Structure Isn't Overrated
Dispatch 011
The Leadership Ascent
Growing into a Leadership role requires a new mindset, a breadth of skills, and demonstrated capability.
This program builds soft skills, executive presence, financial acumen and practical tools to become a Great Leader of an empowered team.
The next group starts in January.
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To build better, stronger teams we have to embrace that it's our role to improve the likelihood of success for all of our team members & peers. Otherwise, we doom our teams to plagues of attrition, slow ramp times, and low creativity. Approaching this from a 'hierarchy of needs' highlights that until we create structures that enable success, our teams will never reach higher levels of autonomous performance.
To build a better team, invest in structure. 4 Types of structures to add to your team:
Great 1:1s
I recommend weekly 1:1s for most, certainly every other week (or fortnightly as the Brits say). Structure of a 1:1:
- Each bring a list of topics
- Leader should provide feedback on a recent item - in every 1:1
- Leader should seek feedback from the team member
PRO TIP: Ask team to send you an agenda 24 hours in advance; it'll keep you both on track
Initiative Reviews
Individual meetings are often necessary, but I highly recommend creating a single meeting that contains updates across initiatives and projects:
- It should create efficiency by having one update session for multiple topics
- Not every topic gets discussed in the meeting. Situations that are "Green" get a pass, but still provide an update in writing that's in the materials
- It should be valuable; a meeting that people don't want to skip
PRO TIP: The meeting materials need to be owned and managed by one person. They collect them, review, and provide feedback 24-48 hours before the meeting. It will double or triple the value of the time
Performance Updates
Performance updates need to be separate from initiative & project updates.
- Monthly business reviews or Forecast updates fill this purpose
- Discussion should be about current performance & trends, with limited discussion of the initiatives mentioned previously
PRO TIP: This is a point of inspection. There must be a baseline for comparison. You should be able to leave this engagement knowing "are we winning or are we losing"
Culture of Feedback
Most people will say that 'culture' isn't a structure, but I disagree. Culture is actually the structure on which everything from your team hangs:
- A healthy feedback culture will be more creative, identify risk earlier, and adapt faster in times of stress
- Developing this culture is completely dependent on you creating it. That's true if you are the Leader or the Follower
- Great feedback is omni-directional; you should be providing it in all directions
PRO TIP: Make sure your feedback skews positive; meaning more than 50%+ of your feedback should be praise & acknowledgement. Remember, the goal is building a culture where feedback is desired not dreaded
The Bottom Line
While the best performers on your team may not need structure, this approach only works with very small teams populated with high performers. This strategy will fall apart when your team grows or when you inevitably have team members who need more support. Building strong structures now creates a foundation for resilient success.
Leader Resource Kit:
Get The Micro Yes; This Week's Tip
Great Leaders provide lots of feedback, and next week's dispatch is going to delve into a 4 part process to do it better. For now though, here is one shift you can make today:
Ask the question "I have some feedback on X, is this a good time or should we talk about it later?"
Here's what this does:
- It gives the recipient control. When we feel control we are less likely to feel threatened (therefore more receptive).
- Gives time to process & prepare. Getting feedback can be scary, this questions gives them some time to prepare mentally.
- It really may be a bad time, show empathy. Showing empathy builds trust, and will make the feedback more impactful.
Thanks for reading this week. Can't wait to catch up against next Tuesday!
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Keep Learning, Leading & Growing -
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Adam Malone 📬
The Sometimes Tenacious Founder
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