the right “why,” go on a consequence search. Keep explaining stakeholder consequences until you find one that the other person cares about.
- Their goal is always to get the other person to do what is right, not to do what they want. Keep explaining consequences until the other person cares or realizes they are starting down the path to discipline and agrees to comply to stay out of trouble.
By involving others, you empower them. You provide them with both the means and motive to overcome problems. You do this by allowing them to help you work through a problem. As you work together, you develop the following benefits for both you and your employee:
- Ability = Skill
- When you involve others in solving problems, you get to hear their ideas.
- When people help create potential solutions, they are more likely to be motivated to implement them. Consider how “effectiveness = accuracy x commitment.”
- Motivation = Will
- Most problems have multiple solutions. How effective a particular solution is depends on how much the person implementing the action believes in it. That is where commitment comes into play.
- A solution that may be tactically inferior but has the total commitment of those who implement it may be more effective than the one preferred by the leader, but resisted by those who have to make it work.
When solving ability problems, only involve others if you are willing to listen to their suggestions. Also, avoid leaping in with suggestions until you have given others a chance to share their recommendations.
With authority comes 100% accountability for the results tied to that authority
When you have authority, you are accountable for the result and how that result is achieved. You don’t get to share the blame for missing the result because you were accountable for producing it.
You improve your probability of achieving your planned results when you are clear on who is responsible for helping you achieve the result, who you need to consult for help, and who needs to be informed because what you are doing will impact them. The best leaders think through who and how they must involve people by critical action. They do this to become clear on how they will engage those responsible in making the decisions that need to be made.
If the responsible person has the knowledge and skills required to do the job, that’s the first part of their success. They must also have the necessary information, equipment, resources, assistance, and the work setting to do what needs to be done. If all of this is in place and they aren’t getting done what needs to get done, you have a motivation problem. Consequently, you must find out why priorities and urgencies differ to have a shared sense of what needs to be done now and why.
If you still aren’t getting the desired results, pause to revisit how people are experiencing you as a leader. If you are comfortable with your leadership approach, it’s time to determine if you are dealing with a skill or a will problem.
Where does your business need you to become more skilled at doing?
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