Bridging the execution gap

Take Proactive Steps To Strengthen Your Leadership Skills

Ed Brzychcy

Lead from the Front

Irecently sat down with a new executive and spoke to her about aligning her team. Dawn had recently entered her position and now led a group of former peers. She struggled with the scope of the work, bringing her team together and ensuring that each team member contributed and accomplished their part of the project. Regardless of industry, seniority, or experience, I have seen leaders struggle with all these items. An unfortunate truth of leadership is that many, Dawn included, view their positions as “in-charge” rather than having their team members and outcomes “in their charge.” As we reviewed the tasks and responsibilities for her team, her eyes began to wander, and she sat back, with her arms folded. I noticed her reaction and continued, “This is a lot of work you’re responsible for. And this is why you have a team. Who is responsible for which part?”

We began with the understanding that accomplishing her mission is not a grand trek into the unknown. Rather, it is navigating a series of steps designed to bring about shared success. Dawn’s role was not to do it all but to ensure her team worked together. She was a coordinator. Her job wasn’t to perform any one position but to ensure that everyone else was successful in theirs.

Leadership is a challenge, and the most significant obstacle is often bringing the team together, especially when a project looms large, deadlines are imminent, and the prospects of failure are consequential for everyone involved. Every project is the leader’s responsibility, and the weight can be overwhelming. I continued to discuss this with Dawn, building understanding around which team member would be responsible for what and how she would develop their accountability. When we started, she wanted weekly meetings with her entire crew of 11 to keep everyone involved and knowledgeable of what was happening. Coordinating weekly sessions drain everyone’s time, with little certainty of a positive outcome. Meeting for two hours, speaking for 10 minutes, and then spending the next 110 listening to things in your periphery is a woefully inefficient means of communicating, not to mention the work for Dawn to coordinate around 11 other schedules. Instead, we began to discuss the ideas behind areas of responsibility. All her team members depended on the results of the other, but each had their part to play and limited time to do so. Dawn’s follow-on conversations with her team would empower each of them in their lanes, ensuring that the information flowed freely between them all and that their efforts remained coordinated towards achieving a successful outcome. Her role was to keep everyone pulling together, despite many of them being responsible for vastly different activities.

I once met a young manager who proudly proclaimed that his projects were always on-time and under budget. When asked how he did it, he stated that he made up for any shortfalls in his team’s work during his evenings and weekends. I asked him if this was how he wanted to spend the rest of his career.

Divesting and delegating responsibility is the first skill leaders need to develop, and it can be one of the hardest. I have met many leaders who bear their responsibility as a personal token and let their insecurities surmount much of their ability to delegate tasks effectively. I once met a young manager who proudly proclaimed that his projects were always on-time and under budget. When asked how he did it, he stated that he made up for any shortfalls in his team’s work during his evenings and weekends. I asked him if this was how he wanted to spend the rest of his career.

I continued to coach Dawn, working toward her deeper understanding of her team members’ tasks, what she

& Kristy Lerner

would be delegating, and how she would follow up and coordinate communications. She became comfortable with the idea that the work from her lessexperienced team members would not be perfect, yet this could become a learning and training opportunity for them. She would not know what help they needed until they began working in earnest. Each small accomplishment would provide a step toward the team’s success. Each step would also offer a lesson for the team on what could be improved as the project moved forward. She was now responsible for managing these steps. We discussed how she would continue to share this information, ensuring that everyone learned as they went, not only in their job competencies but in how their efforts contributed to everyone’s successful outcome.

Dawn is on her own, and I will follow up with her in a few weeks. Meanwhile I continue to find that leaders everywhere struggle to bring their visions to their teams. HBR research shows that over 70 percent of strategic ventures fall short of their initial expectations, with accountability across the organization being the number one reason behind many shortfalls. A failed strategic execution is rarely the result of an error in the strategy; it is often a people problem. Yet, a team’s success is not determined solely by its leader–leaders determine their team’s success by pulling their people together and ensuring everyone communicates, contributes, and remains committed. I