How to Make Sure Employees Understand Your Strategy in 2022

 

You might have the most compelling strategic vision for your organization, but if you can’t get it out of your head and get others to see it and believe in it, it might as well not even exist.

Just because the strategy makes sense to you doesn’t mean it will take only an instant for others to see it like you do. We often think that others think as we do, that others see the world as we do, but it’s more likely that there’s a lot of ground to cover between their perspective and yours (Please repeat after me, "Message sent DOESN'T always equal message received" 😉). Employees come to their jobs with their own context, and it’s the leader’s job to help them understand the collective context, including how you see the marketplace today, and how that led to your strategy.

Understanding Strategy Means Business

Communication from leaders that focuses on explaining the organization's vision/mission/strategies and how employee’s individual jobs fit into the big picture are key drivers of how employees feel about their leadership and the effectiveness of internal communication overall. Communication Climate Index, The Qualtrix Group, 2018

• Motivating employees to help achieve your strategic vision increases profitability 22% to 27% over a 6-12 month basis. Chief Executive Group, “4 Ways to Motivate Employees to Help Achieve Your Strategic Vision,” working study of 100s of their client companies, August 2020

• 57% of surveyed Americans stated they would perform better at their jobs if they better understood the company's direction. Zeno Group, online survey of 1000 Americans, early 2019

• One-third (33%) of executives were not confident that their employees could accurately communicate the company's business strategy to others. Zeno Group, "Barriers to Employee Engagement" Study, 2021

The Majority of Employees Don't Understand Their Company's Strategy

A recent study by Franklin-Covey which surveyed thousands of employees across industries revealed:

•  Only 37 % said they have a clear understanding of what their organization is trying     to achieve and why.
•  Only one in five was enthusiastic about their team’s and organization’s goals.
•  Only one in five said they had a clear “line of sight” between their tasks and their   team’s and organization’s goals.
•  Only 15 percent felt that their organization fully enables them to execute key   goals.
•  Only 20 percent fully trusted the organization they work for.

If the soccer team pictured below had the same results that would mean:

• Only 4 of the 11 players on the field would know which goal is theirs. 
• Only 2 of the 11 would care. 
• Only 2 of the 11 would know what position they play and know exactly what they are supposed to do. 
• All but 2 players would, in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent.

It’s up to leaders to engage others so they have the same clear picture you do of your strategy and where the business is going. The reality is that some may have small windows into your view of the strategy, but very few have the whole picture like you do. Lift the perspective out of your head and get it into others’ so they can own it and help you achieve it.

Here are 6 steps to help your employees understand and buy into your strategy:

1. Put the strategy on a single piece of paper. Let it serve as a strategic framework that drives all work inside the organization.

An effective business strategy summary typically includes the following components: 

• A summary of your organization’s strengths and weaknesses, along with the opportunities and threats you see.
• Your vision, mission, and values.
• The top business goals of the organization that, if achieved, will drive your success.
• The individual strategies that will help you achieve those goals.
• The measurement components for each strategy.

And don’t forget to leave space for individual leaders to customize the organizational information for their teams.

2. Share the strategic framework and ensure your leaders are aligned. 

Give leaders the context behind the strategy so they understand how you got there and ask them to make the strategy relevant for their teams.

Don’t allow the bobble-heads.You know the meeting. Everyone nods in agreement during the meeting, and then leaves the room and does whatever they want. The senior-most leader leaves the meeting thinking, “Great, everyone’s on board and moving full speed ahead.”

Except what usually happens is that people go back to business as usual, or chat up the grapevine about how the ideas discussed will never work. It’s time to stop the bobbleheads.

How do you ensure alignment with your team instead of just having nodding heads?

• Engage everyone in critical discussions. Don’t allow bobbleheads to speak with their nods. Draw them out to find out what they’re thinking.
• Ask open-ended questions of your leadership team to get real-time input and commitment. How someone answers a question tells you what they’re thinking.
• Elicit opinions to ensure diverse perspectives are aired and discussed.
• Once you gain alignment, ask leaders to share how the strategy is relevant to their area of the business.
• Set clear expectations and accountabilities so every head-nodder has a clear set of actions related to their critical role in activating the strategy.
• Follow up individually with your leaders for their perspective on what was discussed. Ask questions to engage each one in dialogue, and check how well a leader is customizing the information for his or her team.
• Give leaders an assignment: Have them reach out to their staff and come back to you with perspective on parts of the strategy that seem confusing and/or barriers that may exist to implementing the strategy (along with recommended solutions).

3. Provide leaders training on how to use the tools. See them in action so you can coach them on how to communicate big-picture messages, along with that all-important personalization. Can your leaders make the strategy relevant to their teams?

4. Use the strategic framework consistently in your communications with employees so it becomes familiar to them and they see what’s happening and how it ties to the strategy (they know what’s important when they see and hear it from multiple sources).

5. As your thinking evolves about the strategy (quarterly, annually, etc.), update your framework and communicate regularly so employees are in the loop and understand the reasons behind decisions.

6. Celebrate “wins,” always connecting back to and reinforcing the core elements of the strategy.

Chances are, many employees just see their tasks and not the bigger picture of how they contribute. You also might learn that there’s a need for your team to better understand the organization’s goals and strategy, too. Or, there’s not clarity on your team’s priorities.

No matter what the learnings, you’ve started an important discussion that you can continue regularly, and can form the basis of lots of celebration in the future. And what team can’t use even more celebration?

"Everything rises and falls on leadership. And leadership rises and falls on communication."    
                                                                                --Peter Senge

Click here to read a related post entitled: Execution IS Strategy
 

To your greater success and fulfillment in 2022,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

The Meeting that Could Have Been an Email

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been participating in and  blogging about  virtual meetings for the past two years. I’ve heard a lot of complaints, but the one that most amuses is, “I just sat through another meeting that could have been an email.”

Sure, it’s funny and looks great on a coffee mug. And we have so many meetings it might be lovely to have alternatives to yet another hour spent staring into a webcam hoping our faces don’t betray our misery. But are emails really an alternative to meeting as a group? If so, why do so many leaders wind up leading meetings on the topic anyway?

When I ask leaders about it, I get one answer far more frequently than any other. The response reveals a lot about both the team leader and the team members. Here is the top answer, and what both parties can do to make the situation less painful.

“I wouldn’t have to call a meeting if they actually read the email.” This is the number one answer by a mile. Leaders consistently say they send information in an email, but don’t think anyone reads it, so they wind up calling a meeting just to make sure the information was received and to answer any questions.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but if you’re the leader, here are some things you can do.

Request a response.

And not just a read receipt, but an actual answer from the team with either an acknowledgment that they read and understood the message, or any questions or comments they have as a result.  Bonus points for posting the answers in a Slack or Teams channel rather than email, so that people can read the answers to other questions and save you all some work and time.

Write clearer emails.

Just because you sent a message doesn’t mean they read it. And even if they read it, there’s no guarantee they understood it the way you meant it. Take the time to be clear about not only the content of the message, but what the action items or main points are. One best practice here: Bulleted lists of items or points are preferable to lengthy paragraphs.

Offer ways to answer questions or clarify points that don’t require dragging everyone on to Zoom.

Not everyone is going to have the same questions. Some of your team will understand and take action, others won’t read it at all, and most will have some questions before your message can be truly understood. Include links to FAQs, or the company website, or a longer document in SharePoint where they can get the answers they need.
 

You send a lot of emails. Make it clear which ones require particular attention.

The dirty little secret of email is most of them don’t get opened. People get so many that they read the subject line, and possibly the first paragraph if it fits in the preview pane. If the information you’re sending is critical or requires action, don’t bury that at the end of a message. Put “Action Required,” in the subject line, or start your email with something akin to, “This message has priority. Please ______ after you’ve read it.”

As the sender of a communication, you have a lot of influence over whether people read it and take action, but very little direct control. If you are the team member or email recipient, you have a responsibility as well.

Acknowledge the message.

Your manager wants to know that you not only received the message, but understood it and plan to take the action requested. When she tells you something verbally, face to face, she can tell by your expression and body language that you understood or have questions.  In email or IM, there is no way of gauging whether you “got it” or not. This is the main reason you wind up having to have a meeting. If you don’t want to get sucked into another meeting, let the boss know it’s unnecessary.

Ask questions.

No matter how good a communicator your manager is, it’s almost impossible to craft a written message that doesn’t raise questions. They might be big (Why are we doing this?) or minor (when do you want it done?).

Take action.

When someone requests you take action, it doesn’t mean you have to drop everything and do it (unless that’s the specific request). But the longer between sending the message and seeing results, the more the sender will start to wonder if it got read, or if anyone is going to do what’s asked. Eventually, paranoia sets in and they believe nothing will happen so, yup, it’s time to call a meeting.

All communication, verbal or written, contains three components: message sent, message received, message understood. If there isn’t evidence that all three stages have been completed, it’s likely the sender will reinforce their message or confirm understanding by either spending time following up, or saving time by calling a meeting.

Whether you’re the sender or the receiver, if you are tired of meetings that could have been emails, then make the most of the email. It’s simple, even if it doesn’t look cool on a coffee mug.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

How to Tell an Employee They Talk Too Much

 

The Coach's Inbox Q & A

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Coach McLees,

How do you tell an employee they talk too much? My employee often talks to the point of having to tune them out. They give every little detail and then repeat themselves and I cannot get a word in edgewise and I have to wait until they take a breath to interrupt them. I end up focusing on them taking that breath instead of listening.

Signed,
Tired of the Talking

Dear Tired of the Talking,

We receive many inquiries about how to get employees to speak up and share their perspective. Your email reminded me that there is another side to which the pendulum swings—an employee that talks too much! Though perhaps a less frequent problem than silent employees, over-talking contributes to frustration and communication breakdowns just like silence does.

Here are three tips for stepping up to this crucial conversation with your employee.

Replace Judgement with Curiosity

When someone behaves in ways that negatively impact us, it is natural to jump quickly to judgement. Why do they talk so much? Don’t they know how annoying it is? They are so annoying, ergo they must know.

When tempted to draw conclusions about a person’s behavior (which, let’s be honest, is pretty much all the time), we need to stop and remind ourselves of this salient fact: we don’t know why they are doing what they are doing. We need to replace judgement with curiosity, accept the limitations of our own thinking, and open ourselves to exploration. You might start by replacing the thought “They are doing this because…” with “I wonder why they do this.”

I don’t see any of that snap judgement in your inquiry, and I congratulate you on that.

Clarify What You Really Want

When people start a project at work or plan a vacation with a friend, they start by thinking about what it is they want to accomplish. Planning and forethought increase the odds that they will invest their effort wisely and be happy with the results. And yet, when it comes to conversations, we often identify what we want to discuss and dive right in. In my experience, this approach works about a third of the time.

To increase the likelihood of a successful conversation, try taking five minutes to get really clear on why you want to hold the conversation, not just what you want to talk about. Ask yourself:

    What do I really want here? What is my goal in bringing this up?
    How do I want the other person to feel during the conversation?
    What do I want for our relationship and how can this conversation contribute to that?

Notice that while these questions may start with what you want for yourself, they expand and ask you to consider what you want for the other person and for your relationship. In your case, you may want to create a more collaborative relationship with this person. Perhaps you want to give them some coaching about a blind spot that is holding them back professionally.

Whatever the case, you’ll be more successful in holding the conversation when you know clearly what you want for yourself and for them.

Share the Why and the What

Knowing why you want to have the conversation (your good intent) does two things for you. It helps you stay focused during the conversation and it gives you your opening line. Sharing your good intent is the best way to start the conversation. It might sound like:

“I’d like to talk with you about the way we communicate with each other. My goal in bringing this up is to improve how we work together. I enjoy working with you and value the contributions you bring to the team, and I think there are a few things that could help us work together better.”

Once you have shared the why, explain the what. Be specific and direct as you explain what you experience in conversation with this person and how it impacts the relationship. It might sound like:

“I have noticed that when we are talking, you often have a lot of ideas to share. So many, that I find myself trying to figure out when I can break into the conversation to share my perspective. I definitely want to hear your ideas, and I think our conversations might be more effective if we both had time to share our perspectives.”

Then—and this is really important—ask how the other person sees the situation. This might seem counterintuitive given the topic you’re addressing, but one of the best ways to create safety when bringing up a concern about someone’s behavior is to ask them for their perspective and then listen.

My guess is, when you do this, your employee will talk. A lot. And that is not a bad thing. It gives you a chance to point out to them in the moment the exact behavior you want to talk about. Do it kindly and carefully, with a focus on why you are bringing this up, and I am confident you can navigate this tricky conversation.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

How to Lead a Struggling Team

THE COACH'S INBOX Q & A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Coach McLees,

I’m a new manager of a team that previously had a leader that yelled, used demeaning methods of motivation and control, and often humiliated individuals. The leader was removed for these behaviors and the role was given to me. I can see signs that the team is broken. They work in silos, performance is poor, and there’s a general lack of effort. I’m struggling to unify the team and “right the ship.” I feel like clarifying expectations would help get everyone back on track, but I worry that doing so will further divide the team, as it could be seen as me pushing my agenda. Any advice?

Signed,
Righting the Ship

Dear Righting the Ship,

In 1980, Herb Brooks was the head coach of the United States Olympic hockey. His team was about to attempt what appeared to be an impossible task: defeat the Soviet Union. The Soviets had a powerhouse team that had won four consecutive gold medals dating back to the 1964 Olympics. Coach Brooks gave his team an inspiring pre-game speech and used a phrase I have often used when faced with a difficult task. He said, “Great moments are born from great opportunity.” He not only inspired his team to win a hockey game, they would also eventually win the gold medal and inspire a nation.

Begin your managerial journey by seeing it for what it is—a great opportunity. You have a chance to not only overcome what has been a toxic and destructive environment, but also to build a new one. You get to help create a culture where your team can improve, communicate, collaborate, and contribute. Additionally, you can inspire your team to match their performance to their potential.

Let me offer three big ideas for your consideration as you step up to your opportunity.

1) Small Changes Bring Big Results

In 2003 Sir Dave Brailsford became the head coach of the British Cycling team. They had no record of success. In fact, in seventy-six years, they had only won a single gold medal. Brailsford’s leadership would change that. In 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, his team would win seven of the ten gold medals available. They would do the same four years later in London. In addition, professionally, his team would win three Tour de France events.

His approach was quite simple, literally. He didn’t try and create dramatic changes for overnight success. Rather, he focused on small improvements in everything. His idea of “marginal gains” was to target weaknesses and be one percent better. Small changes over time brought big results.

One of the more common and bigger mistakes managers make when taking on the task of rebuilding a dysfunctional team is thinking they must blow things up to make a difference. Righting a ship takes time. Begin with patience. Whether targeting your team’s performance, their effort, or even the way they work, don’t demand perfection. Instead, look for ways they can make small changes to things they do most often.

2) Find the Bright Spots

In many cases there is a lot of “function” in dysfunctional teams. Before identifying all the areas of weakness that need to change, make sure to identify what is working. In their New York Times best-selling book, Switch, Dan and Chip Heath introduce the concept of bright spots. Bright spots are successful efforts worth emulating.

Typically, when facing similar situations, managers tend to focus on problems and ask the question, “What’s broken and how do we fix it?” A better approach to change is to focus on solutions. To find bright spots, begin by asking, “What’s working, and how do we do more of it?” In doing so, not only will you find behaviors worth cloning, but you’ll also remind your team that they are already part of the solution.

3) Give Direction Not Directions

It’s easy to quickly diagnose the situation and prescribe a solution. This is another common mistake for new or young leaders. Even if you happen to diagnose correctly and have a prescription with proven results, this approach has the potential of missing the mark and leaving the team in a continued state of division and disarray. The goal of leadership isn’t to be right, but rather to get it right. Sharing ideas can move you in the right direction. Inspiring others’ ideas can accelerate the process.

Throughout my career, the best leaders didn’t have all the answers, but rather helped me discover the answers. They knew how to give direction, but they didn’t necessarily give directions. Whether individually or collectively, allow your team to share their insights. Ask good diagnostic questions to gain clarity on where they see the gaps and what they feel has been causing those gaps.

With such clarity, now as a team you can work to identify the areas for one percent improvement. What are the vital behaviors that will connect to your organization’s values and produce results? What small changes will yield the greatest impact? Then, together, make decisions, provide support, recognize success, and make corrections when needed.

It won’t be easy. It won’t happen quickly. But, as you continually strive for one percent improvement, build on the bright spots, and give direction and not directions, you will be on your way to not only righting the ship, but also enjoying the journey.

 
To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

4 Change Management Tips Every Leader Can Use

 

The Coach's Inbox Q & A

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Coach McLees:

Our company is launching a new program and my staff members are very negative about the change. How can I get them to adopt the change and cooperate?

Signed,

Early Adopter

 

Dear Early Adopter,

Here’s the hard truth: no matter how brilliant your new program might be, people can render it useless.

What you have isn’t a leadership challenge, but a human challenge. To some degree, we all spend time trying to influence others to think and act differently than they do—coworkers, family members, children, neighbors, friends, and so on. Unfortunately, we often resort to compulsion, coercion, and charisma only to meet resistance. But if sixty years of social scientific study has any merit, true and lasting influence involves strategy. So, here are a few strategies that should help in your situation.

Simplify the Request

Too often leaders ask their people to do fifteen things to make a new program a success. Don’t do that. You’ll be lucky if you can get people to adopt one or two behaviors. So, start there. Pick the fewest number of high-leverage actions you want people to adopt as part of this program.

And be specific. Don’t ask them to “show initiative” or “be customer-focused.” Instead, ask them to do specific and replicable actions that you can see and measure. Shrink the request and clarify the required actions, and they will be more likely to act.

Avoid Simplistic Assumptions

It’s not bad to make some assumptions about why your people aren’t happy with the change or seem resistant, but don’t let your assumptions become simplistic. People do what they do (or don’t do what they should do) for a variety of reasons. The moment you start saying things like “the only reason they…” or “the one thing we need to do is…” you’re setting yourself up to fail. There isn’t a “silver bullet” when it comes to changing minds and behavior. Instead, consider a variety of things: values, interests, skills, culture, norms, incentives, tools, knowledge, systems, and so on.

Involve the “Cool Kids”

You don’t need to get through to everyone you want to influence in order to help them change; you simply need to reach the people everyone listens to, otherwise known as your opinion leaders. These are the people in the organization that everyone goes to for the “truth” on a situation. These opinion leaders have social capital, so it’s critical you identify and engage them.

Some leaders I work with tell me they know who their opinion leaders are and that they’re hesitant to engage them because they’re negative and outspoken. That’s common. Here’s the problem: If you ignore them or try to work around them, they will likely use their social capital to kill your new program before it’s even crawling. You’re better off involving them early on. Meet with them to hear them out, listen to their frustrations, and discuss the “why” behind the new program. Consider how it will benefit them and make those positive outcomes visible.

Don’t Dismiss Skepticism

It’s easy to hear the skeptical comments and then write them off. If you do this, you risk missing out on feedback that could make the rollout more effective. Instead, meet with your leadership team and review the top five critiques going around the organization. Review each critique one by one and ask these two questions:

   +  What are the elements of truth in this concern?

   + If we were to take one action in response to this feedback, what would it be?

What you are engaged in is probably the most difficult and important part of being a leader. At the end of the day, what qualifies people to be called ‘leaders’ is their capacity to influence others to change their behavior in order to achieve important results.

Check out at related post: Implementing Change Successfully

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Experimentation Is Vital for Leadership Excellence

 

 

 

 

 

Most would say that experimentation is good because when we try new things, we can learn what works and what doesn’t.

It’s that last part that moves us from agreeing that experimentation is a good thing to – “I’m not so sure.” You see, to experiment is to risk failure, mistakes, and perhaps looking stupid.

And it is those very human worries and concerns that often keeps us from experimenting our way to success.

Case in point…

I’ve successfully conducted in-person leadership training for the past 27 years. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced a new client and myself to move from F2F to virtual training via the Zoom platform. It would be my first time presenting a virtual class.

I did some research and thought about how I could create a version of the F2F training in the virtual environment. Intellectually, I was good to go. But when it came time for the first virtual class, I had more trepidation than I can remember in a long time.

Why? Because experimentation can be scary.

What if I don’t do it right?

What if it doesn’t land well with the audience?

And mostly…

What if I look stupid? (I'm sure I did but I grew from it.). My go-to quote when I'm worried about looking foolish is: "Take what you do seriously, yourself lightly." 

                                                                                                                 --Ken Blanchard

There are lessons for us as individuals and leaders

As an individual…

• Recognize the gap between logic and emotion. And grant yourself some grace if you are scared to try.
• Focus on the big why. When we remind ourselves of the why we want to experiment, we help ourselves move past the fears.
• Find a cheerleader. Your cheerleader could be a coach, a friend, or anyone who will help you with the emotional challenges of the experiment.
• Start with small experiments. When you try small things, it is less scary, and you will begin building your experiment muscles.
• Let go of perfection. Remind yourself that few things in life are perfect, and in an experiment that isn’t even the goal.

As a leader…

• Remember the list above. As a leader you want to help others experiment, so each of those items helps.
• Be that cheerleader. Maybe the best thing you can do as a leader is to be the encourager of experimentation.
• Create the safety net. People don’t want to screw up at work. If you encourage experimentation but make sure people won’t fail in drastic ways, they are more likely to try.
• Manage your own expectations. Don’t hold people to a standard of excellence and success on their experiments that you might hold them to on the rest of their work.
• Be a model of experimentation. You want others to be trying new things and not over-analyzing before they try? Make sure you are experimenting too.

Experimentation is unpredictable, and we don’t know where our experiments will lead us. Yet until we try new things, we can’t grow and find the new keys to our future success – both individually and collectively. 

 

Understanding our love/hate relationship with experimentation is the first step towards us intelligently using experimentation to reach new levels of success.

 

Where would you benefit from more experimentation?

 

Check out two related posts:  

 

Stretching Outside Your Comfort Zone Is Critical to Grow as A Leader  (4 min)

 

You Don't Get to Look Good and Grow At the Same Time  ( 2 min read)

 

 

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.