Work the Plan

As leaders, we tend to focus on creating great plans that in our estimation will yield great results.  So why do so many leaders become frustrated when our best laid plans yield worse results.  The answer is simple, execution.

As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to take a religion class.  As a project for this class, I had to attend religious services at a variety of churches.  In one such setting, the Pastor gave a sermon that 20+ years later still has a positive message with me.  The message of the sermon was to not just plan the work, but work the plan.  What a novel idea.  I translated this to the work I was doing at the time and decided it was not about the creation of the plan itself, but more about the execution of the plan.

In sports, teams will go into a game with a game plan.  While fans may be upset about with the officials, the leaders always talk about execution of the plan.  If athletes don't execute, they let the team down and ultimately the team loses the game.  It wasn't the plan that was flawed, it was working of the plan that was flawed.

I worked for a Manager who once told me that I needed to remember the 6P's and an R.  I inquired what he was referring to.  He informed me that it simply meant, "piss poor planning produces piss poor results".  Again, it all goes back to planning and organization.

As leaders, we are expected to do be all, do all, and produce all, with less.  We don't have all the answers, even though frequently our ego's tell us that we do.  Prior to creating a plan, why not ask more questions about execution.  Challenge people to shoot holes in the plan before the plan is finalized.  Once a decision has been made, stay the course.  Don't just plan the work, but work the plan.

Being an effective leader includes creating an effective vision.  Teams need to understand what the goal is.  In sports, the goal is to win the game, win a conference, win a championship.  Chunk down those goals into smaller more achievable milestones and allow for course changes based upon the evaluation of new information.  Include those milestone evaluations into the creation of the plan and continue to ask those self reflective questions to ensure your plan is being executed correctly and that the team is still on board with the vision.

It's not about getting to the destination, its about the journey and the experience learned along the road.  Remember, don't just plan the work, but work the plan.

Plan for tomorrow.  Execute today.  Evaluate progress frequently.

Late night ramblings

What is it about Leadership that Leaders are always looking for the Holy Grail?

As a Leader myself, I too am a consumate learner about how to improve and adapt my style.  I read, I watch, I observe. 

I had an "A-ha" moment today.  Effective leadership isn't necessarily about making the decision, it is about being able to effectively relate to those who support you.  Think about it for a moment.

• Politicians are deemed strong leaders when they are able to effectively relate to their constituents.
• Businessmen and women are deemed strong leaders when they can effectively relate to members of their team, their department, their division.
• Sports figures are deemed strong leaders when they can rally individuals towards a common goal.  These figures can be coaches or players.
• Religious leaders are effective when they can create a belief among their congregations in something larger than individuals.

There is not a Holy Grail to being an effective leader, but rather effective leaders instill confidence, empowerment, and a sense of being among others.  I have had the opportunity to work with many people in many environments that were not in leadership positions.  These individuals never complained about their own role, but rather understood how their role was important to the success of the organization.  Effective leaders are able to translate organizational goals to individual effectiveness.  As a result, each individual feels empowered to make decisions that positively benefit the end goals of the organization.

I have the belief that leaders can be both effective and ineffective based upon situations.  I had the privelege of working in debt collections for an individual who shared that the best collectors are those that have fewer bad days than their peers.  The same holds true for leaders.  Leaders are most effective when they remember where they came from, not where they may be today.

I am a fan of leadership books that tell a story.  They keep me grounded and remind me about times where I have felt similarly to the characters. 

My advice.  Never forget where you come from.  Stay true to who you are.  Overcommunicate to create a common vision.

Thoughts?  Please leave a comment.  It's All Good!!

Intro Blog

This is my first blog, so I am sure I will need a lot of feedback from those who read it.

The purpose of this blog is to solicit information about topics that are of interest to me and then create learning opportunities from those interests.  Topics that I think about from time to time range from business topics, family and financial topics, planning topics, or sometimes they will just be about funny things that occur in the normal course of life.

I have been a Contact Center professional for almost 22 years now.  I have heard and seen things over my career that just astound me.  Due to confidentiality, I can speak about few of those in a public forum.

In this first blog, I would like to know what people think about the legacy of sports figures who were legendary and then went from "hero to goat" in a very short period of time.  The most recent one that comes to mind is that of Joe Paterno, the former Penn State coach who passed away today. 

Do you think that the media was fair to Paterno?

Do you think the reaction by the Board of Regents was appropriate?

How do you think the allegations will effect his legacy?

There is a purpose for these questions that talk more about leadership and management, which are topics which I will post most about.

Thank you for reading and providing your comments, positive or negative, IT'S ALL GOOD!