Make a cracking start to 2018
Lynn Scott MCC, of Lynn Scott Coaching Ltd, identifies three things that leaders should focus on
I f 2017 (and 2016) taught us anything, it’s surely that nothing is predictable. The boat has been rocked, and it’s going to keep on rocking in to 2018 (and beyond). This has a huge impact on everyone who leads and manages leadership teams, because ‘same old, same old’ just isn’t going to work anymore. I’ve been working as an executive and team coach with more than sixty leaders in fast-growing businesses large and small. Though these businesses differ vastly each one is continually challenged to deliver more with less when no one has any idea what might be round the next corner. With so much uncertainty it’s easy to fall into one of the following three traps – none of which benefit your business: ● you feel like a rabbit in the headlights and do nothing ● you focus on the minutiae and detail that is right in front of your nose (i.e. ‘our busy-ness comfort zone’) and avoid trying to look to the future ● you make grandiose plans which you’ll probably have to scrap come March. So, how do leaders move into 2018 and steer their own ships given all the noise, upset, ambiguity and unknowns that we’re facing in the immediate future? I believe there are three things that leaders should focus on in the first quarter
of 2018. And they might not be what you think. ...more successful without working harder and their teams and organisations will benefit, too Forget the latest fad, guru, expert and shiny new object, which are all there to distract you from what you really need to focus on right now. Focus on these three things, instead: ● Ask yourself and your team ‘what are we doing that is stupid?’ And then stop doing it. You need a ‘to don’t’ list as much as a ‘to do’ list, so: ❍ stop attending or chairing meetings which don’t move the dial (in other words, if you don’t add or provide value, stop going) ❍ stop writing overly-long reports that no-one reads (with fancy graphics that take ages to produce and don’t add much in the way of information), and ❍ stop obsessively checking email, as three times a day is enough. ● If your team isn’t working as well as
it should then 2018 is the year to sort this out once and for all. Seriously dysfunctional teams often need to be broken up. Poor performing team members need honest feedback and clear goals to help them get back on track – and if that doesn’t work, it’s time to let them go. Everyone is waiting for you to take action, here. And forget those ‘off-sites’ that don’t get to the heart of what’s really holding you back. Rafts and paintballing aren’t going to fix things – at least, not in the long-term. ● Make ‘thinking time’ a key focus area. Start with one hour a week. I recommend this to all my clients and they have been significantly more successful without working harder. I can’t stress the importance of this highly enough. Go for a walk, get away from the office. I guarantee you’ll get your best ideas when you’re not sitting at your desk. In conclusion, those leaders who focus on the three key areas above will be more successful without working harder and their teams and organisations will benefit, too. And the beauty of this is that every leader can take responsibility for these three things immediately. They are beautifully simple. And with all the complexity around us, simplicity is just what we need right now. ❏
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | February 2018 | Issue 37 48
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